Heather Gay shades Arizona during 'Real Housewives' trip: 'The redheaded stepchild of Utah'

“The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” has embarked on an exotic trip to kick off its new season, and it’s brought the cast just one state over to what cast member Heather Gay calls “the redheaded stepchild of Utah.”

Also known as Arizona.

It’s not St. Tropez, Bali or the Maldives, as Meredith Marks points out — but it’s also not 110 degrees, so there’s that. (Heather declares, “I love Arizona in the winter.”)

Alas, they can’t go very far because, at the time of filming, Jen Shah was in the midst of court proceedings after she and one of her assistants were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing as well as conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The terms of Jen's bail included "No travel outside the state of Utah without prior permission from the pretrial officer."

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Though she’d initially pleaded not guilty, in July she changed her tune and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

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The 'RHOSLC' cast took a girls’ trip to lift Jen Shah's spirits

But as the cast was filming Season three, Episode two (which aired Oct. 5) in February, Jen had not yet pleaded guilty and was agonizing over the impact the case was having on her family. So Heather, Meredith, Lisa Barlow and Whitney Rose took Jen on a girls’ trip to lift her spirits and allow Whitney to reconnect with her half-brother. It doesn’t take long for the waterworks to start.

It’s quickly apparent that Phoenix is not a top destination for the housewives.

“It’s just Utah — warmer (and) with more white people, if that’s even humanly possible,” Heather says in her commentary.

They stay at a $2.85 million “ultra-luxury mansion” — that’s how the home is described in its Airbnb listing — in Phoenix (not Scottsdale, as the chyron claims) that is reminiscent of a home that former cast member Mary Cosby owns.

“Walking into this house, I feel like we’ve stepped foot into Mary Cosby’s grand foyer. It’s almost like Mary is still with us,” Whitney says after arriving early with Lisa.

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Whitney Rose hired a shaman to come to an Arizona mansion

This is where they will go on a healing journey with a shaman, partake in a lingerie party and engage in leftover drama between Meredith and Lisa from Season 2.

In Episode two, they sip from a cacao drink prepared by their shaman, Kseniya, in the backyard of the rented mansion and reveal the life events that they are trying to heal from. Apparently, the third time’s the charm, because Kseniya’s ceremony goes better than the ones that Whitney has arranged for the group in the past.

The camaraderie is short-lived, however, because Meredith is still holding a grudge against Lisa since her hot mic tirade last season. In Episode three, we’ll find out whether drinking on a Scottsdale party bike, playing putt-putt or partying in lingerie thaws the ice between them.

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How to watch 'Real Housewives of Salt Lake City'

New episodes of "Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" air Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo.

Reach Entertainment Reporter KiMi Robinson at kimi.robinson@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @kimirobin and Instagram @ReporterKiMi.

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