The third and final part of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City's dramatic season 4 reunion special finally shed new light on the drama over Heather Gay's black eye and what role Jen Shah allegedly played in the injury.
The special episode was jam-packed with the explosive arguments and heated exchanges that everyone expected -- especially as Monica Garcia was confronted about her double life as blogger Reality Von Tease.
However, the special also pointed a spotlight at Heather's assertion that the black eye she was sporting in season 3 was somehow caused by Jen. The claim surfaced during the turbulent season 4 finale and came as shock to Heather's castmates, Meredith Marks and Lisa Barlow.
On Tuesday, during the reunion special, the show presented a title card that gave some background context and explained that Heather woke up with a black eye on April 9, 2022, while the cast was on a girls' trip to San Diego. The show also stated that camera crews were not shooting at the time of the incident.
Host Andy Cohen pressed Heather about her comments, with the reality star sharing, "I mean, honestly, it was a lot of drinking, and the next morning, I woke up with the black eye. I knew I had gotten it from Jen. I didn't know how, but I knew I had gotten it from Jen."
"She was the first person I texted. She came in the room, she said, 'Did I give that to you?' and I said, 'Don't worry, I'll cover,'" Heather claimed.
Jen -- who is currently serving time behind bars after being convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud for her role in a telemarketing scam -- denied Heather's allegations.
In a statement shared on her Instagram Story from prison earlier this month, Jen addressed Bravo directly, saying, "BRAVO, if I punched Heather in her eye, you guys would have footage to prove it. It’s clear the show can’t live without me since I was brought up at the beginning, middle, and end of season 4."
As the show noted, however, it seems camera crews were not shooting at the time.
When asked why she agreed to cover for Jen regarding the black eye, Heather stated, "I don't know. I was scared of her, I think."
"I had been covering for her for three years, I was not going to stop at the black eye," Heather said. "I was that in and I was too scared to say anything. I was terrified to say it. I was still scared to say it at reunion. I was still scared to say it in Bermuda."
Andy also asked Heather about Jen's claims that she was not responsible and her implication that it's part of some stunt to capitalize on her fame while she's in prison and not on the show.
"Let me just start by saying, I'm sorry. I'm sorry to you, [Andy]. I'm sorry to you guys, [the cast]. I'm sorry to the network. I'm sorry to the audience. I didn't know how to navigate it myself," Heather said. "I knew that it was becoming bigger and more than I could handle. It was a horrible situation, ... I don't know how to say it, other than, like, I was scared."
Heather also admitted that she "started freaking out" when people, at the time of the injury, started talking about lawyers getting involved over the black eye because "all I had was that she had told me she had done it and that I said I'd cover for her."
At the time, Heather made up several cover stories about how she got the black eye and the lies led to an outcry and accusations that the show was covering up a crime in some capacity. Heather said she stayed away from social media for six months to avoid having to address it, and as the investigation got bigger, she and Jen agreed that they would just continue to deny anything unless the show had proof.
"She was never my friend," Heather said of Jen. "She pretended to be my friend and I fell for it and I will not fall for a pretend friend again. I was a different person then. I was worried about the retaliation. I'm still worried about the retaliation. ... There's enough distance now, but it's more than that. I was a different person when I started the show, and the person that would eat that s**t then is not going to do it now."
According to Heather, she was reminded of Jen's manipulative behavior when she confronted Monica in Bermuda about Reality Von Tease.
"You spun it. You deflected, and as I sat there thinking, like, 'This is familiar to me, I've been there before,... defending this behavior and I'm not going to do it again.' I never want to revisit this type of toxicity," Heather recalled, addressing Monica directly. "And if this is part of the job, then maybe it shouldn't be part of the job."
After an emotional moment between Heather and her castmates, the reality star shared, "I regret turning... all of you, in her defense," she said through tears. "I regret fighting her fight. I regret disrespecting my children and my family and my opportunity here. And I would say, I'm glad that you're in prison [Jen], because I may not have had the guts to do it otherwise."
As for Monica and her involvement in the show, the reunion ended on a note of uncertainty. All the ladies stated that there is a seemingly unsurmountable amount of distrust to continue in the future, but there's also a bit of catharsis as Monica tried to explain her actions in the context of trying to bring Jen down.
For more on this season's wild drama, see the video below.
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