Heather Gay and Whitney Rose Took Their “Bad Weather” to Thailand on ‘RHUGT’ Season 3
Published March 30 2023, 5:53 p.m. ET
The Real Housewives franchise knows a thing or two about family drama and even more about the related co-stars.
In November 2020, Bravo introduced fans to a new set of relatives — third cousins Heather Gay and Whitney Rose — on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.
Heather and Whitney have been on RHOSLC since Season 1, and fans have watched their friendship grow over the last few seasons. However, the relatives had a massive blowup in Season 3 of their reality show, and it has caused even more drama between them on Peacock’s Housewives spinoff show The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip.
Here’s everything that went down between Heather and Whitney that led to the possible end of “Bad Weather.”
Lisa Barlow previously dubbed the cousins (seen above) as "Whitney and Heather Bad Weather."
Heather Gay and Whitney Rose’s feud explained: The drama happened on ‘RHOSLC.’
In RHOSLC Season 1, Bravo fully displayed Whitney and Heather’s inseparable bond. But when they both returned to the series for Season 3, their relationship changed when Heather neglected to help Whitney spread a rumor about their co-star Lisa Barlow.
Whitney took offense at Heather’s choice not to repeat a mutual friend’s claim that Lisa had a fling with a mystery person so she could get tickets to see the Utah Jazz. When Heather denied hearing about the affair, Whitney lashed out at Heather and felt her friend didn’t have her back.
Heather and Whitney’s Season 3 disagreement lasted through the rest of RHOSLC Season 3, and Heather vowed never to be the Wild Rose Beauty CEO’s friend again. However, after they filmed RHUGT Season 3 in Thailand, they were seemingly back on good terms on the trip. But shortly after filming wrapped in July 2022, Heather announced at BravoCon that she and Whitney couldn’t get back on the same page.
“I just want Whitney to be happy, and when I found out being my friend didn't make her happy …," Heather said at BravoCon in October 2022, adding, “We were dear friends, and it seemed out of the blue just completely that you decided that you were gonna dump me as a friend."
Are Whitney Rose and Heather Gay friends now? Whitney said they had to “put some boundaries” between them.
After their run-in at BravoCon, Whitney stated that Heather’s comments surprised her because she thought they had already squashed their drama in Thailand. Heather shared on Us Weekly’s “Getting Real with the Housewives” podcast that she was “redefining a lot of friendships” as she worked on herself. She also said her and Whitney’s relationship “just went up in smoke” and that she wasn’t “sure how to repair that.”
In January 2023, the cousins discussed their feud face-to-face at the RHOSLC reunion. Whitney told the group that she and Heather were cordial, but she decided to “put some boundaries” between them to protect herself from future drama.
Whitney Rose, Lisa Barlow, Jen Shah, Meredith Marks, and Heather Gay
Whitney Rose feels Heather Gay is a better friend to Jen Shah than she has been to her.
When RHUGT Season 3 premiered on Peacock on March 23, 2023, fans finally saw why Whitney had no idea Heather still had animosity toward her.
During the first half of the third season, Whitney and Heather’s issues were a hot topic among their castmates. However, Jen Shah’s case was also making waves after Jen pleaded guilty to committing wire fraud through her telemarketing. Jen’s plea was the day before RHUGT began production and after RHOSLC wrapped Season 3.
Unsurprisingly, Heather and Whitney’s co-stars wanted to hear their takes on Jen’s case. Heather, who is close friends with Jen, said she was “processing” the case in real-time and also said she believed Jen was innocent the entire time.
Heather’s loyalty to Jen upset Whitney, who felt Heather was “riding harder” for Jen than her cousin. The claim came months after the Bad Mormon author followed Whitney back on Instagram shortly after Jen went in for her five-and-a-half-year prison sentence, which Whitney felt was convenient timing.
“So I get re-followed after her ride or die was sentenced yesterday … WILD!” Whitney wrote under a screenshot of Heather following her back.
Despite Heather and Whitney’s friction, the cousins seemingly made amends during RHUGT. In one scene, they drew a truce by pinky-promising each other to be friends again. As viewers will see, the promise doesn’t last long.
The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip is available to stream exclusively on Peacock. The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on Bravo.
