Jen Shah’s Assistant Says ‘RHOSLC’ Cast Member Meredith Marks Is The Only One Reaching Out While In Prison

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Jen Shah’s assistant and close friend Murilo Bueno stated that Meredith Marks is the only Real Housewife of Salt Lake City star to reach out during her prison sentence.

“As far as I know, no [one is contacting Jen]. The only person that has reached out to me asking how she was doing was Meredith,” Bueno exclusively told Us Weekly.

“Other than that, no one has reached out — to me at least — and I’m pretty sure no one has with her as well.”

Bueno went on to say that the star, 49, has received family support after surrendering to FPC Bryan earlier in the year.

“She can have visitations every weekend. We are trying to stay up there as much as we can every weekend and we kind of just all spread out. We have a spreadsheet and everyone signs up so we can see who is going when. They finally changed COVID policy so now she can have more visitations through the month,” he continued.

Meredith Marks Photo: Instagram
Meredith Marks Photo: Instagram

“Before, it was once a month which limited everyone because it was the only Saturday, it was a second Saturday day of the month. So it just made it harder. And now it’s Saturday, Sunday, and then holidays as well. So we get to spend more time with her, which is awesome.”

The Utah star, who was on the series for quite a few seasons, was sentenced to 78 months with five years of supervised release.

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Shah shocked many with her legal challenges back in March 2021.

After pleading not guilty in court, the Bravo star later changed her plea. The U.S. Attorney’s office also dropped a charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering as a result.

Costar Meredith Marks admitted she was surprised on how involved Shah still was for filming season 2 of the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City amidst the legal issues.

Jen Shah / Instagram
Jen Shah / Instagram

“I can’t fathom any attorney advising that she should have [kept filming], which is why I was so surprised. I can understand why she might want to because she might want to get her story out there or profess her innocence or whatever it may be,” the jewelry designer exclusively shared with Us in September 2021.

“She may want to have a voice. I just can’t get my head around any lawyer under the sun ever advising a client in the same circumstances.”

Marks also claimed that she heard some rumors about the affair before the arrest of her RHOSLC costar.

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“Every single one of the ladies, including me … was DM’d information about Jen. So, knowing that and seeing how I could never understand what she did after all the questions that were asked, not just by me, but by the general public, and not understanding what any of these marketing companies were marketing or whatever. Yes, my eyebrows were raised.”

Marks even stood by her fellow cast member before the sentencing claiming she was “innocent until proven guilty at the end of the day.”

My friendship with Jen is a different standard, it’s not held to legal standards, but in terms of a crime, it is innocent till proven guilty and you know, the court of friendships a little bit different.”

Jen Shah pictured for Real Housewives of Salt Lake City (RHOSLC) / Chris Haston/Bravo
Jen Shah pictured for Real Housewives of Salt Lake City (RHOSLC) / Chris Haston/Bravo

Shah was not present at the reunion of the show due to the agreement with the network on the ongoing legal issue.

Marks said on the “Virtual Reali-Tea” podcast from Page-Six in December 2022, “[I hope] she has a chance to have a voice. Look, she’s been a huge part of not just season 3 but this entire, you know, show and for her to not have a chance to close all of that out?

“You know, obviously, as this season progresses and transpires, she’s hearing things she didn’t know about. That’s what happens to all of us. So for her to not have a chance to address that, to me, would be very sad.”

Shah’s assistant is also unsure if Sha will be coming back to reality TV after her sentence is served.

“I think she just wants to have a fresh start. She wants to be able to make a difference because she was experiencing and seeing a lot of different stories of women in there,” he told Us on Wednesday. “And I mean, I have always — from 10 years ago — said that Jen is my Kim Kardashian. So I’m like, ‘Can we go fight everyone with Kim?’ I’m gonna jump in of course for that friendship so they can go save some lives and get some people out of prison.”

Aside from the prison sentence, Shah is still hosting a “Shah-Mazing Abs” workout class from prison.

“Jen just wanted to keep herself busy and find ways that she could help people in this kind of way. Around the end of summer last year, I had been going to this gym and I had a trainer. I eventually motivated her to come with me and I feel like that has to have some part in [her teaching classes] because I feel like she figured that she was so much stronger than she thought,” Bueno explained.

“But she’s a lot physically stronger than she knows … She obviously learned that exercise helps with mental, physical, all around [health], so I think it’s also something she’s grasping to, to help others but also for herself.”

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