Welcome to the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City! Meredith Marks opens the episode by downloading everything that happened on the girls’ trip to Palm Springs with her husband, Seth. Whitney Rose showed up with the uninvited and unwelcome Angie Katsanevas in tow. Lisa Barlow lost her $60,000 ring in the bathroom of the Palm Springs airport. She and Monica Garcia “had a little disagreement” over Lisa’s White privilege, and Angie’s nasty behavior was “out of control.” She left out the part about Heather Gay drinking way too much and barfing in the Sprinter. And that’s what you missed on Glee RHOSLC.
Meredith adds that there are rumors out there about Angie’s marriage. “I just think it’s somewhat ironic that this woman is trying to tear into me,” Meredith says, “and thinks that karma’s not gonna [come back to] her.” Here’s everything that went down in The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 4, Episode 5: “The Nastiness and Rumors.”
Whitney rides in on her high horse to scold Monica
Whitney and Monica meet for lunch. Whitney complains that she’s still tired and “trying to recover” from their trip.
“How are you and Lisa?” Whitney wants to know.
“She’s having her fun little ski event,” Monica says, “and I’m going to that. So I feel like we’re okay.”
“It’s great that she invited you,” Whitney adds. “It’s a good sign. And you can have the opportunity to clear the air if you want.”
“Do you think I need to clear the air?” Monica asks.
“Just giving you fair warning,” Whitney chuckles. “It took me three years to get back into her good graces.”
“I’ll just be like, ‘You’re a materialistic fuddy-duddy, but I love you!'” Monica jokes.
“I wouldn’t say it like that,” Whit warns. Actually, I’d like to see that. Lisa’s head would explode.
“I have to be honest,” Whitney continues. “I think we have a lot in common, and I love your energy … [but] it was just a little bit of a red flag when you were going after Lisa and Angie.”
Here’s where I have to part ways with Whitney. I loved the way Monica stood up to Lisa and called her out on her BS. She wasn’t afraid to speak up and didn’t feel the need to kiss anyone’s butt. I love that about her. She’s real.
“I don’t want to invest time in someone who goes for their friends like that,” the Wild Rose owner says. Oh, please! Lisa and Angie deserved everything they got. Angie was especially vile, and she wasn’t even supposed to be there.
Monica stands up to Whitney
“If your friend is acting crazy,” Monica responds, “I think you should call them out. You’re doing it to me right now. That’s the same thing I did to Angie … Angie said some really hurtful things about [Meredith’s] business, and that’s what set me off.”
“From my perspective,” Whitney counters, “it looks like you went against your two friends and were sucking up to Meredith and Heather.”
“I stand by what I said,” Monica answers. “A hundred percent.”
When Whitney says she thinks Monica’s “getting defensive,” Monica says, “I am getting defensive … Maybe you’re not used to dealing with someone like me. I felt like Angie was out of line.” Monica tells Whitney that she had told Angie ahead of time, “Angie I am going to going to call you out when I feel like you’re digging yourself a hole.”
Finally, Whitney concedes that Monica’s approach makes sense. “As grown-ass women,” Monica confesses, “we should all be able to face ugly truths. I would rather know where I stand with you than be fooled about how you really feel.” Monica is grateful that Whitney is comfortable telling her how she feels.
When Monica says she just felt Meredith needed someone to “have her back,” Whitney warns her, “Just be careful with Meredith … Here’s the thing. At the airport, Meredith pulled me aside and said, ‘You should know that I have all this dirt on Angie.'”
Meredith spreads rumors as payback
“This is what she always does,” Whit says. “It’s like, ‘I have all this information.’ She’s done it to every single one of us, and she will do it to you, too.”
In a confessional, Whitney says, “Every time Meredith feels wronged, it’s like, a rumor gets wings.” That’s a great line. I feel like I’m watching It’s A Wonderful Life.
“I just am so sick of this bullsh*t toxic behavior from Meredith,” Whitney says. She just doesn’t want to get in the middle of it between Meredith and Angie.
“I do think Angie and Meredith have something deeper than any of us understand,” Monica comments. “And I think it’s gonna blow up.”
Angie and Shawn are “a team”
Angie and her husband Shawn are spending some time at home with their daughter Elektra. Angie says she and Shawn have been “a team from the day we met … It was always just the two of us.”
But when Elektra was born 12 years ago, their lives and their relationship changed. “Elektra basically gets all of our love and attention,” Angie shares. That’s pretty much what happens when you have kids. “I am so focused on my daughter, that sometimes I forget that I’m a wife. I know my husband feels neglected, and I know he’d like to have more intimacy.” Angie’s having trouble finding the balance between being “Shawn and Angie,” while still being “Mom and Dad.”
Meanwhile, Shawn’s gone upstairs and crawled into their giant bed with their pink Standard poodle.
Heather hits the slopes with her girls
Heather is combining quality parenting time with getting some exercise by taking her girls skiing. It’s a win/win. It looks like a lot of fun. And they’re skipping school, which makes it even more fun!
The three of them take a break to sip some cocoa, but it’s really hot, so Heather goes to scoop up a handful of snow to cool it off. That’s disgusting, Heather. You’re right next to the parking lot and it’s dirty. Yuck.
Apparently, Heather’s book Bad Mormon is causing her girls to be bullied at school. Heather says, “My daughters were already facing scrutiny by me leaving the church … but my book caused them to have more problems to deal with.”
Heather wants to write a second book but doesn’t want her children to be judged by her actions. “I feel like they’re dealing with things,” she says, “that if I had just kept my head down and stayed quiet, they wouldn’t be facing.” That must be really tough.
Even though they’ve been bullied, neither of the girls feels unsafe. “It’s just petty little things,” Annabelle says. “I’m not getting, like, pushed down.”
They both say they “think it’s funny,” but Heather gets emotional when she says, “I don’t think it’s funny. I don’t want to send you out there … I feel responsible like I’ve put a target on your back.”
“Watching them minimize the way that they’re being treated,” Heather says in a confessional, “… reminds me of exactly how I was raised, and probably how I raised them. I want to break the cycle.”
An Après No Ski Party
Lisa’s throwing a party to celebrate that she’s a “smart, successful woman. There’s a by-product of working hard, and that’s called money,” she says. Lots of people work hard and don’t get rich, Lisa. You’re just very fortunate.
“I appreciate nice things,” she says, “and thank God somebody does, or Dolce and Gabbana wouldn’t have any customers.” See, this is the kind of thing Lisa says that pisses people like Monica off. Lisa’s a little tone-deaf.
As the ladies are all arriving, Meredith acknowledges her nemesis with a quick, “Hi, Angie,” as she heads for the bar. Angie says hello in return, but they are not on friendly terms. You could cut the tension with a knife.
“I know I can’t avoid Angie,” Meredith confesses. “It’s simple to say hello to someone that you know, even if they do behave like a dog.” Cue footage of Angie being called, at various times, a chihuahua, a barking dog and a pit bull. “Perhaps she could be kept on a leash somewhere far away from me,” Meredith concludes.
Lisa passes out small champagne bottles for the ladies to pop after her speech. Angie says, “I drink ouzo. I don’t know how to do this.”
“I learned [how to do] this when I was a missionary in the South of France,” Heather announces. Of course, she did.
The queen of materialism
After Monica compliments Lisa on how beautiful everything is, Lisa brings up their fight in Palm Springs. She’s annoyed that Monica called her materialistic. “There’s nothing wrong with being materialistic,” Lisa tells her.
“Then just own that,” Monica says.
“Monica, I work hard … ” Lisa begins, but Monica interrupts her.
Pointing at the buffet servers, she says, “These guys work hard. Everyone works hard.”
Finally, Lisa gets a word in, “I work hard so I can have anything I want. If you’re gonna judge me, I want you to judge everyone here in this room.”
“But they’re not all, ‘Oh, I’m getting on a private jet with Snoop Dogg,'” Monica fires back.
“I have never said that,” Lisa argues. “Now you’re making sh*t up. I have never said that in my life!”
Even though Lisa says she’s lying, Monica swears that Lisa did say that to her. When Lisa storms off, Monica calls. “Okay, Lisa. Walk away.”
In a confessional, Monica recalls an incident some time ago when she was still working for Jen Shah. “I was running through the airport to give Lisa something for Jen,” she remembers. “She was crying about how ‘I could be on a jet with Snoop Dogg right now.’ That’s Lisa in a nutshell.”
While the argument escalates, Meredith sits back and enjoys her crêpe. “They can fight. I’ll eat,” she laughs.
Mary arrives in the middle of the fight
Just as the argument between Lisa and Monica is hitting its stride, Mary Cosby walks through the door. “Oh, Lord have mercy,” she chuckles. “I walk into, like, arguing. Oh, God. Somebody rescue me quick!” That’s what these ladies do, Mary. Aren’t you used to it by now?
But she’s right. They’re all talking at once, and I can’t understand a word they’re saying. At one point Bravo inserts a clip of the women arguing in fast-motion and they sound like a bunch of birds chirping. Hilarious, Bravo! Every argument should be shown this way.
At one point, Angie tried to get in Monica’s face, and Monica told her, “Angie, f***ing start with me, and you’re going to open f***ing Pandora’s box. You have no idea what the f*** … “
But Lisa intercedes on Angie’s behalf and waves her finger in Monica’s face, “No, no, no. That’s rude Monica.”
“Get your finger out of my face,” Monica tells her waving her own fingers in Lisa’s face. This is not going to end well, as we go to commercial.
Whitney tries to broker peace
Finally, Lisa and Monica find a place to sit down and hash it out. They put Whitney between them as a buffer.
“I don’t like when somebody says, ‘You think you’re better than me,'” Lisa tells Monica. “I feel like you have an idea of me, and it’s not me. You should get to know me before you tell me who I am.” Good point.
“That was not my intention,” Monica admits.
“Can you honor that was not her intention,” Whitney asks Lisa, “even though you felt that way?”
“Okay,” Lisa says. “I believe you, and we’re fine.” Wow. Whitney must be magic. That was a lot easier than I expected it to go.
“I do want closure to this conversation with Monica,” Lisa interviews. “The bottom line is, calling me materialistic is stupid. We have different interests, and my interests are more expensive than yours.
“I’m deeper than what you think I am, too,” Lisa tells Monica, as they hug it out.
Monica fires back, “Stop bringing up labels, bitch!” But they’re laughing, so it’s cool.
“I am just done talking about this,” Monica says in a confessional. “I am over it. But we all know she’s still materialistic AF.”
Mary (surprise!) gets a little confrontational
Following her sitdown with Lisa, Monica decides to get a fresh crêpe. Mary sits down next to her and asks, “What are you eating, first off.”
“A crêpe. A raspberry chocolate crêpe,” Monica says, as Mary rolls her eyes.
“You like to eat,” she tells Monica. “Every time I see you, you’re eating.” Kind of rude, Mary.
“I love food,” Monica answers.
“But you don’t care what you eat?” Mary asks. “Like, do you eat vegetables?”
“There was raspberry in that crêpe,” the mom of four answers. Ugh. I hate raspberries. Mary just tilts her head and smiles in silent judgment.
“I love that Mary is unapologetically herself,” Monica interviews. That’s one way to put it.
“‘Cause you’re a beautiful girl,” Mary says, as Monica thanks her. “Don’t just eat your life away.” All righty then.
But rather than being offended, Monica sees Mary as a challenge. “At this point, it’s my mission to make her like me.” They got along well in Palm Springs, and Mary picked out that beautiful outfit for her when they were shopping. But Mary doesn’t really give a sh*t whether people like her or not.
“I’m just gonna live in my delusion,” Monica laughs, “that Mary and I are besties.”
Whitney breaks the ice
Monica then asks Meredith, “Are you gonna talk to Angie today at all?”
“About what?” Meredith wants to know. Apparently, she has nothing to say to Angie.
“If she came up to you, would you talk to her?” Monica wants to know.
“She should do whatever resonates for her,” Meredith says. “I mean, clearly she does. She shoved whipped cream in your mouth.” Actually, I thought it was a straw, Meredith, but it was still rude AF.
Whitney has something to say about this in her confessional. “Meredith is relentlessly coming for Angie, and it’s clear that she’s not gonna stop. So who is going to end this?” Does Whitney think she’s Switzerland now?
Attempting to lighten the mood, Whitney calls, “Who wants to do a shotski? Get up here!” Whitney brought a Vida shotski to the party. For anyone who doesn’t already know, a shotski is a ski with shot glasses glued onto it.
Whitney, Monica and Meredith share a shot with an unidentified partygoer. “Mary, do you want to do a shot?” Meredith asks her, to which Mary shakes her head no. Mary’s kind of a party pooper. Even Meredith says, “Maybe you needed that shot to liven you up, instead of coffee.”
Angie clues Whitney in
“Do you wanna come talk?” Whitney asks Monica. Uh oh. We all know she’s Team Angie.
“Sure, bitch!” Monica chirps cheerfully. I’m not sure she knows what she’s in for.
Rather than trying to make peace, Whitney is stirring the pot again. “So I told you about Meredith making a threat about Angie,” she says. “I don’t really want anything to do with it, but Ang is our friend … If this was going on behind my back, I’d want somebody to tell me.” So tell Angie, Whitney. Why are you involving Monica?
“I would want to know, too,” Monica admits.
“Do you know what the rumor is?” Whitney asks.
Monica dodges the question by asking another question, “Do you know what it is?”
“I’ve only heard the threat that Meredith gave me that Angie should be warned,” Whitney says.
“Everyone’s heard it,” Monica says. “I’m surprised you haven’t. To be completely frank with you, people are talking about how her husband f***s other men. And that they have an arrangement. And that their marriage is completely fake.” Wow. I wasn’t expecting that one. I actually gasped.
But Whitney’s not buying it. “No. No, no, no,” she says. “There’s no way … Angie needs to know. I literally feel like I’m gonna pass out.”
“I know this is hard,” Monica says. “Honestly, I do.”
“It’s really hard for me,” Whitney says. “Really, Meredith should be the last f***ing person to talk about this.”
“It’s like the rumor wasn’t enough that Shawn has allegedly stepped out on Angie,” Whitney says in a confessional. “It’s now questioning Shawn’s sexual orientation. As a strong ally in the community and her connection with GLAAD, I expected more from Meredith.”
Whitney and Monica spill the tea
Making sure Angie has a drink in her hand, Whitney says, “You’re gonna need it. Take a sip. We’ve gotta talk to you.”
“What’s going on?” Angie asks. “I’m uncomfortable … Like, your energy is off.”
“When we were in Palm Springs,” Whitney begins, “Meredith said to both Lisa and I that she knew stuff. She threatened that … she knows sh*t about you. Stuff about your marriage and your husband. This is why we’re nipping it in the butt … “
“Is it ‘butt’ or ‘bud?'” Monica asks.
“Okay, who cares about that,” Angie says, trying to guide the train back onto the tracks. “She’s spreading rumors about my marriage?”
After a long pause, Monica admits, “The rumor is that Shawn likes to f*** other men.”
Angie takes a moment to clutch her pearls, then says, “Are you f***ing kidding me? She is crazy. I’m sorry. I’ve been with my husband for 27 years. We are loyal to each other. Meredith lives to lie about other people’s marriages, and the only one that’s spreading their legs outside of their marriage is Meredith.” Ouch.
Monica goes a step further. “She is saying that his boyfriends need to be quiet ’cause they’re … talking about your husband.”
“I’m sick and tired of her lies,” Angie says. “And people do not talk about me or my family like this. She’s a sick bitch.”
And with that, Angie jumps off the couch to confront Meredith. We’ll have to wait till next week to see it, but I’m pretty sure a big storm is coming.
Real Housewives of Salt Lake City airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.
TELL US – DO YOU BELIEVE MEREDITH’S RUMOR? OR DID SHE MAKE IT UP TO HURT ANGIE? IS WHITNEY A GOOD FRIEND OR A POT STIRRER?