Credit: Tammie Arroyo/AFF-USA.com/MEGA, PA Images/INSTARimages
Heather Gay is being blasted on social media by author Melanie Blake after ripping off her book cover.
Days after the 51-year-old Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star announced the upcoming release of her latest publication, Eternal Glow, Melanie, 49, called her out on Instagram and X, shading the move as “stupid” and “disappointing,” as Heather’s former castmate, Monica Garcia, 42, weighed in.
“I’ll address this [properly] tomorrow as [I] have tens of thousands of DMs flagging out the rip off of my [Ruthless Women] cover by [Heather Gay]’s publishing team — they do say copying is highest form of flattery but it’s fair to say — like millions of fans — I’m not f*cking happy about it,” Melanie wrote on her Instagram Story, via Reality TV Hot Tea on X. “And particularly stupid to think no one would notice when my book is an international bestseller in [nine] languages. As you’ll notice her cover is a mix of my UK design [and] Czech [color] scheme editions. Even though the stories are entirely different the cover snatch is f*cking disappointing to say the least.”
Melanie also reacted to the snatch on X, making it clear that she agreed with a fan, who signaled the red lining of Heather’s pages, which copied her own.
“Heather also added the red lining to the pages like your book. It’s not something I see often. She straight up just used your design and didn’t think anybody would notice ???!” the person asked.
Melanie then added her own comment.
“Today’s been interesting!” she wrote. “If you’d like to read my books they’re all available on Amazon … head to Insta as no sign of this story slowing down yet! Ironic that I’m out filming in Australia [and] I’m going global at the same time.”
Along with Melanie’s X message, she shared a video Georgio Takounakis had posted on Instagram.
“Heather Gay’s book is not even out yet, and it’s already getting backlash,” he had said in his clip. “It’s a novel, and the novel is very much along the lines of like, The Substance with Demi Moore, The Beauty on FX. The issue that everyone’s really having is that when she released this on Instagram and showed the book cover, people were quick to call out that this was really similar to another bestselling author’s book cover by Melanie Blake.”
“They have the same visual aesthetic. Like, if you sat them next to each other, you would absolutely assume that they’re by the same author or they’re part of a series because the elements on Heather’s book are pretty much the same elements that are on Melanie’s,” he continued.
Georgio then stated that, legally speaking, there’s not really anything Melanie could do because you “can’t really own a vibe or own an aesthetic.”
“But if you’re looking at it from a brand perspective, it’s lazy on Heather’s part for not doing the research,” he concluded.
View this post on Instagram
Following the sharing of Georgio’s post, Monica reshared the clip on her Instagram Story, along with a message shading Heather for her “matching red pages.”
Heather Gay’s new book is due out on October 6, 2026.