From one cast member being sentenced to 6.5 years in prison to another being exposed for running a troll account targeting their co-stars, it’s fair to say that The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City is one of the most iconic reality shows to emerge this decade.
The series, which is loved by celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence, Sarah Paulson and Rihanna, recently returned for its fifth season on Hayu proving that the level of drama isn’t decreasing anytime soon.
To celebrate the release of the new season, two of the show’s stars Whitney Rose and Heather Gay - of “receipts, proof, timeline, screenshots” fame - visited Australia this week as part of SXSW Sydney and Primeville Sweet Spot. Yahoo Lifestyle was lucky enough to interview the pair, also known as ‘Bad Weather’, the ‘Buzzin’ Cousins’ and ‘Laverne and Shirley’, and ask all of the burning questions about the reality TV juggernaut.
Will they ever do a cast trip to Australia?
After extending their visit to Sydney to stay for the entire week, the pair admit they’re “laying the groundwork for a cast trip” to Australia in the future.
“We're trying to find [Heather] a tradie so that we can get her pregnant and come back,” Whitney jokes, to which Heather adds, “Yeah, for the birth to meet with the father!”
“Actually, no pregnancy. We can just have an encounter and we'll come back for a reunion,” Heather continues. “I’ll have this mysterious tradie from Down Under, and then everyone will come out to see if he really exists.”
The duo share that their trip to Australia has been a “marvel of wonders” and they’re “thrilled by everything” - from eating a sausage roll to meeting a cassowary.
“It has been fabulous. Everywhere we turn we have an adventure and that's what I think has been the best part,” Whitney gushes.
How did they repair their friendship?
While Heather and Whitney were locked in a feud for the majority of last season, ‘Bad Weather’ assert that their friendship is currently “sunny skies”.
“It’s never been better because Australia has blessed our union, and we feel the power of this great nation on our friendship,” Heather remarks. “We’ve not been able to be together away from the cast and just ourselves as friends, so it's fun just to remember how much we enjoy each other.”
“The lingerie fight [last season], everything was in shambles, and then Bermuda healed it for me.”
How did Whitney and Mary become friends again?
Perhaps one of the most surprising developments this season is the newfound friendship between Whitney and Mary Cosby - who famously called her a “little girl” and a “bobblehead”. While fans were particularly stunned seeing the pair express their love for one another in a recent episode, Whitney explains that they managed to patch things up simply by taking responsibility for their actions and “moving on”.
“Honestly, it's proof that if you can just take accountability and apologise and not repeat things that hurt each other, you can rebuild a friendship,” Whitney shares.
“This season, seeing Mary just be herself and be more comfortable is so amazing, because in the past, we haven't really seen Mary. There's so much going on around her that we didn't get to see her shine as a mother and as a friend. It's wild to me, but I love Mary and she's amazing. She's so supportive and she's texting me like, ‘Good luck! Do a good job!’.”
Why have the show's opening credits never changed?
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City cast members have a new tagline every season, however, the series has notably never changed its opening credits. Rather than film new looks for the intro, fans have seen the same shots of the women wearing champagne-coloured outfits for the past five seasons - with new cast members dressing to fit in with the existing theme.
While Heather acknowledges there have been “grumbles” amongst the cast to redo the intro, she confesses she hopes the opening credits never change.
“We all have had massive glow-ups - I, for sure, have had a glow-up from season one - but there’s a part of me that doesn't want it to ever change,” she says. “Because when I see that person, I just am so grateful to her for having the ballsack to do that in that dress and that outfit, and to show up and put herself out there not knowing what would come and not having any of the fun or the perks.
“Like, she didn't get to go to Australia? She just was putting on a $100 jumpsuit and pretending to hold a snowflake, you know? I just can't believe how much my life has transformed, so it's a great reminder for me. I hope it never changes.”
Whitney also argues that it’s “a bit of a status symbol” having the same opening credits since season one, adding: “All of us OGs still have our original and as they add new people, obviously they're more current with how they look, but we all look the same and it's like, we're the OGs. I think it's kind of cool.”
How do they feel about inspiring Charli XCX's 2024 album ‘Brat’?
Charli XCX is a self-professed super fan of RHOSLC and tweeted in January 2024 that her then-untitled sixth studio album “is very much giving Housewives of Salt Lake City”. Fast forward a few months and the aforementioned album now titled Brat has become one of the biggest pop culture phenomenons of the 21st century - so do Heather and Whitney feel like they deserve some credit?
“I definitely don't think, ‘We did this’, but I feel like a part of the community,” Heather says. “Especially, I mean, I'm old, so to feel young, to feel engaged, to feel connected to such a tastemaker of that generation, it just makes me feel alive and it gives me tons of credibility with my children. Full leverage.”
“I got to pop on her Watch What Happens Live she did as a guest caller,” Whitney adds. “They reached out and said, ‘Will you surprise her? She's a fan’ and it was amazing. Her new album, the song ‘Von Dutch’ I feel is my season five anthem.
“And another really cool moment was her label reached out and asked [my daughter] Bobbi and I to do the ‘Apple’ dance. Bobbi and I did it and I feel like I've seen a lot of ‘Apple’ dances, but Bobbi and I executed it. Like, we nailed it.”
What do they think of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives?
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City may have put Utah’s capital on the reality TV map, but The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives gave viewers a brand new perspective on the city and its culture when it premiered this year.
Heather and Whitney, who are both ex-Mormons, reveal they know the cast “peripherally” from attending similar events and they “absolutely” watched the series.
“It was just really validating, especially for me with my book ‘Bad Mormon’, because I wrote about a lot of that and a lot of it was dismissed or discounted, and now it's like, actually, that is who we were writing about,” Heather shares. “Those women, we’ve lived that life and the culture hasn't changed, you know? And it's nice to see some of the things that we've talked about that you haven't been able to see act out, play out in their lives. And I think it gives understanding to The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.”
“Heather and I've been talking about it for five years, and now to have another show validating what we're saying is pretty cool,” Whitney continues. “And I hope that they continue to go and keep diving deeper. I think every first season you're a little bit filtered and hesitant, so I'd love to see more of it.”
While Whitney admits she’s yet to meet TSLOMW’s Whitney Leavitt, she says she knows Jessi Ngatikaura through her business JZ Styles and Layla Taylor through her Prism events.
Which cast member will leave next season?
Each season of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City has typically seen at least one cast member leave, starting with Jennie Nguyen after season two, Jen Shah after season three, and Monica Garcia after season four. So, who do Heather and Whitney think will say goodbye after season five?
“That is a really tough question because season five was kind of a magical season where everybody played a really vital role,” Heather details. “And I've been advised not to chew up the young and spit them out anymore, so we're not going to! We’re going to keep everyone in the fold.”
“Yeah, I think that Salt Lake City does have a bit of a magic and I think this season I would like to genuinely - even though I despise some of the women right now, I would genuinely like to see everyone stay,” Whitney admits.
“I’ll never say die to my OGs. OGs for life,” Heather remarks, before quickly adding, “And Angie K counts as an OG”.
