RHOSLC The Many Faces of Monica 1/4/2025

Monica struts onto Season 4 of RHOSLC as a friend of Angie K. Their commonality? They both claim trauma from Jen Shah. I was never a fan of Jen. I found her to be abusive and volatile. I couldn’t understand the fan appeal. When Monica joined the cast, I was wary of her. Her connection to Jen Shah made me suspicious. Several times throughout the season, I called out, on social media, Monica and her mom, Linda for being grifters. I still believe that is true. They remind me of the 2001 movie Heartbreakers with Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt, but with bad acting.

From the jump in episode one, at lunch with Lisa and Angie K, Monica uses a manipulation technique called mirroring. She orders the same drink as Lisa and the same entrée as Angie K. She’s desperate to fit in with this group of ladies. During the interview, Monica mentions that Shah asked her if she wanted to be rich…she’d only have to “put this, this and this in her name”. She goes on to say that she was “so weirded out” that she contacted a “friend with the Secret Service” who instructed her to stay away from Jen Shah because she is heading to prison. Sorry, but I’m calling bullshit on this one. Several family members are in the 3-letter agencies (FBI, CIA, NSA, DOD, DHS, DEA…) and there is no way in hell they would reveal information to an “assistant of Jen Shah”, friend or not. It’s more likely that Monica saw dollar signs and “put her name on this, this and this”, then she was approached by a 3-letter agency and flipped on Jen Shah to save her own ass.  

The next time we see Monica interact with the ladies is at Heather’s “Fresh Start” party. Heather makes an announcement mentioning the “really hard year” they all had, Jen Shah going to prison, that they were all “trolled relentlessly online”, but they went through it all together. When she mentions being trolled relentlessly online, Monica doesn’t flinch, she doesn’t look down or away, it doesn’t faze her in the least. That’s the sign of a seasoned liar. During the snowball fight, Monica really goes hard after Angie K., tackling her to the ground. Seems like some pent-up anger is coming out. It’s interesting to me that later, Monica takes everyone’s side except for her so-called friend, Angie, in Palm Springs. Then repeats rumors that Angie’s husband, Shawn, has been having gay affairs all over town.

The scene with Monica and her mom, Linda, making the swaddling packages to sell is cringy. It’s like a bad telenovela. Of course, Monica is great at playing the victim, she learned it from her mom, the original grifter. Poor me, my dad left when I was 4. Poor me, I was raised by a single mom. Poor me, I’m a single mom. Poor me, I don’t have a lot of money. Poor me, I’m getting divorced. Well, Monica, maybe you shouldn’t have fucked your brother-in-law. This shows your true character. Zero moral compass. Then trying to relate/find common ground with Heather by telling her why you were excommunicated from the Mormon Church. Didn’t work. Heather’s husband left her because she said no to a request. Again, you fucked your brother-in-law for 18 months. Not once, not twice, but for eighteen months! There’s no comparison. NO similar backgrounds, at all. Also interesting is Monica questioning Heather’s friendship with Angie K, finding out Heather is not a fan, then turning on Angie in Palm Springs. Monica wanted to get with the core group and was sucking up to Heather and Meredith. Grifter behavior. In her interview, trying to appeal to regular moms who watch the show, we hear - I’m a regular mom who has vomit on her sweatshirt and goes to the store in my Christmas pj’s to buy milk because I forgot. Then we hear “Zanies in the Louis” with the ladies at the airport as she’s trying to work her way into the group. Grifter behavior.

Now on to Lisa’s ring. Do I think anyone could have taken it? Yes. Do I think Monica took it? Most likely. Her reaction during the interview was suspicious… “Someone stole that. It’s at the pawn shop. Like Sublime said. Yeah, it’s gone. Bye.” The way she was looking left to right when she said all of this, then stared straight into the camera. Monica wouldn’t take her very dark sunglasses off on the bus. She laughed when Mary told Lisa she needed to get over it. Then she became irritated every time Lisa brought it up. Monica also went on and on about how hard she searched for the ring, even putting her hands into the tampon trash container. She also kept her arms crossed tightly across her body the entire bus ride, as if she was hiding something.  Suspicious to me.

As the season goes on, Monica shows her true colors. She’s a nasty bitch who is happy to betray everyone. Grifters are chameleons. They change how they look, how they act, how they speak to fit the circumstance they are in. They cause chaos amongst their group to deflect from themselves. Monica is a pro at doing this. Not only did Monica hide the truth, but she also lied constantly. She lied at the reunion several times. The recording of her regarding Kim Kardashian starting as an assistant was a big one. The FBI asking her to drive by Jen Shah’s house was another big one. Some people out there really like Monica. They think she is misunderstood. Me?  Do I believe Monica lies? Only when her lips are moving.