The third and final part of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City season 5 reunion special aired on February 5 and brought new friend of the housewives Britani Bateman into the conversation and into all the drama. She had been kept backstage while the main snowflake holders aired out all their interpersonal drama for the first two parts, but things amped up when she was brought out and seated next to Meredith Marks.
Throughout her first season of RHOSLC, Britani Bateman was open about her involvement with the Mormon faith, but Heather Gay said that she wasn't following the teachings of the church and the other housewives followed suit in criticizing Britani's behavior.
"She's an active Mormon, and to be an active Mormon and not get kicked out of the church, you can't have sex, you can't drink, and you're doing both," Bad Mormon author Heather Gay said during the reunion special. To this claim, Britani said that standards like that depend on what the Bishop at someone's specific congregation believes and Lisa Barlow backed Britani up by pointing out that despite being Mormon herself, she owns a tequila brand.
Considering the fact that earlier in the season, Britani Bateman had said that was inappropriate of Angie Katsanevas to bring a bottle of wine to a prayer night, Heather Gay said she felt like the new cast member was wrong to defend herself now by saying that it's up to the standards of one's own Bishop.
The cast was seriously divided on this issue. While Lisa Barlow said that no one else should be able to judge someone for how they partake in their own religion, fellow newbie to RHOSLC Bronwyn Newport took the side of Heather and Angie and said that she didn't think that Britani was a good example of someone who is part of the Mormon faith.
Bronwyn took Heather's side and agreed that if someone wants to present themselves as Mormon, they shouldn't be drinking, dating around, and having sex outside of marriage because all of those are definitely things that go against the typical view of someone who is Mormon.
Bronwyn went on to call out the fact that Britani seemed to hold herself to a different standard than everyone else, saying that it's up to her Bishop to say whether or not she can drink while being upset with Angie for bringing wine to an event. She said, "I will say, there are lots of examples, Britani, of you saying something to all of us, and when we say it back to you, you don't like the way it sounds. You can't say something and then not like it when someone mirrors it back to you."
As with much of the rest of the RHOSLC drama, it's hard to pick a side on this bit of reunion beef.
On one hand, if Britani feels that her Bishop has told her that wine and dating everyone on her spreadsheet is acceptable and not going against her faith, she's an adult who is within her rights to do that. On the other, it's easy to see why the other women felt like Britani was being unfair enjoying a drink herself while getting upset with Angie for her good faith gesture of bringing a bottle of wine to an event.
All of season 5 of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, including the three part reunion special, is available for streaming now on Peacock.