When it comes to thenewly sentencedJen Shah,theReal Housewives of Salt Lake City’sHeather Gaywishes she knew then what she knows now.
“I met her right before westarted filming,” theBad Mormonauthor tells PEOPLE exclusively of her former “ride or die” best friend. “I only knew her peripherally before that and I got swept up into it, much like the audience did.”
“I would love to rewrite the book and say that I’m smarter and wiser and was less duped than I was, but I bought into all of it,” adds Gay, 40. “As we know now, it was all a lie, and I think that it’s important to remember why we fall for these types of charismatic people, and that’s how the book is written.”
Simon & Schuster / Gallery Books
Shah, 49, was arrested in March 2021 and subsequently charged for her role in atelemarketing and fraud scheme.On Jan. 6, she was sentenced to serve 6.5 years in prison and is due to report on Feb. 17 to FPC Bryan in Texas.
In her book, Gay speaks quite highly of Shah, recalling how she suggested her for a new reality show she was joining that needed “diversity” in its cast.
“When she walks into a room, she leads with her charisma. She’s got smarts, grit, survival instinct, soul and loyalty. But perhaps the best part about Jen is that she is just like us: fallible and human. She is messy and she is not afraid to own it. Queen bee may be debatable, but there is no doubt that in this cast, Jen is MVP.”
Chad Kirkland/Bravo
Gay even flew to New York with co-starMeredith Marksto be close to Shah for the trial.
“Everything changed when she pled guilty,” Gay says when asked if she’s still in communication with Shah. “This has been dragged out for so long. I’ve been anticipating her not being a part of it [the show] for a while.”
Nicole Weinagart/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
“Well, you have to consider I really was tempted to rewrite history, given the context of everything that’s come to light with Jen and her crimes,” Gay explains. “My goal when I wrote the book was to write it from my perspective as it occurred.”
“I wrote about what it felt like when I was 8,” Gay shares. “I wrote about what it felt like when I was 12. I wrote about what it felt like when I was 15, to be interrogated about touching myself.”
Heather Gay.Koury Angelo
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Bad Mormonis available wherever books are sold on Feb. 7.
source: people.com
