Getty, Whitney Rose/ Instagram
‘RHOSLC’ Star Whitney Rose Mourns the Loss of BFF Shari Quai After Her Cancer Battle
Whitney Rose suffered a great loss during season 4 of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City when her longtime friend Shari Quai died. Fans saw Whitney grieve the loss of Shari, which also led to a hot mic moment between her and another costar.
Who Is Shari Quai?
Shari was one of Whitney’s closest friends. The late Utah resident received her undergraduate nursing degree at BYU before she received her CNRA from Westminster College. From there, Shari utilized her education and worked as an aesthetic nurse injector at Elase Medical Spas and Cosmetic Surgery Center, according to her LinkedIn.
Shari was also a devoted wife to husband Josh Quai. The couple share kids Lily, Vienna, McCade and daughter Eve Rose, who died in 2017.
How Did Shari Quai Die?
Shari died on April 26, 2023, after battling stage 4 colorectal cancer. After her diagnosis, Shari became an advocate for health and didn’t allow the disease to slow down her life.
“The greatest thing about a cancer diagnosis is that every moment matters. The simplest things are what I look forward to. I have been meditating morning and night for 20 mins about my future self, my healed self, and trying to live in my future self now,” she wrote via Instagram in March 2019 alongside a video of her and her family chasing waves on a beach in Lanikai Beach, Kailua. “Which means living like I am HEALED completely, and free. I meditate about going to the next solar eclipse in totality with my family, going to Mccade’s baseball games, watching my Lily walk down the aisle, taking pictures of Vienna going to the Prom, etc. Living life in a way that is who you WANT to be is probably the MOST healing aspect of my journey.”
The late nurse gave her online followers updates on her cancer battle until the days leading up to her death. On April 21, 2023, Shari shared that she she had a “coughing spell” that led to her choking up blood and her lungs were filled with liquids.
“Nonetheless, ICU is where I remain until my breathing is stabilized. I was so scared this morning, for my life to truly end. They threatened me with a ventilator and the possibility of never getting off. I’m fighting to not let that happen!” she wrote alongside a photo of her in the hospital bed connected to a mechanical ventilator. “My lungs heal. Pray the fluid goes away. Pray we can figure all this out and get home to my family.”
What Did RHOSLC’s Whitney Rose React to Shari Quai’s Death?
The Wild Rose Beauty founder honored her late friend one day after her death and shared her favorite video clips of Shari via Instagram.
“I write this with tears in my eyes not only because I will miss you deeply Shari but you added so much beauty and love to my life,” the Bravo star wrote, adding, “It is so rare to find a friend like you and I am forever blessed that I did. I love you my soul sister, in this life and beyond. I love you.”
Whitney was in the midst of filming The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City season 4 when Shari died and fans saw her grieve the loss of her friend oncamera. After learning that Shari was incubated during season 4 episode 12, Whitney opened up about their friendship and how she supported Shari as she fought for her life.
“I mean, I was with her on Monday, and she couldn’t even get off the couch. I have known Shari since I was 23 years old, and she’s been to all the major events in my life,” Whitney shared.
The “Wild Rose Podcast” host went on to admit that she was “worried” they were “losing her” and that Shari knew death was approaching when Whitney visited her days prior.
“She’s been fighting cancer,” Whitney later said in a confessional. “It’s the most helpless feeling to know that my friend is suffering, and I can’t do anything about it, and I have no idea how to cope with that.”
One day after Shari died, Whitney pushed through and attended costar Meredith Marks’ Plated launch party. While she went to the event to support her friend, Whitney found herself in an explosive fight with Lisa Barlow. Whitney expressed her frustration to the Vida Tequila cofounder after she didn’t approach her first at the party to give her condolences like the rest of the cast did.
After a lot of time passed, Lisa asked Whitney if she was OK.
“It hurt when you walk up and go right past me and go straight to Heather [Gay] … And then you look at me and you’re like, ‘Are you okay?’ … No, I’m not. I need you to hug me, and I need you to acknowledge that I lost my best friend,” Whitney said.
“I don’t know how fragile she is. For me, I plug through things, I want to be quiet about it, so I did not want to say anything that could upset her,” Lisa said in a confessional. “I don’t know how Whitney handles grief.”
Lisa then told Whitney that she sent her flowers that were en route to her house, but she didn’t care about the floral arrangement.
“I don’t care about flowers,” Whitney said. “I want you. Everything’s about you. I’m always there for you, and I just need you for one minute to be there for me.”
Whitney then stormed out of the party and Lisa took off her mic, repeating, “F–k this.”
“I’m so f–king sick of this,” she told husband John Barlow. “I’m selfish [and] I’m all about myself?”
