Credit: Instagram/angiekatsanevas
Angie Katsanevas shared where she stood with her estranged husband, Shawn Trujillo, during an interview on Monday.
As she also revealed how her 15-year-old daughter, Elektra, was coping with her split from Shawn, 55, reacted to the posts Lisa Barlow, 51, and Meredith Marks, 54, shared after Whitney Rose, 39, split from her husband Justin Rose, 58, and offered an update on her and Shawn’s businesses, the 52-year-old Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star admitted that when it came to her and Shawn’s dynamic, they’d remained in one another’s lives.
“Shawn and I are business partners, we’re family, we’re husband and wife of 30 years, we’re best friends,” Angie noted on Page Six’s Virtual Reali-Tea on September 7. “Obviously, we are loving parents, and everything we’ve done, we have done together, and we will continue to do everything together moving forward.”
Angie and Shawn, who got married in 1999, may not be romantic any longer, but they’ve stayed close both for Elektra and their businesses.
“We’re very present, loving parents … nothing has changed for her,” she explained. “I think she just feels loved and supported and very strong and confident in who she is and who her parents are, and that she is surrounded by love.”
Credit: Instagram/Angie K
After confirming that their breakup and “what the future looks like for [them]” would be featured on season seven, Angie admitted that while Heather Gay, 52, and Mary Cosby, 53, had been supportive of her amid her split, Lisa and Meredith hadn’t reached out.
Angie also took issue with the loved-up photo Lisa shared of her and her husband, John Barlow, and Meredith’s message about “irony in karma,” which were posted after the news of Whitney’s split.
“[It was] poor timing [and] heartless,” Angie stated. “I think when children and families are involved, that’s really nothing to make a post about. You can hold your thoughts to yourself, or better yet, release a post in support of families, marriages, and people with children. I think there’s a time and a place; I think it’s important to support your castmates when they’re down.”
Moving on to her Lunatic Fringe salons, which she shares with Shawn, Angie told Bravo Insider that they were “at mass capacity” after franchising to three different states.
“Just continued growth in our salons, continued focus on guest experience, and continuing to be a super-premium luxury salon and always striving to be the greatest salon in the world,” she revealed of their aspirations.
“We have been recognized nationally as one of the top salons in North America,” Angie continued. “So we’re just really continuing to focus on our franchise and our existing Lunatic Fringe salons locally here in Utah. Obviously, with the show, a lot of amazing opportunities continue to come. So there’s a lot of cool opportunities in the beauty industry.”
Angie has also gotten into politics, recently visiting Washington, D.C., where she testified before Congress about the importance of franchisors.
“I am also working with the International Franchise Association to help push a bill forward,” she explained. “I testified in front of Congress this year on behalf of franchise owners. I walked the steps of D.C. and went up into Capitol Hill and was one of the first Real Housewives to push a bill across the finish line, and my work has made a huge contribution and created awareness around franchises and franchise owners and the fact that we’re local businesses. Not huge corporations.”
Additionally, she and Shawn are helping their employees start their own businesses.
“We’re mom and pop shops. We’re local people that support our neighborhood. We serve our neighborhood. We provide career paths for team members to grow, and we’ve taken people that used to sweep hair for us, and now they own their own Lunatic Fringe salon,” she shared. “So we’ve helped them find a path forward to entrepreneurship and financial freedom. So we’ve been able to do a lot of cool things. When I started this, I never had set my sight on a multiple-locations franchise.”
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City season seven premieres on Wednesday, September 16, at 8/7c on Bravo.