Jen Shah says one of the most difficult parts of serving time in prison was learning how deeply her crimes affected her family.
The former The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star revealed in a new interview that she asked husband Sharrieff Shah and sons Sharrieff Jr. and Omar to write letters describing the pain they experienced after her conviction.
“I needed to know how I hurt them,” Shah told PEOPLE. “I needed them to be honest with me and tell me everything.”
Shah was arrested in 2021 and later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud for her role in a telemarketing scheme. She spent more than two years in federal prison before being released in December 2025.
According to Shah, her sons did not want to write the letters at first.
“They were like, ‘Dad, I don’t want to hurt mom’s feelings,’ ” she recalled.
Eventually, the letters were read aloud to Shah during a prison group session. She described the moment as life-changing.
“There were a lot of tears, because that was hard,” she said. “But I needed to hear it.”
Shah said the difficult conversations ultimately brought her family closer together.
“Our marriage is stronger than it’s ever been,” she said.
