Heather Gay Claims Jen Shah Gave Her Black Eye

While the details are still a little hazy, Gay was adamant on Part 3 of the show’s reunion Tuesday night that she got it from Jen Shah, as previously-unseen footage allegedly showed them talking about it and the coverup on camera.

For what it’s worth, Jen was also adamant on social media when the reveal was first teased that she had nothing to do with the shiner. We’re sure a new statement will be incoming.

“Heather, you shocked the world when you claimed Jen gave you the black eye, tell us how it happened,” asked Andy Cohen, after Gay made the claim during the season finale but provided no details at the time.

“Honestly, it was a lot of drinking and the next morning I woke up with the black eye, I knew I’d gotten it from Jen,” she told Cohen. “I didn’t know how, but I knew I’d gotten it from Jen. She was the first person I texted, she came in the room, she said, ‘Did I give that to you?’ I said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll cover.'”

When asked why she felt she had to “cover” for Shah, Heather said, “I don’t know. I was scared of her I think.”

“I had been covering for her for three years. I wasn’t going to to stop with the black eye. I was that in,” she continued. “And I was too scared to say anything. I was terrified to say it, I was still scared to say it at reunion, I was still scared to say it in Bermuda.”

She only spoke out in Bermuda because she once again felt like she was being betrayed by someone she thought was a friend — this time Monica Garcia, who was exposed as being one of the people behind a RHOSLC “troll” account.

Production then revealed previously-unseen footage from the morning Gay woke up with a black eye. A slate warned viewers that the audio was “unintelligible,” adding that both Jen and Heather initially claimed they “were discussing a different topic” in the video. “Heather now claims this footage shows them discussing the black eye,” added the note.

The footage showed Jen arriving to Heather’s room during their San Diego trip, coming in and sitting on the couch. As Bravo noted, the audio isn’t clear — but Heather claimed Jen said, “I did that to you, I can’t believe I did that to you.” She said she replied, “Don’t worry about it, I got you.”

Gay then went on to apologize to her cast members, the network and audience for lying about the bruise for so long.

“I didn’t know how to navigate it myself. It was a horrible situation … I was scared and I did what I always do, I deflect with humor. It was in poor taste, it was horrible,” she continued.

Cohen called out Gay for suggesting a producer could have done it to her or that production covered up what happened at her book signings. He said that wasn’t a “funny” thing to do, with Heather insisting the comments were made in jest and not in a serious tone.

“I took a lot of hits for the black eye. I didn’t go on social media for six months, and I was too scared to accuse or say anything otherwise. I’m still scared. I don’t even want to have to do it now,” she said, adding that she and Jen did talk about how big of a thing her eye would become.

“She said, ‘Unless they can show us the footage, we deny,'” said Gay, who claimed Jen also never thanked her for allegedly covering for her. “She was never my friend. She pretended to be my friend and I fell for it. I will not fall for a pretend friend again. I’m still worried about the retaliation.”

The other women in the cast — Monica included — all said they understood why Gay kept the secret so long and gave her some grace for lying to them. The segment ended with Andy giving Heather the chance to send a message to Jen, if she was watching in prison.

“I would say, I’m no longer your bitch and I regret believing in you. I regret turning on all of you in her defense,” she said. “I regret fighting her fight, I regret disrespecting my children, my family and my opportunity here. And I would say I’m glad you’re in prison, or I might not have had the guts to do it otherwise.”

Andy called her comments a “powerful thing” and added there was nothing left to be said about the incident going forward.