Jen Shah insists she has no ill will toward Andy Cohen, after he made it clear he didn’t want to see her return to “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” following her release from prison.
The reality star, 52, was released early in December 2025, after being sentenced to 6.5 years in January 2023 for her involvement in a fraudulent telemarketing scheme.
This week, she opened up about her time behind bars at FPC Bryan in Texas, as well as her hopes for the future in an interview with PEOPLE.
Jen Shah’s Message to Andy Cohen
Shah’s interview comes after Cohen said in a behind-the-scenes video shared by Queens of Bravo from a “Watch What Happens Live” taping that while he wished her the best, he “never” wanted to see her again either. He was also adamant she wouldn’t be back on RHOSLC, or “anything that I’m working on,” and didn’t think Bravo would want to work with her on future projects either.
“Andy has a right to his opinion,” Shah told PEOPLE. “And without me being able to talk to him or without me being able to even speak at the time at all, people rightly so made their own judgments and had their own comments.”
“With the legal process, between pleading and sentencing, you have to do a lot of work, so I was directed by counsel to not give any interviews,” she continued. “That was hard because I wanted to talk and address the false narratives that were taking on a life of their own about me. But I was being advised it wasn’t the right time.”
Of Cohen’s comments, she added, “I don’t really take a lot of it to heart.”
“Andy has been very professional to me and to my team — I know my team has spoken to him while I’ve been gone,” she continued. “So I just base my opinions on what my own interaction has been with him.”
Would Jen Shah Want to Return to RHOSLC?
While Cohen made is sound like she won’t be asked back, Shah was asked by PEOPLE whether she’d want to return in the first place.
“I mean, never say never, right?” she told the publication. “I appreciate the show and the time I had on it because it did afford me a platform that I wasn’t able to have before. I guess right now at this time anything is possible.”
She also vowed to “move forward with integrity,” in the hopes she could “show others that I have learned from my past and can make better choices going forward.”
“People can make mistakes, but we don’t have to stay stuck in those mistakes,” she added. “We can learn from those mistakes and move forward with integrity, with intention, with accountability, and be better. I hope that people will find it in their hearts to have that mercy and grace, and offer others the chance to change.”
Where Jen Stands with Her Former Costars
Elsewhere in her interview with PEOPLE, Shah revealed where she stands with the rest of the women in the cast. She said Meredith Marks was the only person who “has been consistent throughout this whole journey” about checking in .
“While I was gone, she and [Meredith’s husband] Seth would reach out to [Jen’s husband] Coach and just check in and send their love. So yeah, we’ve talked. I called her while I was gone and I spoke with her when I got home,” Shah told PEOPLE.
She also said she reached out to Mary Cosby following the death of Mary’s son, Robert Jr., back in February.
“Lisa Barlow is somebody that I’m sure I could pick up where I left off with her and talk to her,” she added, before saying she hoped the other women would be open to hearing from her as well.
I have not read how the victims are going to be reimbursed. Everything else is garbage,