The 5 Most Dramatic Moments From The Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City Season 3 Premiere
"The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" definitely has its way of keeping fans entertained whether a season is airing or not. Between their social media battles and legal trial updates, it's a never-ending drama with them. Still, nothing quite compares to the chaotic energy of watching them hash it all out, so it's good to know the long wait is finally over and Season 3 has finally aired.
As always, they did not disappoint. After an explosive Bravo promo trailer, the premiere episode of "RHOSLC" Season 3 delivered on the drama front. While everyone may have expected the entire season to cover Jen Shah's trial, her fellow cast members had their own drama to tackle, and it looks like every one of the ladies is set to have her own saga this season. From OG besties Heather Gay and Whitney Rose's imminent clash to the aftermath of Lisa Barlow and Meredith Marks' fallout.
There's definitely no shortage of drama this season, and while much of it is still building, the ladies definitely kept fans entertained with a fair share of drama from the very first episode. Here's a roundup of five of the most dramatic moments from the premiere episode — although with them, every second delivers drama.
Meredith Marks comes for Lisa Barlow's marriage
Season 2 of "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" was jam-packed full of drama, but the note it ended on was arguably the peak of it all. In a shocking and unexpected raw moment, Lisa Barlow was caught on camera in the midst of a rageful rant unleashing all of her darkest thoughts and rumors about ex-bestie, Meredith Marks. She, of course, blamed the moment on producers, per Page Six. From accusing her entire life of being fake to claiming that Marks has been cheating on her husband. It was an earful.
With the two finally returning to screens after an explosive reunion episode where it seemed they would never reconcile, Marks immediately kicked the season off by making it clear she has no plans for reconciliation. In one of her very first moments during the premiere episode, Marks did a bit of her own ranting as she debriefed with husband Seth Marks about it all and threw in her own digs (via The Salt Lake Tribune).
Marks implied that Barlow's business was failing and in need of crowdfunding, but what really stirred the pot was her hinting that Barlow was performing favors for clients to get them to pick up her Vida Tequila. When asked by a producer if she was insinuating "sexual favors" Marks simply shadily shrugged. Thanks to the promo, we now know this rumor is set to continue to spiral throughout the season.
Whitney Rose reveals where she stands with the Mormon church
Set in a heavily Mormon community, "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" has often addressed the religion. Mormonism was especially explored by Heather Gay as she opened up about her own tumultuous journey with the religion, one that led her to write a whole book about it, per People. One cast member that's always had a seemingly okay relationship with the Mormon community was Whitney Rose, but she shocked fans in this premiere episode as she opened up about where she stands with Mormonism today.
While opening up about her journey toward healing and recovering from her past childhood trauma, Rose revealed that she has made the decision to separate herself from the Mormon church (via Daily Mail). Rose revealed, "I came to the realization that I'm ready to close that chapter and leave officially and ask them to remove my name." Having left the church herself, even Gay was surprised by this change of heart. Rose made it very clear that she has not taken this decision lightly and is doing it for the sake of protecting her children from what she considers to be the church's limiting beliefs.
Rose also shared some shocking reasons behind her choice, one of which being the fact that having her name still be part of the Mormon Church meant constant tracking of her whereabouts. Rose has rarely outwardly spoken about how she feels about the Mormon Church, but she is determined to remove this "tether" as part of her healing journey.
Jen Shah insists she is innocent
The ups and downs of Jen Shah's legal battle are arguably one of the most entertaining parts of "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City." Season 2 was so extremely dramatic to the point where fans got to watch the moment when homeland security barged into a parking lot searching for a missing Shah (via People). Accusations were thrown, so were a few drinks, and ultimately the saga took over the entire season. So of course, with a trial awaiting, fans were excited to watch it continue to unfold on camera. The plot took a bit of a turn however when Shah flipped the script and pleaded guilty to her charges, per Vulture.
Ah, the gift of poor timing and filming schedules. Now that fans know that Shah ends up pleading guilty, it makes watching the early episodes of the season all the more riveting and somewhat cringe-worthy. One of the most notably dramatic moments of the premiere episode already has to be the moment when Shah verbatim plainly states, "I'm not going to take a plea deal when I'm not guilty. I'm innocent" (via Newsweek). Well, that definitely didn't age well. Shah goes on to question every other defendant for taking a plea deal, which doesn't look all that great either. Here's hoping that we'll all get to watch the shocking moment Shah decides to flip as the season continues to air.
Lisa Barlow tries to confront Meredith Marks
Mid-way through the premiere episode, fans definitely got an earful of precisely where Meredith Marks stands when it comes to Lisa Barlow. She was not here for it, and in fact, she was determined to bring her down. However, after an entire three-part reunion special filled with Barlow pleading for Marks' forgiveness (via NBC), it looks like she remains in the exact same spot. Barlow first opens up to frenemy Heather Gay about the situation and Gay's own take on it is that there's no chance of Barlow eating "humble pie" and taking responsibility for where she went wrong (via The Hollywood Gossip).
Well, it looks like Barlow has taken on Gay's advice, as she proceeds to repeatedly attempt to speak to Marks at Sharrieff Shah's birthday party later in the episode. When she fails to get her attention, Barlow makes an interesting move by instead forcing Seth Marks to hear her out. During the uncomfortable tearful exchange, Barlow repeatedly apologizes and attempts to take back everything she said during the hot mic moment (via E! Online).
Meredith doesn't take too well to the approach as she points out that Barlow has had plenty of time to apologize to them both, and questions her choice to confront Seth at this given time months later. Season 3 is likely to have countless moments of Barlow attempting to reach out to Meredith, the only question is whether Meredith will "engage" or not.
Whitney Rose gets caught in the middle
Perhaps one of the most dramatic moments of the premiere is one that has yet to happen. Any true "Real Housewives" fan knows the most exciting part of any episode is the "next on," and this one gave a lot to look forward to. While the building blocks of Meredith Marks and Lisa Barlow's back-and-forth rumor mill saga have been set, it looks like Whitney Rose is about to jam herself right in the middle of it all.
"The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" is already giving fans a mini-trip episode only two episodes into the season. On this trip, it appears Rose plays telephone as she bounces back and forth from listening to Marks insinuate that Barlow is giving sexual "favors" to clients, while also convincing Barlow to apologize, and simultaneously spilling the tea to bestie Heather Gay. This won't be the first time Rose gets caught up in the middle of others' drama, but if the Bravo Season 3 promo is anything to go by, this involvement is likely to cost her a few friendships.