RHOSLC's Jen Shah Life in Prison: Blog Quotes, Journal Posts

Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’s Jen Shah has been living an active life in prison so far since she was sentenced to six and a half years behind bars for wire fraud. The reality TV star is currently in custody at FPC Bryan in Bryan, Texas, Life & Style confirmed.

Before the Bravolebrity reported to the facility to begin her sentence on February 17, 2023, her attorney Priya Chaudhry told Life & Style in a statement that Shah is “committed to serving her sentence with courage and purpose, fueled by her desire to make amends for the hurt she has caused and to help others in her new community.”

“Jen Shah’s resolve to make her victims whole and to turn her life around is unyielding,” the statement read. “No obstacle will deter Jen from making the most of her time in prison and she’s determined to make restitution to those whose lives she has impacted. … Her path ahead will be filled with challenges, but with the unwavering love and support of her family and friends, Jen is prepared to face these challenges head-on and emerge from this experience a better person who makes a positive impact on others.”

On the day her sentence began, Shah released her own statement through her rep to Life & Style, detailing how she intended to spend her time behind bars.

“While incarcerated, I will work to make amends and reconcile with the victims of my crime,” she explained in her statement. “In time, I pray that people will judge me for the way I responded to this sentence, rather than only for the decisions that led me to prison.”

Shah was involved in a telemarketing scheme that defrauded hundreds of people across America by selling them “business services” that were promised to benefit the victims’ specific online gigs, In Touch confirmed in March 2021. Many of the victims in the case were over the age of 55, with court records noting that some of Shah’s targets were elderly people.

Shah has been busy since her sentencing commenced, having 6 a.m. wake-up calls and a “rigorous” work schedule, per TMZ. The outlet also reported that she would be expected to work in either food service or factory jobs while at FPC Bryan.

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Less than one month into her prison sentence, Shah opened up about her new life in heartfelt detail through a series of online journal entries. In her first note, the RHOSLC personality described the difficulty in hugging her husband, Sharrieff Shah, and their sons, Omar and Sharrieff Jr., to say “goodbye.”

“I hug and kiss Sharrieff again, and as tears pour down my face, I walk away with the three officials,” Shah wrote in a post titled “Journal Entry #1.”

Scroll down to see excerpts from Jen Shah’s prison blogs.

Her Surrender

In a statement to Life & Style via her rep, Shah explained how she intended to reflect on her wire fraud crime in prison.

“I am surrendering to serve a sentence in federal prison today. It is the price I must pay for the bad decisions I made,” she said in the statement on February 17. “People got hurt because of my decisions. While incarcerated, I will work to make amends and reconcile with the victims of my crime,” Shah stated. “In time, I pray that people will judge me for the way I responded to this sentence, rather than only for the decisions that led me to prison.”

Her First Journal Entry

The Bravo personality detailed the heartbreaking moment when she had to part ways from her sons and husband.

“My worst fear and the unimaginable was about to happen — having to say goodbye to my sweet husband and precious baby Omar (he’ll always be my baby even though he’s a senior in HS),” Shah wrote. “As I looked into his eyes, tears streaming down my face, I told him he is the love of my life, and I love him more than anything. Having seconds to tell your husband how much you love him and hoping he truly understands the depths of your love while officers stand there silently urging you to move quickly was the most horrible experience. It’s as if you know your world is ending and you have 30 seconds to tell the people you love how much you love them and hope they feel your love and understand its magnitude.”

Forfeiting Personal Items

In her first diary entry, Shah revealed that she was not allowed to bring several personal items into prison with her.
“As I make my way to the back of the SUV, the guard asks me what’s in my plastic bag,” she recalled. “I read every federal website including the Bryan FPC handbook, and all sources indicated that I need to have my essential items in a clear plastic bag when I surrender. The officer lets me keep my papers that contain my prescriptions, my actual meds, RX glasses and contacts but he won’t let me bring in my release plan, contacts list, Quran, or driver’s license. So, I hand all of those items back to Sharrieff. The one item that made me feel instantly isolated was not having my contacts lists. I didn’t have the mental bandwidth to memorize my family and loved ones’ emails, addresses and phone numbers. I felt so alone, and my husband and son were only [two] steps away from me.”

Daily Meals

In her second journal entry, Shah revealed she befriended a fellow inmate named Kashanna, who also goes by “Special K” for her nickname.

“Today is Saturday, there is a 6 a.m. brown bag breakfast brought into the common area of our unit,” the reality star explained. “I was so tired and didn’t wake up, but Special K got one for me. She is kind, and there are not many kind people in this place. It had one piece of wheat bread, an apple, two packets of jelly and a packet of instant oatmeal. I ate the piece of bread; a lady was offering instant coffee in the common area, but I didn’t have a mug. I saved the apple and oatmeal packet in my locker since I don’t go to the commissary until next Tuesday. If I get hungry, I can at least have something to eat.”

Calling Home

In order for Shah to make a phone call to her husband and sons, she needed to learn how to activate a “PAC number,” she explained in her second journal entry.

“I activate my PAC [number], record my voice greeting and set up the few contacts I could remember in the computer,” Shah wrote. “Now, I must wait an additional 15 minutes before I call my husband. I tried three times and the system says, ‘You cannot make a call at this time.’ I am trying to stay patient and not get frustrated. I must learn to focus on what I can and cannot control. That will be the key to my adjustment. I am not alone in my struggles, and I must remember that on days where I want to just see my husband and children. My eyes are filling up with tears.”

A ‘Housewives’ Play?

Shah’s manager, Chris Giovanni, told TMZ in April 2023 that she was working on a production from prison titled “The Real Housewives of Bryan,” referring to the facility, FPC Bryan. The outlet reported that Shah’s play was still being developed and she was teaching some of the inmates how to read and write.

Anger Management

In June 2023, the former reality TV star told Page Six via her rep, Chris, that she completed her mandatory anger management course behind bars.
“Through journaling, homework, audio lessons and the two-hour weekly group sessions/class, I learned more about what anger is, where it comes from and healthy ways to respond and react that are safe and beneficial,” Jen told the outlet.

She concluded her statement by noting, “Ultimately, I can’t control what others will do, but I can control how I choose to respond and react with the tools I learned in class…#ZenJen.”