Monica Garcia Might Be Too Real for Real Housewives

On The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City finale

Monica Darnell (née). Monica Fowler. Monica Garcia. Reality Von Tease??? The season four finale of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City dropped on Tuesday and became the first water cooler moment of 2024 when Heather Gay discovered that new Housewife Monica Garcia wasn’t who she says she is. Born Monica Darnell (her mother’s maiden name), turned Monica Fowler (her married named), turned Monica Garcia (her father’s last name), the new cast member had yet another identity. She was secretly behind the Instagram account Reality Von Tease, which was created years ago to take down Jen Shah and also spread rumorssss and nastinessssss about the other women. How amazing was this episode? Let's just say that it was the best episode of the series, a collection of episodes which includes Jen Shah being arrested by the Feds in season 2.

On a group trip to Bermuda where Monica pushed the rumor that fellow cast member Angie Katsanevas is part of the Greek mafia, she also tried to blame the anonymous DMs she received on Meredith Marks. This aroused suspicions from Heather, who began to dig into Monica's past and discovered that not only was their new cast mate attempting to frame Meredith — she was also behind an internet troll account that had harassed them for years.

It's impossible to convey just how much my friends and I were gooped, gagged, and gee willikered as Heather confronted Monica during a dinner party — before the show flashed back to Heather gathering Meredith, Lisa Barlow, and Whitney Rose on the beach earlier to reveal Monica's secret to them and ask for back up when Heather confronts her at dinner. From start to finish, this was one of the best episodes of Real Housewives ever produced. But its success has taken the franchise in a direction that might be impossible to contain.

Essentially, Monica hacked the show. A Housewives fan with an internet troll account managed to scam their way onto the show (after turning informant and flipping on Jen Shah to the feds), become a Housewife themselves, become a fan favorite, then get first chair next to Andy Cohen at the reunion. For fans, it's exhilarating. For the women on other Housewives series, it's probably absolutely terrifying. That's not to say similar things haven't happened on the series before. Selling stories to the tabloids, talking to the press, or even bashing other cast members on your personal YouTube channel or podcasts is de rigueur for most of these women. But speaking to gossip reporters is just how society women fight. And trash talking on a podcast means you're at least standing on business, as the TikTokers say. Doing all of this in secret and leading the women to believe it's just some gay adult Bravo fan posting from the treadmill at Planet Fitness is another thing.

There are several arguments happening amongst Bravo fans right now. Some people stan Monica (this is correct). Some people think she's crazy (this is also correct). Some people think she's seizing the means of production like some Housewives Marxist (this was funny only the first time I heard it). She wasn't trying to dismantle the series, she just wanted to be famous, which is fine in a Julia Fox kind of way, but as much as this season shook up the formula of Real Housewives, it's not sustainable. For the show or for the audience.

The insistence that Monica and Monica alone is needed to save the series (she's not, the series has never needed saving — recency bias is ignoring the fact that every season of RHOSLC has been fantastic) is short-sighted. Where does the series go in its fifth season with Monica present? She can't pull the same tricks. She's a messy gossiper who screams at her mother. Even if the women were forced to film with her, it'd be impossible to replicate season four. Filming with her would not make anyone believe a word that comes out of her mouth. So what would result is a season of Monica being forced off the show like Quad on Married to the Medicine this season, which I'm not sure would be entirely fun to watch! When you choose to become a LeeAnne Locken (Real Housewives of Dallas) or Danielle Staub (Real Housewives of New Jersey), your position on a show like this is untenable.

Monica succeeded in a much more important way, which is actually bonding the four leads of RHOSLC against a common antagonist. While some people have compared Monica to Ghostface in Scream, I would put the POV on Meredith, Heather, Lisa, and Whitney and view them as similar to the leads of Desperate Housewives or Pretty Little Liars. The series works best when these women are the focal point and they're up against a common enemy. Whether that be Jen Shah, Mary Cosby, Jennie the Racist, Angie H and her husband, or Angie K. Some of these antagonists eventually became neutral, like Mary and Angie K, who worked well this season as additions to the core four. But there is no world where a show centered around the lunatics of Salt Lake would be successful. Television series need constants as well as variables. 

Realistically, Monica should not return as full-time next season. It would not only encourage more psychos to try and hack their way onto the show, but it would also break the show. A recurring role where she attempts to make amends with the women (as if she even wants to, or has the temperament capable of it) end eventually gives up to cause trouble for them would be fun. But I will hold firm to my stance that an entire season of Monica would be exhausting. More leaked videos have already proved that she and her toxic mother were "acting" during most of their tenure on the series. Reality television involves some constructed scenarios, yes, but Bravo is one of the networks that trades more on reality than fiction.

Monica has an uphill battle. We'll see how she fares at the reunion (bringing a BURN BOOK to the reunion is corny as hell, sorry!), but it seems unlikely that the women will embrace her. And I don't think many other Housewives on other franchises will embrace her either, they'll be too busy worried that a Monica might show on their show. Monica has a growing fanbase online, however, she'll probably be fine if she ends up on The Traitors or another NBC Universal reality series. But I fear she may be too real for Real Housewives. Eventually, fans will remember they don't watch this franchise to see women shopping with a Chime card.