The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City is now considered one of the best Housewives franchises because every season has added the drama that makes these shows so enjoyable to watch. This franchise has allowed viewers to see how these ladies had lavish lives in Salt Lake City and opened their eyes to the city's culture. When RHOSLC started, it could be seen that Jen Shah was considered the protagonist of the franchise as she was the one who united all of them by being longtime friends with most of the cast. Jen was a cast member who always spoke her mind and constantly kept all the ladies on their toes, since they never knew the next thing she would say.
Shah Became The Villain of the RHOSLC
Jen was seen as the protagonist but quickly became the story's villain because she started tormenting each cast member, which wasn't giving her a good look. Meredith Marks was the only one willing to call out Jen to her face about her outbursts regarding Mary Cosby. This was a shock for Jen as she considered Meredith one of her great friends, so she resorted to spreading rumors about her having an affair. Jen began to bad-mouth most of the ladies, but her reign of torment ended when she was arrested in Season Two for fraud. She was going through a very difficult time in her life once her arrest happened, and her emotions were heightened, but this did not give her the excuse to treat everyone around her poorly.
Anytime someone in the cast would try to question her about anything in her life, she would take things very personally and start screaming at the ladies. She could not have a civil conversation because everyone feared her reactions. Had she never been arrested and continued being on the show, she would have made viewers turn away as she wanted to be the center of attention. She would have tried to continue having them all be on her side unfairly, and she would have ruined this beloved franchise. Even though Jen was at the center of most of the conflict shown in The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, the ladies could show they did not need her anymore as they continued the show without her.
Jen Would Go From Zero to Boiling Point, And It Wasn't Cute
When participating in The Real Housewives franchise, the women need to have a personality that will captivate viewers and make them watch them week after week. Their personalities must be over the top, as viewers will relate to the women and be open about everything they have going on. The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City brought a different perspective, since viewers had an idea of what women from Utah were like. Still, these women opened viewers' eyes to how Utah has evolved slowly in their culture. Jen Shah was at the franchise's center in 2020 since she had a relationship with all women before the show. She was the person who connected everyone, and this unique group of women was brought together thanks to Jen.
Even though she was the protagonist of it all, Jen was still out of the ordinary because her personality was very over the top in a good way, but she also had a very bad side to her. With only one episode into the series, viewers saw how explosive Jen could get whenever someone wronged her. She planned a party for Meredith Marks, and during the party, she freaked out when she saw Mary Cosby because she had made an insensitive comment regarding her smell as she had just returned from the hospital. It was bad that Mary made that comment, but seeing Jen start yelling about it and making a scene at her party was embarrassing. Luckily, she had her ally Heather Gay with her to try to calm her down, but it always took many tries until someone could bring her back to zero.
Loyalty Means Everything To Jen Shah
Loyalty was everything to her, and she always wanted to ensure her friends had her back. Heather represented that well to her, but it wasn't enough as Meredith became closer to Mary. Jen was the type of person who always needed to be right, and seeing one of her closest friends not be loyal to her struck a nerve and made her see red. To fight back against Meredith, Jen started speaking about a rumor that Meredith was cheating on her husband, which was something that Meredith did not appreciate. Jen slowly but surely began spreading rumors about her friends whenever she felt they had wronged her. Whitney Rose was wrapped in everything as she tried to warn Jen that Meredith and Lisa Barlow feared her. It was a known fact that the cast feared Jen. Whitney even said it in her confessional in Season One by saying she was open to Jen about it because she feared it would get back to her. She knew Jen would be upset with what Whitney saw as a way of being loyal, but it bit her back since Jen had an explosive reaction to the news she received and started throwing drinks in a rage at her husband's birthday party.
Jen's reaction not only turned away viewers, but her own family did not appreciate how she would have her outbursts. After the birthday party fiasco, Coach Sharrief Shah had to take time away from her because he felt embarrassed by his wife's behavior. He received a lot of hate throughout the first season, as viewers thought he was enabling her behavior and wasn't someone who would bring her back to reality. In the Season Two premiere, she said about Sharrieff, "Sharrieff felt like he wasn't a positive influence in my life, like he couldn't help me." Her outburst became so bad that he had even thought about divorcing her. Jen didn't realize how her outburst affected her and the people closest to her, and this "bad girl behavior" was not a good look for her.
The RHOSLC Ladies Do Not Need Jen
After Jen left the show, seeing if the ladies could handle being the stars was nerve-wracking since she had brought much of the storyline in the first three seasons. However, Season Four proved that the ladies never needed Jen, and they could get the drama and the fun without her. Seen as the core four of the franchise, Heather Gay, Meredith Marks, Whitney Rose, and Lisa Barlow shook up everything in Season four, including Monica Garcia and Angie Katsanevas. They each had their storylines, with Heather being the shining star and uncovering Monica as Reality Von Tease. The ladies have brought the drama, "the rumourz and the nastiness," and shown they can carry a season without dealing with petty outbursts.
The ladies are preparing for their fifth season, and Mary Cosby will officially return to a full-time position as alliances shift once more in Salt Lake City. Things are always changing for these snowflakes, and this season is no different as they will be reeling from the past drama of Reality Von Tease. Jen Shah is currently 19 months into her 5-year jail sentence, but it's clear RHOSLC has long since moved on from her drama, and is now seen as someone from the past. The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City premieres September 18 and is available to stream on Peacock.
