Jeff Lewis stirred up trouble on day one of BravoCon when he slammed The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City newbie Monica Garcia.
“OK, I heard that. I literally was in a photo situation and the fans were coming up and they were like, ‘Screw Jeff Lewis for what he said about you,’” Monica, 40, exclusively told Us Weekly on Friday, November 3. “And I’m like, ‘What did he say?’ I’m oblivious to it all.”
Jeff, 53, joined Bravo executive producer Andy Cohen on the Las Vegas stage for his “Ask Andy” panel to chat about the TV network’s biggest shows.
“What is Monica doing on this show?” Jeff said during the Friday panel, claiming he wants to see Housewives that are inspirational. He claimed he felt “depressed” watching Monica open up about being on “food stamps” and struggling with her car payments.
Andy, 55, stood up for the RHOSLC star, who made her debut on the show this year. “Let me tell you two things about Monica. First of all, I think she came on super strong,” he said. “In her second episode, she had a moment where she was feeling insecure that she didn’t have the right clothes or whatever, I thought it was one of the most relatable and powerful moments on a Housewives show.”
Monica told Us she was unbothered by Jeff’s comments — mostly because she doesn’t “even know who he is.”
“Who is he? I really honestly don’t. What show is he on?” she quipped to Us. “I don’t know who he is though. I really don’t.”
In addition to not letting Jeff’s shade get her down, Monica is focused on enjoying her first-ever BravoCon.
“It’s awesome. It’s incredible. Yeah, it’s great,” she gushed on Friday, before noting that the RHOSLC cast won’t have their own panel since their season 4 reunion is coming up soon. “I am looking forward to [the] reunion. There is a lot of stuff to clear up and hash out.”
One of the things Monica and her RHOSLC costars likely need to hash out is their perceived lack of support regarding her estrangement from her mother, Linda. The pair’s ups and downs have been documented throughout the season — including a blowup fight at costar Angie Katsanevas’ home.
“I mean, honestly, all of them,” she said when asked whose lack of communication disappointed her the most after the season wrapped. “I would hope at the end of the day that there’s still humanity and care for one another within the group and, yeah, it would’ve been nice.”
Monica told Us she “definitely cried” after watching back scenes about the family drama. “I don’t even remember it being that bad, which was an eye-opener to me,” she said. “And it’s actually been very beneficial for me to be able to watch it back.”
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
