Bravo’s “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” will be one housewife short next season.
Newcomer Monica Garcia will not reunite with her “Real Housewives” co-stars for Season 5 after her fiery debut season on the Bravo series, multiple outlets reported. News of Garcia’s exit dropped amid this week’s bombshell Season 4 finale, which revealed she helped run a shady gossip Instagram page known as Reality Von Tease.
“The women just need a cooling off period, and I think it’s just too soon,” showrunner Lori Gordon told Variety. “They’ve articulated it. It’s too soon for them to reenter into a friendship.”
Garcia’s Reality Von Tease Instagram page was dedicated to sharing gossip about former “Salt Lake” star Jen Shah, Garcia’s former boss, who was sentenced last year to 6½ years in prison for wire fraud. In addition to Shah, other “Salt Lake City” housewives were ridiculed on the Instagram account.
During the Bermuda-set finale, “RHOSLC” star Heather Gay engaged in a heated exchange with Garcia about her Instagram page. “Receipts. Proof. Timeline. Screenshots,” Gay said, coining the now-viral phrase.
Executive producer Andy Cohen told Variety that Garcia’s return would have been possible — if she had made amends with her castmates after the big reveal. “But she didn’t do that,” he told the outlet.
Cohen doubled down on his sentiments in Wednesday’s episode of “Radio Andy,” his SiriusXM show. “We are going to have a cooling off period,” he said, before citing the contentious reunion.
He continued: “We all discussed it ad nauseam that it would be best to kind of let this one breathe for a while.”
Despite Garcia’s grand reveal, the team behind “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” is still open to future appearances. “Never say never,” Gordon told Variety.
Times staff writer Meredith Blake contributed to this report.
