Heather Gay Gives an Update on Relationship with Her Sister After Niece's RHOSLC Appearance
The RHOSLC cast member admitted on WWHL that her family has been handling her openness on the show "not well."
Heather Gay has been open about leaving the Mormon Church and the impact that decision has had on her life over the past two seasons of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. Some of Heather's family members have even followed in her footsteps, such as her eldest daughter, Ashley, who is figuring out the kind of life she wants to live as she prepares to leave home and go to college this season of RHOSLC.
In the November 7 episode of RHOSLC, Heather and Ashley heard from Heather's niece, Caroline, and her husband, Dean, about their recent decision to leave the Mormon Church (clip above). "Caroline is the golden middle daughter of my older sister, Jenny, who is the perfect Mormon," Heather said of her niece in an interview during the episode. "Caroline went on a mission, went to BYU, and now Caroline and her husband have decided that being Mormon isn't for them."
When Heather appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on November 14, one fan wanted to know what the Salt Lake City Housewife's relationship with her sister is like these days after experiencing that moment with her sister's daughter on national television. "We are handling it the way we do best, which is we don't say anything at all," Heather explained on WWHL. "We just don't mention it. It's the elephant in the room."
Later during the WWHL After Show, host Andy Cohen shared that Heather's brother was also in the Clubhouse audience that night and noted that we will see him later on this season of RHOSLC "in a very moving scene." Andy then asked Heather more about how her family has reacted to the conversations she's been having on RHOSLC about the Mormon faith and her decision to leave the Church, adding, "because it's very emotional, and I think you do such a wonderful job of explaining it all, and I'm learning so much."
Heather admitted that they were handling it all "not well." "You know, this is a huge betrayal, and it is, I think, probably devastating to them on a lot of levels. So we just don't speak of it, and they don't want to speak of it. They don't want to acknowledge it," she said in the below clip. "And I don't think they're happy about the fact that I've led the charge for my niece and now for my brother. And I think if I had never broken the seal on the tent, the water never would've gotten in."
She added, "I think the show and me going on the show and being public about it started the unraveling."
But opening up about her experience with the Mormon Church and her decision to ultimately leave the faith is something that Heather just had to do, she explained on WWHL. "It is such a huge part of my life, and it's really been, like, the thing that's made me stay alive," she said. "You know, it's this huge second chapter for me."
Andy underscored how life-changing RHOSLC has been for Heather after going through things that she had never experienced before, like receiving DMs from Rihanna and owning a booming business. "I mean, you're going through this kind of resurgence in your life," he told Heather.
And she couldn't agree more. "It's been the biggest, most transformative thing in my life, and it's given me hope and a future, which I did not have," she said. "I'm very grateful."
Heather is set to open up more about her life before RHOSLC, including her unexpected divorce and decision to leave the Mormon Church, in an upcoming memoir titled Bad Mormon. The forthcoming book is slated to hit shelves on July 26, 2022.
Want more RHOSLC? New episodes air every Sunday at 9/8c or catch up on every episode ever through the Bravo app.
