Jen Shah says she was 'played by Stuart Smith' in fraud case in fiery new RHOSLC season 3 trailer

Joey Nolfi
·3 min read
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The Shah Squad might be shaking in shambles after the premiere of Bravo's explosive new trailer for The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City season 3.

Amid the fallout from cast member Jen Shah's ongoing legal battle — in which she pled guilty in July to wire fraud in an alleged telemarketing scam — the Utah-based housewife claims she "got played by Stuart Smith," her former assistant who was arrested alongside her on similar charges in March 2021.

"I would not be in this thing at all if it wasn't for Stuart," Shah says. (Representatives for RHOSLC did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.)

Authorities previously alleged that the pair "carried out a wide-ranging telemarketing scheme that defrauded hundreds of victims," primarily vulnerable people over the age of 55, by reportedly selling them "'business services' in connection with the victims' purported online businesses."

Shah's attorney, Priya Chaudhry, later told EW in a statement that Shah "accepts full responsibility for her actions and deeply apologizes to all who have been harmed," and that she "pled guilty because she wants to pay her debt to society and put this ordeal behind her and her family."

The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City

Bravo (3) The new 'Real Housewives of Salt Lake City' season 3 trailer is explosive.

The legal case unfolded across season 2 of the series, with law enforcement pursuing Shah on camera as the show's cameras prepared to film the ladies as they drove to Aspen. Shah initially maintained her innocence before pleading guilty earlier this year. She reportedly faces up to 14 years in prison under the terms of the plea agreement.

Taking it all in, Heather Gay likens the unfurling drama in the season 3 trailer to the group "pulling at a thread on a sweater," and that it's only "the beginning" of a long road ahead. The clip eventually shows her pulling off a pair of sunglasses to reveal a bruised eye — which she later suggests may have been the result of a physical altercation. She's subsequently seen shoving her cousin, Whitney Rose, who, along with Meredith Marks, drops a bombshell allegation against another, unnamed party for performing "sexual favors."

Perhaps the wildest moment in the teaser, however, is Lisa Barlow gallivanting through an event in a head-to-toe orange bodysuit, asking, "Where's the Met Gala?"

This season of RHOSLC marks its first without Mary Cosby, who helped launch the show as part of the season 1 cast and made headlines after failing to show up to film the season 2 reunion.

While Cosby and Jennie Nguyen — who was fired from the show earlier this year over controversial social media posts from her past — do not appear in season 3, the show upgraded Angie Harrington and Angie Katsanevas to more substantial recurring roles on top of bringing newcomer Danna Bui-Negrete into the mix.

The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City season 3 premieres Sept. 28 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Watch the trailer above.

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