Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah has been put through the wringer over this past year.
After being arrested on national television for participating in an alleged telemarketing scheme aimed at defrauding hundreds of victims, including the elderly, sources are now revealing that the legal woes piling up on Jen have been taking a “stressful” toll on her already shaky marriage to her husband, Sharrieff “Coach” Shah.
“It’s been a very stressful time,” a source told Us Weekly, adding that the arrest has “put a strain on their marriage.”
Before her arrest, Jen was already expressing she and Sharrieff were in trouble. In the season two premiere of RHOSLC, the star confessed to castmate Lisa Barlow that the two were possibly at the brink of divorce.
“I thought my entire world was ending,” she divulged. “Sharrieff felt like he wasn’t being a positive influence in my life. Like, he couldn’t help me. What I didn’t realize was how I was acting and because I hadn’t fully told him how I was feeling, it made him feel like he was the problem.”
Jen then went on to reveal that she was much closer to divorce than she originally thought.
“So, he was like ‘Ok, I have to leave.’ And at first, I thought, ‘Ok, this is just an argument. And then the next day, a divorce attorney contacted me. He had already reached out to a divorce attorney.”
Despite the allegations against Jen, the couple seems to be sticking together and attempting to ride out the storm as a tightknit unit.
The insider went on to say, “Jen and Coach are going strong.” They added, “They are taking it day by day, especially since every day brings something new.”
The Shahs are definitely going to need each other as Jen’s ongoing legal battle continues. The original arrest took place on March 30, when she and her then assistant, Stuart Smith, were arrested in regard to their individual roles in the alleged telemarketing scheme. While Jen has consistently maintained her innocence, Stuart recently pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice.
The Shahs are committed to “processing everything as a family,” the source said. “[Coach Shah] is there for Jen and is supporting her through all of this.” They then added, “They have a lot of love for each other. They’ve been through therapy, which really helped, and now, they are stronger than where they were months ago.”
Hopefully, Coach Shah still has enough pep in him to keep giving Jen his famous “Shah Pep Talks” as she’s likely going to need them with more and more legal drama probable in the coming months.
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City is currently airing Sundays at 9 p.m. EST on Bravo.