The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah’s milestone 50th birthday fell in the middle of her prison sentence — and her husband, Sharrieff Shah, made sure she was celebrated.
“Today Jen Shah turned 50 years old and I can say honestly that we are not where I thought we would be when my wife turned 50, but I can also sit in front of you and say with complete conviction that we are exactly where God intended us to be,” Sharrieff, 52, said in a Thursday, October 5, Instagram video. “So, for that, I am humbled and continually grateful.”
The football coach pressed that incarcerated individuals — like wife Jen, who began her sentence in February — “really need” reassurance that their loved ones “on the outside” have not forgotten them. So, Sharrieff put together a special birthday surprise.
“For my wife’s 50th birthday, I contacted 50 of her family members and closest friends and asked them to write a birthday text or message to me, and I would give it to her. Well, she received them today,” Sharrieff said in the social media video. “It was more than I could ever imagine.”
After Jen received the heartfelt letters, she was able to speak with Sharrieff during a 10-minute phone call.
“My wife cried and cried tears of joy and appreciation for at least 6 and a half minutes. And all I kept saying was, ‘See, baby, we love you more than you think. You’ve not been forgotten,’” he gushed, before reading aloud passages from several of the notes.
Jen’s sister, Jessica, had even advised the Bravo star to “adjust [her] crown, queen” and “keep on pressing on regardless of these stumbling blocks and hurdles that stand in [her] way.”
Jessica also wrote: “You got this, and I got you for life. I love you, and I’m so proud of you. Can’t wait to have the biggest birthday bash when you come home.”
Sharrieff — who shares sons Sharrieff Jr., 28, and Omar, 19, with Jen — loved that his wife was “showered with love” and “comforted” on her special day.
Jen and her assistant Stuart Smith were arrested in March 2021 for their alleged roles in a telemarketing scheme that defrauded hundreds of victims, many of whom were older than 55. While they initially both pleaded not guilty, the Shah Lashes founder changed her plea in July 2022.
Us Weekly confirmed in January that Jen was sentenced to six and a half years in prison with five years of supervised release. Her sentence has since been reduced by one year, with the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ inmate database now listing her new release date as August 30, 2028.
As Jen serves out her sentence at the Federal Prison Camp, Bryan (FPC Bryan) in Texas, she’s stayed busy by putting on a fake Real Housewives play and teaching workout classes.
“She holds [her ‘Shah-Mazing Abs’] classes on Thursdays and Fridays. It’s an hour-long class and it’s completely full every time,” her friend Murilo Bueno exclusively told Us in May. “Some people literally just watch from the sidelines. But she’s been having between 60 to 80 women in each class.”
Bueno added: “She’s really trying to stay busy and I think that this not only [worked] because it sounded great for her, but it also sounded good for them in there to help people stay active.”
