Jen Shah points the finger at her former assistant for the fraud scandal that will most likely put her in prison.
“I got played by Stuart Smith,” Shah, 48, tells a stunned Heather Gay and Meredith Marks in the Season 3 trailer for “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” released Wednesday.
“I would not be in this thing at all if it wasn’t for Stuart,” she claims.
Smith originally pleaded not guilty to three charges in connection with a telemarketing scheme that targeted elderly people, but he changed his plea to guilty in November 2021. He has not been sentenced.
Gay, 40, and Marks, 50, both appear to be on Team Shah throughout her legal troubles — despite Marks and Shah previously having a rocky relationship.
“Have either of you ever asked Jen if she’s guilty of any of these charges?” Marks’ husband, Seth Marks, asks the two ladies at one point in the trailer, with both women looking confused.
Later on, newcomer Danna Bui-Negrete alleges to Whitney Rose that she had a friend who used to work for Shah who is now “an informant.”
The sneak peek teases that Season 3 will focus on Shah’s legal woes and the guilty plea she entered at the last minute in July, right before she was set to stand trial.
Shah’s plea deal called for 11 to 14 years behind bars and restitution of up to $9.5 million.
Her sentencing is scheduled for November.
Page Six exclusively reported that Bravo cameras followed Shah leading up to her July court appearance, though Season 3 technically wrapped production earlier this year. Her March 2021 arrest was documented on “RHOSLC” Season 2.
However, the trailer also shows other storylines, including Lisa Barlow’s teenage son Jack debating not going to college, Rose, 36, unearthing her childhood trauma, Gay being ousted by her Mormon family and Barlow, 47, being accused of doing “sexual favors” for her Vida Tequila brand, among many more twists and intense arguments.
In addition to Bui-Negrete joining the cast, Angie Katsanevas and Angie Harrington — whom fans may remember feuding with longtime friend Barlow during Season 2 — will join the cast as “friends of the Housewives.”
“The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” Season 3 premieres Sept. 28 at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.
