RHOSLC: Bronwyn Newport's alleged criminal history, explained

Bronwyn Newport joined the cast of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City as a newbie to the franchise in season 5. Although she quickly became a fan favorite during her first season for her fashion sense and refusal to back down during the intense drama that the OGs on the cast were bringing, she's found herself in hot water more recently for her alleged criminal past.

A user on X (formerly Twitter) going by TheBravoDerm first uncovered some suspicious court filings in Bronwyn Newport's past while researching the snowflake holder's connections to a charitable organization and uncovered some seriously shady charges that are now taking Real Housewives fans by storm.

Bronwyn Newport allegedly has a serious criminal record

The uncovering of Bronwyn Newport's alleged criminal past started when X (formerly Twitter) user TheBravoDerm started researching Bronwyn Newport's connections to Hogle Zoo, something that they dedicated time to sharing updates on through Real Housewives social media platforms including X and Reddit.

The user shared that despite Bronwyn Newport flaunting a big donation to the zoo on behalf of Addo, one of the baby gorillas housed at Hogle Zoo, the RHOSLC star's name was absent from their annual report where other donors were listed. But as the user researched her connection to the zoo and her conspicuously missing donation record, they uncovered something a little more dastardly.

According to the social media user that first broke the reality star's criminal record, Bronwyn Newport's criminal history allegedly includes three separate counts of grand theft alongside one charge of identity theft.

According to the screenshots shared by the user of their search into San Francisco's court records, the filing is from 2021, before she was cast on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, but it's far from her first brush with the courtroom.

The user went on to find that in addition to her alleged criminal charges, Bronwyn Newport was also part of a civil suit in 2011 in which she received $608 in overpaid benefits that she wasn't entitled to, likely unemployment benefits that she failed to pay back after the fraudulent charge was discovered.

In an important distinction, the user points out that it may have been a mistake on the state's side and that it's possible that Bronwyn Newport didn't purposely file for benefits that she wasn't entitled to, but the issue seemingly came from the fact that she failed to pay them back when she was initially ordered to, leading to the civil court filing.

Has Bronwyn Newport responded to the rumors about her criminal past?

As of right now, Bronwyn Newport has not yet responded to the allegations that she has such a sordid history or answered to whether or not these alleged criminal charges really belong to her. The social media user first started questioning her donation to the zoo in February 2025, so it's been a few months since the initial claims hit the internet, but the allegations of her criminal past didn't reach X until later.

But, it seems like all the heat is getting to Brownyn Newport as an insider close to the RHOSLC team told OK Magazine that she showed up late for a cast trip to the Caribbean because of all the gossip surrounding her alleged criminal past that's been swirling on the internet.

The insider told the publication, "Bronwyn Newport showed up late to the cast trip due to all of the heat she’s been receiving around her alleged identity theft."

Former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills friend of the housewives Dana Wilkey also spoke on her podcast about the allegations and at one point in the episode, she claimed to know that Bronwyn Newport has a serious PR team on her payroll, so it's likely that she's been working behind the scenes to craft a response or was instructed to ignore the claims until Real Housewives fans are inevitably distracted by new drama.

Fans will have to wait until Bronwyn Newport addresses the claims of her alleged criminal past. Will she make a statement on them? Or will her frenemy Lisa Barlow weaponize them against her during season 6 of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City? Only time will tell.