The Gist:
- RHOSLC's Monica Garcia was ex-communicated from the Mormon church.
- She had an affair with her brother-in-law.
- Monica also had a difficult childhood.
We can't say enough good things about Monica Garcia, who joined the cast of Bravo's Real Housewives of Salt Lake City in Season 4. Along with Mary Crosby, she is returning as a friend but we wouldn't be surprised if she is eventually bumped up to housewife. Also we're calling it now, Monica is on the path to becoming a top-tier housewife.
It might be trite so say we already adore Monica because she's so funny and real, but she is absolutely hilarious and isn't feeding us any bulls--- just yet. Perhaps producers were looking to pivot as far away from Jen Shah as humanly possible. Of course like any human being, Monica is hardly without sin. In fact she told Heather Gay about an affair she had with her brother-in-law that lasted 18 months. The holidays must have been wild. Anyway, let's get into it.
Monica Garcia from 'RHOSLC' had an affair with her brother-in-law.
Obviously Heather Gay is the best cast member to confide in if one has to share why they were ex-communicated from the Mormon church. Heather's memoir is literally titled Bad Mormon, which is one of the many reasons why we love her despite the fact that she is frequently blamed for terrible seasons. There are no bad seasons, just bad mormons.
In Season 4, Episode 2, Monica and Heather are doing some retail therapy when Monica decides to steer the conversation into actual therapy territory. She admitted to Heather that after an 18-month-long affair with her brother-in-law, the church kicked her to the curb. "And you thought you were a bad Mormon," joked Monica to a stunned Heather.
Heather said what any of us would in this situation: "Shut up. Your husband's brother?" What a silly assumption to make. It was actually her husband's sister's husband. Hopefully you're still following this. A nearly two-year-long affair is quite a long time, yet Monica managed to avoid getting caught. Eventually she felt guilty and confessed. To no one's surprise, she was the only person ex-communicated. "They never excommunicate the men," said Heather.
This was probably Monica's way of trying to connect.
Later in the episode, Monica admitted to feeling nervous about an upcoming girls' trip to Palm Springs. She confessed to never going on a group trip with just women and felt a "little out of my league." This prompted her to waltz into a Louis Vuitton store in order to buy a bag "because I feel like I want to have something nice around them. I don't want to show up with nothing."
The floodgates then opened up with Monica digging into her childhood a bit. Apparently her father left when Monica was 4, and that was the last time she saw him. All she knows about him is he had a boyfriend and is gay, and moved to Florida after abandoning his family. It's no wonder she has a complicated relationship with men, as well as a deep desire to be liked. It sounds like some abandonment issues could be at play.
