The television personality discussed her divorce and its impact on her standing in the Mormon church during Wednesday’s episode of “Watch What Happens Live.”
Gay was married to a wealthy Mormon man whose grandfather was Howard Hughes’ driver and inherited a large portion of Hughes’ estate. She and her ex-husband divorced in 2015.
On “WWHL,” Gay said neither she nor her husband were excommunicated from the Mormon church after their divorce.
“You can get divorced civilly in the Mormon church. You can even get divorced religiously in the Mormon church, but you have to have another man to get you back into Heaven,” she said.
Gay said the biggest change to her lifestyle after her divorce was that she “never got out of bed.” She then said she “did get out of bed” and put up a happy front.
“I had to keep the front up, so I was uber mom for a couple of years until it caught up with me,” the star said.
“I didn’t want my kids to know anything and I didn’t want our community to know anything, so I just showed up and just put on a smile. Nobody noticed for about a year that he had moved out,” she added.
Gay, who has three daughters with her ex-husband, previously told Page Six she “didn’t know how to function” after her divorce.
“I’m still having a very, very difficult time. I didn’t know anyone that was Mormon and divorced and single and happy,” the star said.
“I either had to get remarried or redefine my entire life. I had three little kids and I didn’t know how to do it and nobody gave me any guidance,” she added.
On “WWHL,” Gay also discussed her connection to the Osmond family, who are also Mormon. Gay said Osmond Lane, the area of Utah where several of the Osmonds settled and built houses, is in her parents’ ward, or parish.
“Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” premiered on Bravo this month. The series co-stars Lisa Barlow, Mary Cosby, Meredith Marks, Whitney Rose and Jen Shah.
