The Real Reason Jen Shah From RHOSLC Left The Mormon Church
Jen Shah is one of the more outspoken members of Bravo's newest franchise The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. Based in the city that holds the headquarters for the Mormon Church, the show features a number of ladies who are proud members. Housewife Heather Gay considers herself a "purebred, pedigreed, pioneer Mormon" while Lisa Barlow claims she's "Mormon 2.0." Whitney Rose is a descendant of "Mormon Royalty" but is living life after deciding to leave the church 10 years ago. She shut down rumors of being excommunicated from the church due to having an affair with her former boss that turned into a marriage with two kids, explaining on Twitter that she "chose to walk away" from the church.
Meredith Marks, Mary Cosby, and Jen Shah, however, are the three non-Mormon members of the cast. Meredith is Jewish and Mary describes herself as the "Pentecostal First Lady" who inherited her family's empire after marrying her step-grandfather. Meanwhile, Jen is a Salt Lake City native who decided to exit the Mormon church after marrying Sharrief Shah. Keep reading to find out what drove Jen Shah from the Church of Latter-day Saints.
Jen Shah says Assalam Alaikum to Islam
After meeting her husband in college and falling in love, Jen Shah talked to Sharrieff Shah about converting his religion. He grew up Muslim and she grew up Mormon. On the series premiere of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, Jen shares what it was like growing up in Utah after relocating there from Hawai'i as a child. The Tongan and Hawaiian housewife explained that "people in Utah have no idea what I am," she shared. "In Utah I'm Black."
While speaking to producers, she goes on to explain what led to her changing her religious faith. It turns out it was her husband who revealed the Mormon Church's historical mistreatment of the Black community. "My husband Sharrieff is Muslim, but I was raised Mormon and that's all I knew," she said. "Five years into my marriage I'm like 'Sharrieff why don't you convert to Mormonism'? And he was like 'Are you kidding me? They didn't accept Black people into the Mormon Church until like 1970-something.'" The new Bravo star went on to explain how the shocking revelation made her "questioning." She ultimately decided to not follow a religion that "doesn't accept my husband and my kids." She made the switch over to Islam and, as she put it, "Assalam Alaikum b**ches!"