Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’s Meredith Marks Secretly Separated From Husband Seth Before Filming: What We Know

Credit: Courtesy of Meredith Marks/Instagram

Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’s Meredith Marks Secretly Separated From Husband Seth Before Filming: What We Know

Is the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City franchise already heading for its first divorce? During the second episode of the first season, Meredith Marks and her husband, Seth Marks, revealed they had secretly separated before filming began. "Seth and I have been together for a really long time," she told the Bravo cameras. "We met when we were 23, got married at 24 and had a baby at 25. It was just a tornado that came through and that was it. I was young but head-over-heels in love, so I went for it." During an awkward dinner on the November 18 episode, Seth asked his wife if he’s told her friends that they are “separated.” She replied, “It's not like I'm running around talking about this to everyone. I prefer they don't discuss it." Meredith and Seth wed in 1996 and share three adult children: Reid, Chloe and Brooks. "Over the years, it just broke down," she explained on RHOSLC of their marriage. "We moved many times. We kind of were uprooted — I was trying to start my company, he was running his business, we had the three kids. There was just no communication and hostility built, and built and built, and we just got so totally overwhelmed that we just were completely disconnected." [jwplayer DhA4Nvhg] During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Meredith admitted it was “extremely difficult” to talk about their marital issues on the Bravo show. “It was a very big deal for me and it was hard. It was not something I was accustomed to talking about. It was not something I really wanted to talk about,” she explained. “But I had to and was forced to talk a lot more than I even wanted to, by some of the women. And that to me is not being a good friend, you know, to me being a good friend is respecting somebody's space and their privacy when they need it.” In the end, though, Meredith doesn’t regret letting the cameras in. “Initially, of course, you're very self-conscious and you're very aware that the cameras are there. Surprisingly, as I watched the first episode, really very little of what we filmed in the first week or so aired,” she explained. “It was obviously, like, I was uncomfortable yet. But as time goes on, you just live your life and you know, this is what you signed up for. So, what gets recorded, it gets recorded, and in my view, I am who I am love it or hate it. If you hate it, take a pass. No problem. I mean, I have to live my life and I can't be something.” Before season 1 finished airing, Meredith revealed that the twosome are giving things another shot. The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City airs on Bravo Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET. Scroll through for everything we know about Meredith and Seth’s marriage:

Credit: Courtesy of Meredith Marks/Instagram

Their Kids

Meredith and Seth’s son Brooks quickly stole the show during the premiere. According to the Salt Lake City Housewife, fans will continue to see Brooks and Chloe on the show, but her eldest son, Reid, was working “crazy hours” in New York City during production.

“My kids were surprisingly very supportive [of the separation]. I mean, by the time they knew anything, they were all out of the house and they were very much like, ‘You know what, Mom, we want you and dad to be happy, do what you guys need to do to be happy, whatever that means for you,’” she recalled to Us. “And I was very relieved. I'll be honest. It was a huge relief and a huge burden off of me.”

Credit: Courtesy of Meredith Marks/Instagram

On and Off for Years

According to Meredith, the twosome have been “separated on and off for years.”

She explained, “We were 100 percent private about it. Our own children didn't know we were separated living in the same home, raising our kids, trying our best to keep a strong parental front for our children.”

Meredith admitted that the twosome have even “dated other people from time to time” during their marriage.

“There's been a lot of stuff that's gone on and I had to let my kids know about all of this before I really was comfortable, you know, opening up to the other women or to the world for that matter,” she told Us.

Credit: Courtesy of Meredith Marks/Instagram

The Divorce Filing

According to the Chicago Tribute, Seth filed for divorce from Meredith in August 2019. Four months later, he dropped his petition in December 2019. While Bravo has yet to confirm when RHOSLC started production, Meredith’s birthday party was featured on the premiere and filmed that same month, per social media evidence.

“I can tell you that that was dismissed. I can tell you that much, so we’re obviously not getting divorced. I don’t want to give too much away because I want you guys to watch and see and be invested in the whole process,” Meredith told the outlet.

Credit: Courtesy of Meredith Marks/Instagram

The Rumors

In the trailer for the season, Meredith faces rumors that she’s seeing someone who isn’t Seth.

"That was something that was very upsetting for me," she told Entertainment Tonight about the accusations. "To be throwing things out there when you don't know if they're true or false, you don't know what's going on, you don't know what's rumor, is upsetting, very upsetting."

Credit: Courtesy of Meredith Marks/Instagram

Playing Coy

Meredith played coy about their current status during an interview with Us too. “I’d rather say that you should watch and see, but I will say we have three beautiful children together. We basically grew up together,” she said in November. “I mean, we met at 23 years old, so we're always going to have a relationship together and above and beyond that watch and see. I want everyone to be invested in my journey. I don't want to give away any endings.”

Credit: Chad Kirkland/Bravo

Back On After Therapy

Meredith revealed in December 2020 that the twosome are back together after going to counseling.

"We love each other. He's my best friend and he always will be,” she told People magazine. "We decided to try and start over. We just hit some blips in the road and needed to regroup and reconnect."

Meredith added that filming RHOSLC “saved” their marriage. "While we have had many other separations in the past and at times dated other people, last winter during filming we were not dating other people and we very focused to see if we could repair our relationship," she said. "The show really forces you to be very introspective and really think about the things you say and how they impact other people."