Coach Shah is maintaining his innocence in the court of public opinion.
Sharrieff Shah, better known as Coach Shah, was mentioned in Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Heather Gay’s upcoming memoir, Good Time Girl, when she dropped a major bomb regarding him and former RHOSLC cast member Monica Garcia.
In an excerpt released by Us Weekly, Gay wrote that Garcia (who previously worked for Shah’s wife, former RHOSLC star Jen Shah) claimed Sharrieff attempted to kiss her before Garcia was cast on the show.
In the excerpt, Gay writes that Garcia and Sharrieff met at a parking lot of a gas station and Garcia claims the football coach tried to kiss her. According to Gay, Garcia “pushed him off.”
Gay writes that Garcia allegedly was “pining” for Sharrieff “from the moment she met him, and this was one of her absurd fantasies.”
A rep for the Shahs tells PEOPLE exclusively that both Jen and Sharrieff deny anything of the sort ever occurred, claiming Garcia has a history of spreading rumors.
“We categorically deny Heather Gay and Monica’s statements,” the rep says. “Coach Shah has never had or attempted to have a romantic relationship with Monica at any time. Both my clients Jen and Sharrieff Shah have ignored the continuous attempts for bait by Monica and others for storyline. Jen continues to remain consistent with her journey of positive rehabilitation, and will not entertain frivolous narratives from those seeking a rise from her or her family.”Garcia had a one-season stint on RHOSLC last year, which ended with Gay uncovering the shocking news that Garcia was involved in an Instagram gossip page called RealityVonTease. The account was known within the group for bashing the ladies and for releasing videos from inside Jen’s house.
Garcia released a statement to PEOPLE. “It’s truly sad and worrisome that Heather Gay has nothing else to write about than twisted and false allegations in a desperate attempt to try and tarnish the reputations of two families,” Garcia said. “The lies told about me by Heather continue to reach new lows and the only fantasies happening here are the ones she’s concocting in her book.”
She continued, “To clarify, I have never said that Sharrieff Shah and I kissed nor has there ever been anything romantic or physical between Sharrieff and I. To so carelessly write such untrue and damaging allegations in permanent ink at the expense of others for financial gain is deplorable. There is a reason why [former TV producer] Carlos King dubbed Heather Gay the most dangerous housewife.”
At the time, Garcia insisted she only participated in RealityVonTease to expose Jen, who is currently serving a five-year prison sentence for her role in a long-running telemarketing scheme.
“I didn’t say s— about anyone else other than Jen and I will own that to the grave,” she shouted at the women during the season 4 finale, adding she didn’t see RealityVonTease as a “bad thing” because it was “just telling the truth.”
Gay, however, called Garcia a “cyberbully internet troll” before delivering her iconic line stating she had a collection of “receipts, proof, timeline [and] screenshots” to prove her claims.
The rest of the Housewives agreed with Gay: “You f—ing deceived all of us,” Lisa Barlow shouted, while Meredith Marks yelled, “You’ve sat here with us for three months and not told us the truth.”
Garcia exited the show after the incident, although executive producer Andy Cohen did not shut down the possibility of a future return.
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During a filming of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on Friday, Nov. 22, Marks, Gay and Barlow all unanimously agreed they’d rather Jen return than former cast member Monica Garcia.
The next day, Marks elaborated on the possibility of Jen returning to the show following her prison sentence.
“Accountability goes a long way in our circle,” Marks told PEOPLE. “If you say, ‘Look, I screwed up and I made a mistake and I’m sorry’ — that matters. If she’s taking accountability and doing what she needs to do to make it better, that’s the best she can do right now. There’s nothing else she can do beyond that.”
“We’re human. We all do things that we’re not proud of that are wrong at times,” Marks continued. “This is a big one, obviously; it’s a bad one. But she’s in prison. She’s serving her time. She’s paying restitution. I mean, she’s not earning a ton of money, but she’s doing what she can. And thats all a big price to pay. I don’t know what more you can ask from her.”
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.
Heather Gay’s memoir Good Time Girl will be published on Dec. 3.
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