Meredith Marks gave fans a bit of hope for the future of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. The reality series, which is currently airing Season 5, started with Jen Shah as part of its cast. But her downfall was marked with her getting arrested and sent to jail on camera and with Monica Garcia coming on the show to try and air out the dirty laundry of the other wives. While many fans missed Shah's antics, Marks seemed to think the door was still open for her when PEOPLE spoke with her at the Bravo Fan Fest 2024 in Miami.
Shah is currently serving a sentence for her role in a telemarketing scheme. As of this moment, Shah is set to be released in December 2027. That is decidedly some time away from the current season of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. But Marks shared that she spoke with Shah on the phone. Previously, Marks, Lisa Barlow, and Heather Gay all said on Watch What Happens Live that they'd rather have Shah back on the show instead of Garcia when asked by Andy Cohen. The phone call that Marks had with Shah is reportedly on a new episode of the show.
She shared with PEOPLE that the call was light. "First of all, it was a 10 minute call — that's all you're allowed — and it's on a recorded line by the government, so I was very careful because I didn't know what I'm supposed to say or not say," she said. "It was pretty surface. 'How are you? How are the kids? How's Sharrieff?' stuff like that." She went on to talk about how she was just happy to hear Shah's voice. "I was just happy to hear her voice again. She sounds like she's doing well. She sounds like she's really working on herself. And I was glad to hear that."
Meredith Marks Thinks Jen Shah's Accountability Goes a Long Way
The sudden change in the housewives in response to Shah is surprising and according to Marks, it comes down to Shah's behavior in prison. "Accountability goes a long way in our circle," Marks said to PEOPLE. "If you say, 'Look, I screwed up and I made a mistake and I'm sorry' — that matters. If she's taking accountability and doing what she needs to do to make it better, that's the best she can do right now. There's nothing else she can do beyond that."
She went on to talk about how everyone is human and makes mistakes and that Shah is paying for what she did. "We're human. We all do things that we're not proud of that are wrong at times," Marks said. "This is a big one, obviously; it's a bad one. But she's in prison. She's serving her time. She's paying restitution. I mean, she's not earning a ton of money, but she's doing what she can. And thats all a big price to pay. I don't know what more you can ask from her."
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake CIty airs on Bravo and can be streamed on Peacock.
