Heather Gay finally revealed what went down when Jen Shah gave her a black eye during Season 3 of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.”
To the cast’s surprise, Gay claimed during the Season 4 finale, which aired earlier this month, that Shah was responsible for injuring her while on the ladies’ 2022 cast trip to San Diego.
“I ate s–t every day for her,” the “Bad Mormon” author, 49, said of Shah, who is currently behind bars for defrauding the elderly.
“I felt like I had to lie to protect her. I did whatever it took. I went on a book tour and defended her and took s–t for the fact that she gave me a black eye.”
During the Season 4 reunion conclusion, which aired Tuesday night on Bravo, moderator Andy Cohen asked Gay to elaborate on how she got the hefty shiner.
“Honestly, it was a lot of drinking. And the next morning, I woke up with a black eye. I knew I had gotten it from Jen. I didn’t know how, but I knew I’d gotten it from Jen,” she explained.
“She was the first person I texted. She came in the room. She said, ‘Did I give that to you?’ And I said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll cover.’ … I had been covering for her for three years; I was not going to stop at the black eye.”
Gay, who claimed they were “both upset,” admitted she was “terrified” to tell the truth.
After the incident, Shah, 50, allegedly told Gay, “Unless they can show us the footage, we deny.”
Gay claimed Shah never thanked her for covering for her and said she’s “still worried about the retaliation.”
Cohen, fellow Bravolebrities and fans alike have long speculated that Shah was to blame for Gay’s mystery bruise and the scratches on her arms, all of which occurred after cameras went down for the night.
During an episode of “Watch What Happens Live” in February 2023, Lala Kent said she believed Shah hit Gay at some point during the boozy evening in question.
“I think it’s from a cast member,” the “Vanderpump Rules” star hypothesized, prompting Cohen, 55, to add, “From Jen Shah? I do, too. I don’t think [Gay] hit her head on a cabinet and got scratches on her arm.”
Shah, for her part, has repeatedly denied assaulting Gay and recently threatened to sue her, Cohen and Bravo for defamation; however, previously unseen footage of the former friends discussing the incident aired during the reunion.
The morning after the injury occurred, Gay consulted with Shah to get to the bottom of what happened to her arms and left eye, which was swollen shut.
Though Shah initially showed concern, she quickly agreed to help Gay come up with “a good cover story.”
“I don’t wanna get anyone in trouble, Jen,” Gay said at the time. “So that’s why I need you to help me figure out if someone wants to talk about what really happened last night.”
Until now, Gay has toggled between insisting she didn’t know what happened and teasing that she did know what happened but couldn’t say.
She even offered up theories that she drunkenly hit herself on something or was beat up by someone who had broken into her room, going so far as to suggest the network had the footage and wasn’t showing it.
During the reunion, Gay apologized repeatedly for her actions.
