Covid, reality show a Real ‘slap in the face’ for housewife
STARRING in a high-profile reality show and mixing in a pandemic are not the usual ingredients for a successful recipe to mend an already-strained marriage. But Real Housewife of Salt Lake City Meredith Marks credits the pressure-cooker of both for fixing her relationship with husband Seth.
“I’m probably the only one on the planet who could say Real Housewives coupled with Covid saved my marriage,” Marks laughs down the phone from her Utah home. “It was like crazy because we were on a very positive trajectory at the end of last season, and then with Covid it was sort like finalising the last bit of that. And, oh my gosh, Covid made us realise what matters in this world – we could be dead tomorrow, we don’t know what’s going to happen. You take things a lot more seriously and you re-evaluate and prioritise what’s important to you.
“It was a slap in the face that probably saved us. It was that final piece where we’re both like, ‘We can do this and we want to do this and we need to do this’.”
Season 2 of this newest franchise in the super-popular series started on Hayu this week and we got to reunite with Housewives Marks, Lisa Barlow, Mary Cosby, Heather
Gay, Whitney Rose, and Jen Shah. And also meet new cast member Jennie Nguyen as she navigates her next chapter as a stay-at-home mum to three kids after selling her medical spas. Tensions are apparent from that first episode as these famous Utahns and their friendships are put to the test, especially as shocking, new allegations emerge.
Marks confirms there’ll be more drama this year. “The one thing I will say is no matter what – unless you are half-dead – you are going to be entertained by this season,” she laughs. “It’s fabulously crazy. There’s quite a few more personal stories you will see.
“And conflict – you will see a lot of conflict. I think I have conflict with everybody at some point. There was a lot of drama. A lot.”
Marks is renowned for disengaging with the conflict which dominates all franchises. While she says she stands by her policy of staying out of arguments if “nothing positive would come from it”, she stands her ground much more this season, and the trailer hints especially with her rival Shah.
It was an emotional time for the 49-yearold mother of three – as they started filming for this second season, her beloved father passed away after a battle with Alzheimer’s.
“This season I definitely engaged more,” Marks says. “I was a little more on edge (after I lost my father) a little more easily excited.”
While Utah is renowned for its mostly
Mormon population, Marks is Jewish. And, yes, she does feel like a minority. “But it’s fine for me, everyone does what they believe and practises what they want to practise,” she says.
The high-end jewellery designer pauses when asked what she enjoys most about being on the show. “Honestly, it’s the growth that it has forced for me,” she says. “(I was attracted to do the show) for a combination of reasons. First – I thought what a great thing for my business; second it’s an experience that normally people would not have the opportunity to do and finally I just thought it would be nice to have a voice and maybe do something positive in this world.”
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City is now streaming on hayu.