A Bravo Expert Explains Heather’s & Monica’s Lawsuits To A Confused RHOSLC Fan

The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City are dealing with a new legal scandal after Jen Shah’s case last season. Or, in other words, it’s just another Tuesday in Utah for the ladies.

On Nov. 8, reports emerged that RHOSLC star Heather Gay and new cast member Monica Garcia are suing each other and have been battling in court for months. The lawsuits center on Heather’s business, Beauty Lab & Laser, and were discovered just days after BravoCon, which I attended for the first time.

While there were obvious signs of tension between Monica and most of the RHOSLC cast, nobody knew it stemmed from a legal battle. But since I was still in a Bravo-induced haze (and rather than make my brain work harder than it has to), I asked fellow Bustle writer and Bravo expert Brad Witter every pressing question I had about Heather and Monica’s lawsuits.

From what they’re suing for to how this may relate to Heather’s emotional opening scene in Season 4, find out every detail we know about one of the pettiest court cases in Bravo history.

A Murky Timeline

Jake: All I know is Heather and Monica have lawsuits against each other about unpaid balances and damage from cosmetic injections. Who sued first?

Brad: So, Heather filed first. Go back to the Season 4 premiere, it starts with the Bermuda flashback, which was filmed on May 10, 2023. Heather gets this phone call. What was the word she used? She was “trembling.”

Jake: Trembling.

Brad: “How could she do this to us?” The scene is probably related to the lawsuit, which Beauty Lab technically filed, not Heather.

Jake: But she’s still named on the lawsuit, right? Because she owns it.

Brad: Heather is a co-owner of Beauty Lab, but she’s not specifically named.

Jake: Oh, interesting. I thought she was the only owner.

Brad: She has a business partner, Andrea Robinson. So Beauty Lab filed the lawsuit on Aug. 14 against Monica. And the Bermuda thing happened in May. That’s where the timeline’s going to get murky.

Jake: So I’m guessing August would be when they wrapped filming?

Brad: No, filming was wrapped on May 13. It’s unclear why Heather waited to file until August. We may find out when this Bermuda trip airs, likely during the Season 4 finale. But it won't be a “Heather Gay black eye mystery.” There will be a payoff. We’ll know what the call was about.

Jake: Thank God.

It Gets Personal

Brad: The other thing is the incident itself happened in 2019 — before RHOSLC even premiered. To quote, “Monica contracted to get cosmetic injections on Dec. 10, 2019. She agreed to pay $2,449 for the treatment.” Her unpaid balance is $2,000.

Jake: Aren’t injections usually paid beforehand?

Brad: No. She paid $449 — a $400 down payment and a $49 setup fee. Then, she was supposed to have a payment plan of $200 per month after that to pay off her balance. To file a lawsuit for $2,000 does seem a little personal, but not invalid if this was something Monica agreed to pay.

Jake: Yeah, that’s personal.

Brad: A month after Beauty Lab sued Monica for the $2,000, she countersued on Sept. 13. Monica claimed that she owes nothing because they made an “oral accord.” She said there was damage to her nose and lips, and she had to go get it fixed elsewhere. According to Monica, Beauty Lab offered to fix whatever it “did wrong.” But again, allegedly, she didn’t want them to touch her again, so she went somewhere else. And that’s why she says she shouldn’t have to pay because they had an agreement.

Jake: Wow. How much is Monica suing for?

Brad: Monica didn’t specify the amount that she’s seeking, but she said it’s less than $50,000 and is going to leave it up to the judge to decide what damages she’s entitled to.

Jake: If they were suing each other in September, why is it just now coming out?

Brad: Monica amended her response and filed it on Nov. 7, which is why it’s coming out now. She said point-blank that “Beauty Lab’s complaint has been made because of the personal animosity towards Monica of Heather Gay.” So she called out Heather by name and literally said Heather’s only suing her because she has a personal problem with her now.

Jake: So we think the Bermuda revelation has to do with this, but it technically can’t be about the actual lawsuit?

Brad: Everyone’s assuming that the Bermuda thing is when Heather found out about the lawsuit, which makes no sense because it was filed after. But maybe Monica was thinking of suing in May? Fans think Heather didn’t realize that the woman who was claiming she got botched injections was Monica, because her last name on the lawsuit is Fowler, which is one of her previous names. So Bermuda could be when Heather made the connection.

A Ring Of Truth?

Jake: It’s crazy that even that one lawsuit managed to fly under the radar during the show’s premiere in September.

Brad: This all came out right after BravoCon, where the cast clarified that they’re no longer friends with Monica. You were there, right?

Jake: Yes, I can attest to this. Monica and Meredith did all their press separately from the rest of the group. While Lisa, Heather, Whitney, and Angie did all their press together.

Brad: I read when reporters at BravoCon asked Heather, Angie, and Whitney about Monica, they didn’t go into specifics and just used “toxic,” “lies,” and buzzwords like that. Heather basically said Monica lies about everything. And then, did you see the DeuxMoi blind item?

Jake: No. This is spicy.

Brad: So, this is reader-submitted and unverified, and it doesn’t mention Monica specifically. But the blind item said all the women think she stole Lisa Barlow’s $60,000 ring.

Jake: No.

Brad: But at BravoCon, TVLine asked Monica flat out, “Did you steal Lisa Barlow’s ring?” and she denied it.

Jake: Oh, my gosh. Do you know if Beauty Lab has dealt with similar lawsuits like this before, or is this a pretty unique case?

Brad: Oh, I don’t know for sure, but any business like that will likely run into those issues. And I do know with Heather Gay’s black eye, there were rumors that it was a botched procedure, which is why she wasn’t going to reveal the reason because she’s so protective of her business.

Jake: That’s a theory? I never thought about that. I just said, “OK, it’s Jen Shah. Bye.” That’s really who I blamed it on. When in doubt, blame Jen Shah.

Brad: I can’t.

The Reunion Holds The Answers‌

Jake: So, what’s happening now?

Brad: I’m sure you saw Heather put out a statement on Thursday.

Jake: She defends Beauty Lab. I did see that.

Brad: She doesn’t mention Monica by name, but she called Monica “a desperate woman who when unable to pay her bills lashes out to avoid accountability.”

Jake: How did Monica respond to that?

Brad: She posted on her Instagram story; it was basically “My only comment is I’ll see you at the reunion. Monica Betch,” or something like that. So she’s waiting for the reunion to come out with all this stuff, which is also why Salt Lake City didn’t have a panel at BravoCon.

Jake: Do we think the reunion’s going to be a Scheana/Raquel situation because it involves a legal battle, or do you think they’ll be able to be in the same room?

Brad: That had much to do with the restraining order, so they physically couldn’t be in the same place. There’s always that line “I can’t discuss pending litigation; it’s an ongoing case.” But if the phone call Heather gets, assuming it’s related to Monica’s experience with Beauty Lab, plays out in the finale, I don’t know how it could not come up.

Sandoval 2.0

Jake: Do you think this will affect casting for next season?

Brad: Monica was asked where she stood with everyone, and she said she was good with Whitney and Meredith. But Whitney, Angie, and Heather all said they’re not friends with her. Lisa’s clearly not friends with her, but Monica has said she’s hopeful about her friendship. But I just don’t know how you film a show when someone’s not friends with anyone. It’s like Sandoval 2.0.

Jake: They made it work with him, though. They made it work with Mary Cosby, honestly. I can see Monica being demoted to a Friend if they won’t film with her, but they don’t want to get rid of her or the storyline completely.

Brad: Right. And you know how these Bravolebs are. It’s a paycheck. They’ll suck it up.

Jake: Now, if the Bermuda reveal has nothing to do with the lawsuit, and absolutely nothing to do with Monica, what do you think it is?

Brad: I really can't imagine it being anything else. Everyone's first thought in the beginning was it was related to Jen Shah. But at this point, Jen Shah's already in prison. I don't see it being related to anything else unless it's something that comes out of left field. Hopefully, it's not something that we're all going to be like, “Really? That's it?”