Heather Gay Explains How Filming RHOSLC Helped Her Get Over Her Divorce
The RHOSLC cast member also opened up about the "aha moment" that changed her opinion of Mormonism.
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Heather Gay is getting real about her personal life. The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City mom of three chatted with The Daily Dish podcast on the November 28 episode, opening up about her divorce and how her community of devout Mormon friends have reacted to her decision to join the show.
When asked how fresh her divorce was when she began filming RHOSLC, Heather explained that it’s been a few years.
“I mean, we separated nine years ago, but we’ve been officially divorced for five. And it’s still fresh to me. Like it still is painful. I can barely say ex-husband, I always say the girls’ father, or my husband. It’s hard for me to even say that,” explained Heather. “I never lead with me being divorced. I don’t know why. It’s like a giant scarlet letter, like this giant stamp of failure. I’ve never been able to really break away from it.”
Although Heather has struggled to cope with the divorce for years, she noted that her experience with RHOSLC has really helped her deal with it.
“Throughout filming, I was able to see myself as independent and as an individual. And this has been like, I wouldn’t say therapeutic, but it’s been healing to kind of come into my own a little bit,” she said. “Now I can say ex-husband, I can say I’m divorced without, you know, trembling and crying.”
Heather also explained what her ex-husband thinks of the show.
“He was supportive for the most part. You know, he’s a devout Mormon and it’s a huge departure from his core values. He’s nervous about how it’ll affect me as a mother and our children. But you know, he’s letting me do it. He supports us financially and emotionally, but I raise the kids and they’re with me 100 percent of the time. So, it’s more like he’s just laughing, silently judging from afar,” she said, laughing.
The med-spa owner went on to explain the moment she began to reframe some of her opinions about Mormonism.
“The aha moment was really my daughters. I mean, I really thought I was setting this great example. I thought, OK, I already got divorced. Now I have to double down and even be a better mom, a stricter mom, more Mormon of a mom,” Heather said. "It was really when I kind of looked at them and recognized that I was setting them up to have the same sort of conflict that I was experiencing myself. Because I was endorsing something I didn’t truly believe in. That was my aha moment.”
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For more from Heather, check out the clip, below.
