The former assistant to Jen Shah is accused of creating a fake Instagram account to expose and humiliate her former friend and co-star.
Monica Garcia, one of the stars of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, is facing a lot of criticism from her fellow cast members after the shocking season 4 finale. The episode, which aired on Tuesday, January 9, 2024, revealed that Monica was allegedly behind a trolling account called Reality Von Tease, which was dedicated to exposing and humiliating Jen Shah, who is currently serving a five-year prison sentence for her role in a telemarketing scheme.
Monica’s Alleged Role in Reality Von Tease
Reality Von Tease was created over three years ago by an anonymous user who claimed to have insider information about Jen’s shady business practices. The account posted videos and photos that allegedly showed Jen’s illegal activities, such as lying to customers, stealing money from investors, and manipulating her employees. The account also targeted other former Housewives who had connections with Jen, such as Heather Gay, Lisa Barlow, Meredith Marks, and Whitney Rose.
The cast members of RHOSLC were unaware of the existence of Reality Von Tease until they discovered it on their final day in Bermuda. Heather Gay explained that she found out about the account from her longtime hairdresser and friend of Monica’s, Tenesha. Tenesha confessed that she helped Monica create the account and post some of the content. Heather confronted Monica at dinner and accused her of being a cyberbully who deceived all of them.
Monica initially denied her involvement in the account, but later admitted that she posted some videos that she recorded of Jen when she worked for her as an assistant. She claimed that she did not say anything bad about anyone else other than Jen and that she was just telling the truth. She also said that several other people were responsible for the account, including Tenesha.
Monica’s Shocking Comments at the Reunion
At the reunion special on Tuesday night, Monica made some more shocking comments that further angered her co-stars. She said that she thought the cast “sucked” before she joined the show and that she only joined because she wanted to be like Kim Kardashian. She also said that she used Jen as a stepping stone to get on TV and that she had an agenda against her.
Heather Gay played a recording of a voice memo that sounded similar to Monica’s voice on Heather’s phone. In the recording, Monica allegedly said: “F—ing Kim Kardashian was a f—ing assistant and look at that bitch now.” Heather then asked Monica if she ever thought about how her actions would affect others. Monica replied: “I can fully admit that the whole reason why I was an assistant and putting up with that s— was as a stepping stone and as a learning experience.”
Monica also doubled down on her claims and speculated that Heather had an agenda against her too. She said: “I didn’t [know you were on the show]. I didn’t even know you were going to be here.” She added: “You’re not my friend either.”
The cast members were visibly upset by Monica’s remarks and expressed their disappointment in her behavior. Lisa Barlow said: “You’re not our friend either.” Meredith Marks said: “You’re not our friend either.” Whitney Rose said: “You’re not our friend either.” Angie Katsanevas said: “You’re not our friend either.”
The Legal Battle Between Heather and Monica
The reunion special also revealed another shocking twist in the drama between Heather Gay and Monica Garcia. It turned out that they have been involved in a legal battle over an alleged botched liposuction procedure at Beauty Lab + Laser , Heather’s med spa company.
According to court documents obtained by People magazine, Heather sued Garcia in August 2023 for breach of contract after Garcia failed to pay for $10K worth of liposuction services performed by Beauty Lab + Laser . Garcia countersued in September 2023 , claiming in a court filingthat the procedure was “botched” and negligently performed. She also accused Heather of defamation , fraud ,and emotional distress .
Heather admitted in November 2023 at Variety’s Women of Reality TV dinner that she has no plans to film with Garcia ever again . She said: “I don’t think I ever will , ever . It’s pretty definitive for myself . I can’t speak for my other cast members but for me , it’s pretty clear.” She also alluded to what happened on their final day in Bermuda , calling it “beyond anything I’ve ever experienced in my own life or anything I’ve seen on television.”