‘The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’ producers reportedly had “no idea” rookie Monica Garcia was involved with the troll Instagram account Reality Von Tease before inviting her onto the show.
via Page Six:
“Had they been aware prior to [the ladies’ vacation in] Bermuda, they would have never withheld that information from the core four,” a production source told Page Six Thursday.
“It was a shock to everyone, even Monica,” they added.
Garcia, 40, was outed by castmate Heather Gay, 49, during Tuesday’s Season 4 finale.
“Monica figured the information would come out eventually but she was hopeful that she could’ve gotten through her first season without anyone blowing her cover,” a second source revealed to Page Six.
Entertainment Tonight was the first to report the news after fans took to social media to accuse producers of knowing the secret.
During Tuesday’s “RHOSLC” finale, Gay took Meredith Marks, Lisa Barlow and Whitney Rose aside to inform them that Garcia had been trolling them — and their former castmate Jen Shah, who is in prison — online.
“You guys, we’ve come a long way, us four. We have, and Monica is not who she says she is,” she began.
“She’s not our friend. She’s someone [who] has schemed and worked to infiltrate our friend group.”
“The name that you all know her as, the woman whose birthday we celebrated, who we’ve been trying to champion and support and defend, is Reality Von Tease,” Gay said, referencing the popular social media account that had been bullying them for years.
“I’m freaking out,” an emotional Marks, 52, responded. “I am so tired of people trying to hurt us. This is so f–ked up.”
The Instagram account garnered attention by posting insider information about the cast in 2022 and boasts more than 36,000 followers.
Later on at a cast dinner, Gay laid into Garcia with her knowledge and the support of her castmates.
“The real Monica is someone who really doesn’t want to be our friend, but wants to profit from our lives and our pain,” she slammed.
“I know who you really are, and who you really are is the cyberbully, internet troll Reality Von Tease.”
Although Garcia initially denied the accusation, she folded and admitted she and other unknown individuals ran the account.
She then left the dinner at Gay’s request.
Garcia showed no sign of remorse when she shared several snapshots from a “Gossip Girl”-inspired photoshoot on Instagram following the profanity-laden confrontation.
“You know you love me! Xoxo, RVT?,” she captioned the post — which has since been deleted.
In a shot she seemingly reshared on Thursday, she held up a bedazzled newspaper page that was set on fire.
“Warming my hands on the bridges I’ve burned,” was written across the burning paper.
She captioned the post with the quote, “Sometimes people try to destroy you, precisely because they recognize your power — not because they don’t see it, but because they see it and they don’t want it to exist.”
The new Instagram post had fans split, with some cheering her on and others scolding her for her actions.
We’re not sure if we totally believe production had “no idea.”
