Book Review: Bad Mormon | Heather Gay | RHOSLC

Book Review: “Bad Mormon” by Heather Gay — A Surprisingly Fast, Juicy Read with Zero Vagina Exploitation

I finally got around to reading Heather Gay’s debut memoir, Bad Mormon, and let me tell you — it’s one of those books that’s deceptively easy to read. I finished it in just three days, which for a Bravo-adjacent memoir is basically a speed record. You know those celeb books that feel like homework halfway through? This isn’t that. Heather’s voice is sharp, funny, and disarmingly honest.

What Works

What I loved most is how readable and unpretentious it is. Heather has this rare ability to balance humor and heartbreak in the same paragraph — one second she’s talking about Mormon modesty garments, and the next she’s unpacking spiritual guilt or family dynamics with a level of clarity that makes you go, “Okay, this woman has actually done her therapy.”

There’s so much in Bad Mormon that explains the Heather we see on RHOSLC: her self-deprecating humor, her guilt about breaking free from the Church, and that deep-seated need to belong that sometimes makes her too forgiving of messy people (re: Whitney Rose). It’s a memoir that gives context without asking for pity — which is honestly harder to pull off than any fake-tan-and-confessional montage.

The Whitney of It All

Now, let’s address the pink elephant — or should I say, pink-haired cousin — in the room.

Whitney Rose’s now-infamous “you exploited my vagina!” meltdown in the Bermuda bar parking lot has officially entered the Reality TV Hall of Lies; because after reading Bad Mormon cover to cover, I can confirm: Heather never once mentions Whitney’s vagina. Not even in passing. Not even metaphorically. The whole thing was clearly an on-screen moment hunt, and Whitney went full method actress in high-heels to make it happen.

If anything, Heather’s writing shows she’s not the manipulative puppet-master Whitney tried to paint her as. She’s just a woman who survived an intense religious culture, built a beauty business from scratch, and somehow became a Bravo icon along the way — all while navigating frenemies, faith, and fame.

Final Thoughts

Bad Mormon isn’t just a Housewives cash-grab; it’s an actual book. It’s introspective without being self-indulgent, funny without trying too hard, and written with a sincerity you don’t often get from reality-TV stars.

If you’re a fan of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City or just love a memoir about reinvention, this one’s worth the read. It gives Heather dimension — not as the “fun aunt with a flask,” but as someone who dared to rewrite her entire belief system and still show up to reunion tapings in a killer blazer.

Rating: 9/10

A surprisingly thoughtful, fast read — and definitive proof that Whitney’s parking-lot performance deserves a Razzie… for fiction.