“The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City ”producers: What did they know and when?!

Lester Fabian Brathwaite
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One nagging question remained after Monica Garcia was revealed as a former internet troll: Did the producers know?

The delirious fallout from the season finale of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City continues, as loyal fans and casual viewers have been gleefully ensnared in Monica Garcia's web of deception. But how did she pull it off?

One has to wonder if the producers knew Monica was one of the people behind the Real Housewives Insta blog Reality Von Tease when they hired her for the show's fourth season.

Well, apparently they were as blindsided as Heather Gay and the other ladies. A source familiar with the situation tells EW that "production wasn’t aware when she was cast."

<p>Meredith Andrews/Bravo</p> Monica Garcia on 'The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City'

Meredith Andrews/Bravo

Monica Garcia on 'The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City'

Monica had worked for Shah before she got tossed in jail for her role in a telemarketing scam that conned money from senior citizens, among others. The producers milked this connection when Monica debuted on the show, but they had no idea what surprises she had in store for everyone.

"While they were aware of her connection with Jen Shah, they were completely unaware of the information that Heather discovered in Bermuda," a source told ET. "Heather's revelation came as a surprise to the producers, much like the unexpected FBI visit at the Beauty Lab & Laser parking lot during season 2 involving Jen."

A.) Props for touting a previous season's stunts. And B.) What is in the water in Salt Lake City? While other franchises are dealing with cheating husbands and subpar cheese boards, RHOSLC has federal criminals, social media subterfuge, and — lest we forget — an alleged cult leader. This show just hits different.

On the finale, Heather, in the most dramatic fashion possible (while securing that center snowflake), unveiled Monica's season-long secret: that she was helping to run the Reality Von Tease account, which was instrumental in Shah's downfall and had taken to trolling the other ladies over the past few years.

Not since Leah McSweeney's first season on The Real Housewives of New York have we had a more auspicious Housewife debut. Unlike Leah, however, Monica has completely upended the franchise's formula. More and more, these shows have been playing fast and loose with the fourth wall, but Monica's actions have burned that wall to the goddamn ground.

And it's perhaps for the best. After all, the formula was beginning to show signs of wear and tear — a rebooted RHONY was fun but no where near as intriguing as just two minutes of the RHOSLC season 4 finale.

The saga continues next week when part one of the RHOSLC three-part reunion airs Jan. 9 at 8pm ET on Bravo.

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