RHOSLC’s Heather Gay Recalls How She Met Jen Shah: Biggest Revelations From ‘Bad Mormon’

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RHOSLC's Heather Gay Recalls How She Met Jen Shah: Biggest Revelations From 'Bad Mormon'

Not holding back. Heather Gay is the latest Real Housewife to add "author" to her resume — and she wasn't afraid to bare it all. The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star, 48, released her first memoir, Bad Mormon, on Tuesday, February 7. The book covers everything from her childhood and post-college stint as a missionary to her marriage to ex-husband Billy Gay. "No one's ever asked me to write my story before, and so when the opportunity came up, I jumped at it," the Bravo personality exclusively told Us Weekly ahead of the book's release. "But I really felt like it was important if I was going to break the legacy of generations before me, I wanted to make sure that I told it with my voice, with my experience, from my perspective ... and that I left no stone unturned. And it felt like the only way to do that was with a book." In the memoir, the reality star details her upbringing in the Church of Christ of Latter-day Saints and her subsequent decision to step back from the religion. When she decided to join RHOSLC, she consulted her bishop about the series — and he told her not to sign on. "Don’t do it," Heather recalled him telling her in the book. “It’s not worth it. And if you do, make sure you carry around a glass of milk when you’re at parties with alcohol.” [jwplayer uGFwdDP0-zhNYySv2] The Beauty Lab + Laser founder considered his words for a month, but she eventually decided to make her own choices. "One day, in an instant, I realized that I didn't have to do what the bishop said," she wrote. "I could do whatever I wanted. I wasn't beholden to him or any other man. And maybe he was wrong. Maybe God wanted me to walk around parties with a martini instead of milk." While much of Bad Mormon takes place before Heather became a Real Housewife, there are still a few juicy anecdotes about her RHOSLC castmates. The first time she hung out with Whitney Rose one-on-one was when the Wild Rose Beauty founder, 36, enlisted her as the photographer for a boudoir photo shoot. The esthetician and her cousin were once thick as thieves — earning themselves the nickname Bad Weather — but Heather told Us that they're still currently on the "friendship break" that began during season 3 of RHOSLC. "I think this is really how Whitney wants it to be," Heather explained. "She wants to be on her own. She doesn't want to feel obligation or loyalty, and I'm kind of an obligation-loyalty girl. So, I don't know. I don't see any stormy weather for bad weather. I think it's clear skies from here on out. She's doing her thing and I'll do mine." Keep scrolling for the biggest revelations from Heather's memoir, Bad Mormon:

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Heather Was a Child Prodigy

The California native "got a full-ride scholarship" to the University of Utah based on her piano skills. "Thanks to the dutiful lessons of my homemaking mother my Mormon desire to fill my house with music, I had been a child prodigy in Colorado, winning state competitions and performing around the nation," she wrote. Her parents, however, encouraged her to go to Brigham Young University instead, offering to pay her the equivalent of her scholarship plus her first year of tuition if she agreed to attend the Mormon-affiliated school. Heather ultimately graduated from BYU with a bachelor's degree in humanities.

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How Her Marriage Imploded

Heather and Billy tied the knot just three and a half months after they began dating. During their honeymoon, however, the former missionary realized she "already wanted out" of the marriage. Tensions erupted when the pair's eldest daughter, Ashley, was baptized and her father wanted to change the time of the event. After Heather refused, Billy threatened to move out. While he didn't leave right away, the former couple eventually separated, and Billy later filed for divorce.

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Heather's 2012 DUI

The Ultimate Girls Trip star confirmed that she was arrested for driving under the influence in 2012. Her RHOSLC costar Lisa Barlow previously mentioned the incident during the season 2 reunion in 2022.

"There was no mug shot, no jail cell, no walk of shame. But there were plenty of charges," Heather wrote. "First they filed a charge of DUI metabolite, only to dismiss it and then refile a charge of DUI, which they then reduced to a charge of reckless driving. In 2012, the legal limit for drinking and driving was 0.08 BAC, and even though I tested well underneath that at 0.05, filing charges was still at the officer's discretion. It felt like a horrible black mark on my soul."

Credit: Courtesy of Diana Weeks Willardson/Instagram

Her Connection to 'The Bachelor'

Heather is friends with Diana Weeks Willardson, who competed on Sean Lowe's season of The Bachelor in 2013. Sean, now 39, eliminated Diana, 41, because he thought she wasn't willing to relocate from Salt Lake City. Heather, however, claimed that a producer heard Diana had "hooked up with" Jef Holm, who won Emily Maynard's season of The Bachelorette in 2012. "It was not the crossover they were looking for," Heather quipped.

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How She Met Jen Shah

Before casting for RHOSLC began, Heather met Jen, 49, at work. "Jen was a BeautyLabber, and she was fabulous," the BYU alum wrote. "Full stop. Every time she came by, she would be dressed head to toe in Gucci silks and four-inch heels. When she walked into a room, she led with her charisma. She had street smarts and survival instincts. But the magical part about Jen Shah was also the part that made her fallible and human. She was messy, and she owned it."

Credit: Chad Kirkland/Bravo

Whitney Wasn't Initially Cast on 'RHOSLC'

According to Heather, Whitney was edited out of the first sizzle reel of RHOSLC along with Angie Harrington, who joined as a "friend" of the Housewives in season 3. "It was a wake-up call to the fickle world we were joining," Heather wrote. "If Whitney could be edited out ... how disposable were the rest of us?"