Mention It All - Move Over, MomTok; RHOSLC Is Back Ft. Heather Gay

Episode Date: September 16, 2024

Utah has been the talk of the town lately, but with a new season of RHOSLC almost here, OG Heather Gay is back in the studio to remind everyone which Mormon wife was here first. She and Dylan chat about last season’s massive impact, and what it was like coming back to do it all again so quickly. Heather discusses the new women in the cast, and what makes the group so strong (despite the ever-present conflicts). Later, Heather talks about The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, and why she wishes she had a group like MomTok when she was younger. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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See Home Depot.com slash price match for details. Betches Media presents. Ha ha, laugh, funny. Mention It All, a Bravo by Betches podcast. We don't say that, but now we said it. With me, Dylan Hafer. We're going to check me, boo. Hey, everyone, welcome back to the Mention and All podcast.

I am so excited to have Real Housewives of Salt Lake City finally coming back for season five. And of course, I had to get one of our OGs in the house to talk about it. So Heather Gay is in the studio. Welcome back to the show, Heather. Thank you for having me. It's a thrill to be back. How are you doing? How's life? Life is good. Life is great, actually, and I'm super excited for season five to kick off and start. Season, it feels kind of crazy that we're on season five of this show already because thinking back, you know, Salt Lake City was a pandemic birth of this show. And then it felt like, you know, a couple seasons passed. And all of a sudden it was like, oh, wow, this is, we get this every year. And it's always good. And season five is here.

The premiere is a lot of fun. The premiere is a lot of fun. I know what you mean, though. It's like we had a baby, and it's like we were a baby for so long, and then you, like, turn around and the baby's walking. Like, we're five years old now. Like, we've been around for five seasons, and I think it was such a weird time when we started that we all, it's kind of surprised all of us in a way.

And we're still together, you know, five OGs from season one to remain, which is, I've heard is a landmark thing. Yeah, it's pretty exciting. And obviously, Mary has been, she was off the show for a season. She came back last season a little bit. And then now she's full time again. Fully back. Like, Mary is back in a way that is going to surprise viewers.

And they're going to want to tune in every week to see the ways that Mary Cosby is back in the game. Yeah, I was thinking about that because obviously we got a good amount of Mary last year. But in the sense of like group scenes, commenting on other people's actions and things like that. Like action by omission. Like by refusing to participate. She had a lot of screen time. But it's been a long time since we really like spent time with Mary. And that's, it's always a journey.

It is a journey. I just really enjoyed seeing all the different sides of Mary. She just really opens up and she's kind of vulnerable in a way that we've never really seen from her. And our friendships have evolved. You know, it really, it makes a lot of sense because Jen was kind of a big issue for Mary. And with her gone, Mary's allowed herself to just fully. participate and be back in it.

Yeah, it's interesting to think about five seasons, five, five or so years that you guys have all been doing this as a group. And obviously a lot has happened, you know, on the show with other cast members, things like that. But like also just like five years in your life as a person, like you, you grow and change and, you know, make choices and have new things coming up and your kids are getting older. And it's a lot of life just to live in this. kind of microcosm of being on a TV show like this. Yeah, I feel like I've been on hyper speed.

I mean, the last five years have changed my life immeasurably, not only just going from being like a struggling single mom with three like preteen daughters to now, I'm practically an empty nester. I have two daughters in college, one at home. We've changed houses. I've written two books. Like I just feel like my life has been on hyper speed and I can't remember, you know, what it felt like to start it because my life has changed so. much and I just feel every day like stunned by it but like totally grateful. Yeah. And I think your, I mean, people really love real housewives of Salt Lake City. And I think that maybe even because it's a newer show, people that aren't necessarily like housewives devotees have been able to kind

of dip their toes in a little bit with Salt Lake. And I mean, I have friends that are like, I don't really watch Housewives, but like Salt Lake. There's something there. And I'm curious, So going into this season, your season finale last year was so epic and became such a cultural moment. Feminamon. Yes. And I mean, you guys have had some big, obviously, you know, all of the Jen stuff became very, you know, big news when that was happening. But I think it felt like a sort of a rare moment of a real Housewives episode moment that wasn't somebody going to jail. It wasn't somebody getting arrested.

It was like, oh, no, this episode of this dinner in Bermuda was just like so crazy. So what was it like for you to kind of live through that whole end of season time, but then have to come back and do it again? And do it again. Well, you know, like you said, Salt Lake City Housewives have been through this before. I mean, we thought we could never top Beauty Lab and Laser Parking lot having a SWAT team descend upon us, you know? Yeah. And we thought there were moments, you know, just moments in time. that could never be recreated.

And so we never tried to. And then we had a moment like Bermuda and reality vantes and all of that finale, which was just incredible and like has put Salt Lake City Housewives on a completely new, I say like in Mario, we leveled up, you know, like we were having attention from places we never expected. So we are used to that kind of pressure of coming back. And I think that we came back with this dynamic cast and like a lot of expectation. and we definitely met it.

I had so much fun filming season five. Everyone did. And our friendships are different. Our relationships have evolved. And I don't know if it's five years together or just the way that that night in Bermuda really unified us. But it was a lot. And the viewers saw a small portion of it,

but there was a lot that went behind that conversation that we had on the beach, you know, four women on a beach. And kind of the way that our relationship shifted. And I write about all of it in my new book. But it's just I really, I try to touch on all of it because writing about it really helped me process like everything we've been through. But we're used to pressure. Yeah.

We like pressure. And I think that people will be thrilled. Yeah. I think watching the premiere, it was, it was interesting to kind of get a little bit more of like, okay, that intense thing happened. You guys did the reunion. But then it was like, where do the friendships that are left? You know, obviously Monica's not on this season And I think it would have been really, you know, there were people that were like,

how dare they not bring her back? But it's like, how would that work? Yeah. But then watching the rest of you as a group still sort of have, you know, there's questions about who Meredith had been DMing with. And there's questions about sort of other people's loyalty and all of that stuff. Like just because, you know, Monica's not on the show, doesn't mean that that the whole thing that happened doesn't have other kind of aftershocks.

Yeah, we were dealing with so much, so, we were dealing with so many issues. And then Reality Bonteas just came out of left field. So we put a pin in all of our personal issues, dealt with that. And now we're back. Salt Lake City Housewives are back and we still have beef with each other. It's like, oh, yeah, like Meredith and Angie still kind of hate each other. Yeah, still really ate each other, you know. There's a scroll of grievances.

Yeah. There's so much to see and enjoy. And I think that once we started filming, you know, reality von T's, nobody mentioned her. because we didn't miss her, you know, and we were back. So good, so good, so good. Everything you want for summer is at Nordstrom rack stores now and up to 60% off. Stock up and save on the brands you love like Vince, Sam Edelman, Frame, and Free People.

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Brittany. In the premiere, like, the first little clip that we got of her, I'm like, okay, there's something there's something there. She seems interesting. The first thing we learn about her is that she has just recently stopped dating Donnie and Marie Usman's nephew. Right. Tell me a little bit about Brittany and sort of bringing her on the show and what it was

like having her this season and what we can expect. Well, Brittany is a lot of fun. She's a lot of mess. She's a lot of drama. And she, you know, brings her relationship full front center. You're going to hear a lot of our opinions about her relationship, the ups and downs of it. And it gives me, you know, total pleasure to say Jared Osmond and say, nephew of Donnie and Marie every chance I can. But, you know, the Osmond's are a fixture in Utah and they are a fixture in Mormonism.

And so it just feels really right that it should circle back and that Salt Lake City Housewives should have that Osmond connection. And Britney's, I think Britney's a lot of fun, you know, she puts it all out there, which is great television probably. Yeah, I think you guys have had, I mean, having five OGs still on the cast in season five is kind of wild, but then you've had some characters come along over the years. And I mean, Angie Katanavis, I think, is somebody who people, I think she had a little bit of a polarizing thing about her when she was first on the show that some people were like,

oh, she's such a flop. it's not working. She's trying too hard. And then there was kind of a time last season where I feel like the switch flipped a little bit. Yeah. It was like, oh, she's kind of iconic. I think the moment was when she was late for the shuttle van in Bermuda and she came running

out like on her stiletto heels in the Angie K run. And it's like the sunglasses are going to be big. You know, there's going to be some big moment. But you, I mean, with Bronwyn coming on this season too, it's like just the visual right off the bat. It's like, okay, this is somebody I want to know more about. Yeah, watch, see more about and like learn more about. And yeah, Angie Kay comes on with a vengeance. People are going to see so much from her. And I think once like that tide kind of turned, people got her that it wasn't put on for camera. She is pure camp. And same with Broneman.

I mean, these women are dynamic and like fully who they are. And, you know, really there's a lot of drama. There's fun and there's drama. Yeah, I think that's something too that like your cast, I think, has always done a good job of feeling like there are real stakes with the personal relationships, but then also like I'm always laughing when I'm watching the show. And I feel like there's never, there's never an episode where it feels like there's only the intense stuff or the dark stuff. Like it feels like there really is kind of that balance of everything. And I'm wondering, like, do you feel like when you're filming the season that you feel kind of a pressure to? to bring both of those to the table? Or do you think that that kind of unfolds naturally

if you have the right group? Well, I think it unfolds, I think the drama unfolds naturally when you put all of these women in couture at a dinner table. I mean, I think that that's just a law of nature at this point. But the comedy comes from like deep trauma coping mechanisms. You know, like making everything funny is just how I think I've always gone through life. And I think that it's the same for a lot of us.

It doesn't matter how dark it gets. We can find a way to make a joke out of it or enjoy ourselves and have fun. And that might be something unique to Salt Lake City. It's definitely something that, like, I feel like I can laugh in the most dramatic of times. We can find the humor in it. Going into the season, in the premiere, I kind of found myself realizing, like, it seems like there are some big conflicts going into the season that you have somehow managed to steer clear of. there's issues between Lisa and Whitney, there's issues between Whitney and Meredith.

And I wonder, did you feel kind of like, wait, this season might be like a little bit easier for me? Or is it hard when you're in it to kind of be like, okay, like, I don't have to worry about this, this, or this. Like, how did you feel kind of going into the season? I went going into the season, like, honestly loving these women, like deeply and like forgetting why I ever fought with them one time. Because it just was such a transformative thing for me what happened in Bermuda. And I've been thinking so much about it

and like it really changed the way I felt about them and wanted to treat them. And so like all of a sudden they were all my sisters. No one could do any wrong. You know, that didn't last. That didn't last. But that was the energy I kind of went into it. So I think initially, you know,

you see me like having issues, but at the core of it, just feeling love and gratitude. for these friendships and wanting to preserve my friendships at all costs. Unfortunately, as is with housewives, that doesn't last long. You know, like we get into, I get into it with everybody this season a little bit. But at the core of it, I felt like our relationships were changed. And I don't, you know, that meant something to me.

So knowing that you kind of were feeling that like sisterhood energy, was it frustrating for you to watch other people in the cast maybe like not be able to dial into that? Yeah, absolutely. I just want to be like, you know, raise our, Higher selves, ladies, hire selves. Remember how much we care. Remember how much we love each other? You're like, everyone can make bath products.

It's okay. There's enough bath bombs in the world to go around. But, you know, what I also love about these women is, like, who they are at the core, you know? And, like, there are no small issues to Meredith Marks. You know, there is, there is, she doesn't overlook things, you know, like that. And, like, I love that about her. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I think that's something also, like, being on the show and just knowing people for,

such a long time now. It's like you're able to kind of, you understand what's going to be maybe a trigger to somebody else or whether something is going to be just like a small little argument or whether this is something that's going to become an issue that's going to extend and evolve and stuff. So you can kind of like navigate those situations maybe with a little bit more context versus like a season one where you're kind of like, if I throw this bomb, is it going to explode or is nobody going to care? Right. Like we're less paranoid and less threatened. because we've been friends for longer. And we've been through more together.

I mean, think of what we've been through together. We've been through a lot. And the only people that can understand what we've been through is each other. And that kind of lends us to a level of understanding and respect. We still drive each other crazy. But, you know, just like in any dysfunctional family, there's just a foundation of love and respect that, you know, we try to remember. I, you know, I say this and like, I know what's coming in the next episodes, you know.

I mean, we're at the beginning of a long season. Yeah. Long season. So love, friendship and happiness and rainbows, it does not last, but it's there somewhere in the mix. Yeah. And I think like, I mean, you kind of have to have the memory of a goldfish sometimes. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

We love each other. We love each other. Best friends. You're like, yeah, of course I get along with everybody at the beginning of the season. How could I not? Right. Exactly. Like, stay tuned.

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College PC. Secret lives of Mormon Wides Show has been blowing up. And I saw that you threw your hat in the ring in an Instagram comment section to host their potential reunion. What are your thoughts on that show? I mean, I think we talked last time I saw you about how being in Utah, it's not like if you live in New York or L.A. where there's a million shows happening all the time. Like, I have to think that knowing that there's another, another, like, show that honestly, a lot of these women are almost feel like watching you if we had had a camera on you like 20 years ago.

go just with TikTok, I guess. I know, it makes me want to cry. Like, I longed for a community of women that were bad Mormons. You know, I didn't know bad Mormons existed. And I, like, I think that there is such a space for, like, this is my community, you know, and these, to hear them kind of pull the curtain back on their lives and to be really vulnerable and honest about their experiences, like, I mean, you mix that with TikTok. It would have been bad Mormon 15, 20 years ago or 10, I don't even know how old I am now. It's like dog ears. But, you know, I, I am, I never thought that a Mormon would be like openly Mormon on

reality TV, let alone secret lives of Mormon wives. This is all new. Well, it's interesting because obviously that has been one piece of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, but it's almost like, okay, if you had a show with like eight, 25-year-old Heather Gay's I know. I mean, I wish I was hot as the secret lives of Mormon wives. But, yeah, they are. speaking my language. They are talking about things that resonate with me.

Yeah. I've only, I mean, I've wanting to binge the whole thing start to finish, but what I've seen, I'm just like can't pull my eyes away. Yeah. I'm curious. So DeMe, who's on the show is married to Angie Harrington's X. X, yep. I'm wondering, like, do you have any, have you, like, met any of them or do you have connections with any of that cast? I've met, I know Brett, met Demi. She's stunning and cool. And I love that she's really, like, honest about culture and empowering women in the secret lives. And I just think I'm proud of her. And I don't know the other women personally, but like they're all, I know all of their stories in a weird, intimate way. Yeah. I think reading, I mean, because I read your first book and I feel like

there is kind of that feeling where it's like so many people in that community, I'm sure, have really similar experiences in a way where it's like, you know, everybody has their individual life, but like when you are kind of in that community, it's like so many things kind of line up for everyone. A lot of similarities. A lot of bad Mormon really resonated with people, and I never understood why, because it was just my story. You know, and you just think your story's just basic bitch. But like when it applies to so many people and there's so many others that have had that same experience, like, it's validating. I know that seems weird, but to watch the show feels like, did you read bad Mormon? I said that same thing, the same exact thing, you know, is kind of

validated for me. Well, and I saw that you have a TV project in development where you were like calling for people to kind of submit their stories. Yeah. And I feel like that's something where like it's because of bad Mormon and being open about that stuff that like other people maybe might have felt like they were the only one who had that story or at least if other people had it that it wasn't something to talk about or to share. Yeah, to kind of when you share your own story, it gives other people permission to share theirs. And there is something healing. in it. And yeah, so I never thought I'd be, I never thought I'd put my face on a book that said bad Mormon. I was too like, you know, afraid. Yeah. So this is like, when I say my life has

changed, like it's really changed. Like I hardly recognize myself, you know, but it's, it's, it makes, it works, you know. Well, and you've put your face now on another book. And this one you, you are not just bad woman on the cover. My face and my belly. You're topless on the cover of this one. But your book comes out in December, right? Yeah. First week of December, December. number third. Okay. How are we? It seems fast, right? But that's how I operate. How, like, how do you feel about this book versus the first one, knowing that now maybe it's not like you're sharing all of this stuff for the first time? Like, you've, you've kind of been an open book already, and this is maybe like part two.

Well, I realized how much I loved the process of writing and how it just really allowed me to kind of work through feelings. And when I wrote Bad Mormon, my life was just beginning to change. And so now Good Time Girl is kind of like with more time and distance from the church and from things that have plagued me the last few years. You know, I'm able to really speak about it in a way that it helped me work through it by writing the book. And the book is really just goes where Bad Mormon was afraid to, but it also is more about my life after it was changed. You know, Bad Mormon was leaving the church and Good Time Girl is like thriving. Yeah. It's been a crazy few years in the life of Heather Gay.

Really? It really has. Like, thank you, Andy Cohen. God pledge. You know, in the name of the father, the son, and Andy Cohen, like, changed my life forever. Totally. I'm going to be in Miami in November for the Bravo. Yeah, for the fan fest.

That's going to be exciting. I'm glad it's like we're not doing BravoCon this year, but we get a little something. It's like a mini, a mini, and it's in Miami in November, which is like heaven. Miami for Thanksgiving. I know. I'm so excited. Super excited about that. What are you most excited for and maybe most apprehensive for this season that's starting to air now?

I mean, I'm apprehensive every time before I see an episode because you never, you know, it's all a blur. It's all a fog, so you're not sure what. And I always, you know, make a fool of myself. So I'm looking forward to that with apprehension. But highlights, you know, we had a lot of fun on our trips. We go, one of our cast trips is so cool. It's like the cool city in the world and we never realized until we got there. So I'm looking forward to that.

I don't know if I can say where we're going yet. I don't know. You never know. So one of our trips, one of our many trips is so cool. Well, and you guys, you had a little bit of like delayed, delayed trip status with your international vacations. Yeah. It took till season four to go international. And now, and then season five, you'd think that we'd go halfway around the world.

But we stay pretty close to home. It's okay. We love to see wherever you are. Yeah. We're just settling in. Just give us a break, America. we're just coming back from a lot. Sometimes it's not,

sometimes you don't need to be on like an 18 hour flight. True, true. I don't think we would have survived, honestly. We need like body cams on everybody on that plane. That's where all the drama goes down, you know. Well, I'm so excited for this season. I'm so excited for everything you have coming up. And thanks for being here.

Thanks for having me. It's always a thrill. Thanks, Heather. And thanks everyone for listening. Don't forget to rate, review, and follow the show wherever you listen. And until next time, be cool. Don't be all like uncool.

Mention It All podcast is produced by Dylan Hafer and Bell Roman. Editing by Bell Roman, social media by Dylan Hafer and Candice Maniga, guest booking by Ali Friedlander. VP of Podcast is Chris Allen, and be sure to follow Bravo by Betches. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava Theater stage on April 30th, the powerful vocals of Demi Lovato on May 17th, and the signature Southern Country Rock of Eric Church on July 19th. Tickets on sale now at Yamava Theater.com.

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