Did you ever stop to think about how a Mercury retrograde could throw a wrench in even the most stable of marriages? Well, it seems Heather Gay sure didn’t see it coming when it was announced that her fellow Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star, Whitney Rose, filed for divorce from her husband, Justin Rose. Despite the buzz among the cast about Whitney and Justin’s separation, Heather held onto the hope that the couple could patch things up. But with the official filing now in the spotlight, Heather’s left to grapple not only with her friend’s heartbreak but also with the echoes of her own challenging divorce—a reality that can feel even heavier under the watchful eyes of reality TV. Buckle up, folks; it’s about to get emotional!
Heather Gay did not expect Whitney Rose’s marriage to Justin Rose to end in divorce.
Although the “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” cast knew the couple had separated, Gay believed they could still work through their problems.
Learning that Whitney had officially filed left Gay grappling with a different reality, one that also brought back memories of her own difficult divorce. For Gay, the situation was especially painful because she knew what it meant to navigate the end of a marriage publicly.
Gay did not seem to expect the news when she spoke with Kiki Monique on the most recent episode of Radio Andy’s “Reality Checked with Dorinda Medley and Kiki Monique.”
During the chat, Monique told her that Whitney Rose had filed for divorce from Justin, noting that the news had just made headlines and that Gay seemed to be hearing about the filing for the first time.
Gay initially responded, “Oh, okay.” When Monique pointed out that Gay seemed shocked and asked whether she had thought the couple might reconcile, Gay confirmed that she had.
“Yeah, I’m a little shocked,” she revealed. Gay also noted that Whitney was in New York at the time before acknowledging again, “I thought that they, yeah, I am shocked.”
Most importantly, Gay clarified what she had believed was happening between the couple, noting, “I thought that they were just separating and working on it.”

As Monique acknowledged that Gay appeared upset by the news, the latter explained that her reaction went beyond the surprise of learning about the filing.
She had affection for the people involved and understood the weight of ending a marriage herself.
“It’s just kind of like, you know, I love Justin. I love their family,” Gay explained. The TV personality then put the situation into the context of her own experience, sharing, “I know how hard divorce is. This sucks.”
That history made Whitney Rose’s situation particularly difficult for Gay to watch. Rather than treating the filing as another development surrounding the “RHOSLC” cast, Gay described her response as one shaped by genuine concern for a family she knew and loved.

Credit: LISA OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
Gay then focused on what she considered another difficult part of Whitney Rose’s situation: having a private family crisis become public news while living under the scrutiny that comes with reality television.
“I can’t imagine doing it on this platform, like, publicly,” Gay said. She specifically referenced the Page Six report and the consequences of having the filing become something she would have to confront in everyday life.
“I can’t imagine Page Six posting about it and me having to deal with that with every person I see at the grocery store, and with my kids, and like, you know…” Gay said.
Her own divorce unfolded very differently. Gay explained that she deliberately kept the process out of the public eye, saying, “I divorced so secretly, like secretly and slowly, like molasses slow.”
According to her, she made that choice because she wanted to protect herself from the difficulty surrounding the breakup.
Shortly after the chat, Gay addressed the divorce again on the October 7 episode of “Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen,” making clear that her initial reaction hadn’t changed.
“I was surprised, I really was,” she said. Gay explained that she had viewed the marriage as being in a period of estrangement rather than heading toward divorce, adding, “I really thought it was a chapter of estrangement but I was surprised.”
By then, Gay had also communicated directly with Whitney Rose. “I’ve texted with Whitney,” she revealed, indicating that their friendship had continued despite the difficult news.
Gay again drew on her own experience, describing divorce as “very, very difficult” and saying it was “horrendously difficult” for her.
Her concern extended to the different pressures Whitney now has to manage simultaneously. “I can’t imagine now navigating it with the public and the personal and the kids and all of it,” Gay said.
Rather than predicting what happens next, the businesswoman made clear where she stood with her castmate, admitting, “I’m just rooting for her and thinking of her.”
Whitney and Justin tied the knot in November 2009 and went on to raise two children, daughter Bobbie and son Brooks.
Justin also has three sons from a previous marriage. The couple’s marriage was approaching its 17th anniversary when Rose filed for divorce on October 6, 2026, in Utah’s Third District Court in Salt Lake City, according to The Blast.
She also filed a proposed parenting plan concerning their children, while other divorce documents remained private.
The filing followed months of living separately. According to a PEOPLE source, there was “wasn’t one dramatic moment” behind the breakup, with the couple having experienced difficulties over time and making efforts to work through them.
Financial problems also reportedly contributed to the strain, with a source saying the situation “took a major toll on them.”
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