RHOSLC's Jen Shah and Coach Sharrieff Shah’s Relationship Timeline

From reality TV meltdowns to allegations of fraud, Coach Sharrieff Shah has stood by Jen Shah through it all. While Bravo watchers were introduced to the couple when The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City launched in late 2020, the twosome met in the ‘90s while attending The University of Utah. "We had a class together. I saw her, my heart stops immediately," Sharrieff recalled of his wife on season 1. "I walk up to her [and ask], 'Is that seat taken?' She looks at me like, 'There's nobody there. I guess not.' That's how we met." The pair were still in college when Jen got pregnant with their eldest son, who was born in 1994. They would go on to tie the knot that year. “The second I find out I am devastated because I'm like, ‘You don't understand. My life just ended. This is against everything I've been,’” Jen, who was raised Mormon, recalled on the “Currently Cringing” podcast in 2020 about struggling to tell her parents she was pregnant. “And it was so weird for me because Sharrieff like, ‘Oh my gosh, I'm so happy.’ Cause his mom calls his dad, his dad gets on the phone and is like, ‘Jen, I'm so excited, baby.’ ... And I'm like, ‘Hey, this is really weird. Cause we're not married.’" After they got married, Jen converted to Islam, and they welcomed a second son, Omar, in 2003. "When I was about five years into my marriage, we had our first son, and it was time to start thinking about how we are going to raise him under one religion. It was important to me that we had consistency. I didn't want my son to be confused with what mommy is practicing and what dad is practicing," she explained to E! News. While Jen certainly made waves for her antics during season 1 of RHOSLC, things got real during production of season 2 in March 2021 when she and assistant Stuart Smith were arrested for their alleged roles in a telemarketing scheme that defrauded hundreds of victims who were mostly over the age of 55. “Jennifer Shah, who portrays herself as a wealthy and successful businessperson on ‘reality’ television, and Stuart Smith, who is portrayed as Shah’s ‘first assistant,’ allegedly generated and sold ‘lead lists’ of innocent individuals for other members of their scheme to repeatedly scam,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss explained in a statement at the time. [sendtonews type="float" key="cI1ObgsNBl-2829741-14453"] The reality TV personality and her assistant initially pleaded not guilty to all charges. While Smith changed his plea in November 2021, Jen agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud as part of a plea deal, which included a sentencing range of 11 to 14 years under advisory guidelines, in July 2022. Leading up to her sentencing, which is set for January 6, 2023, after several schedule changes, Jen and Sharrieff asked the judge to reduce the amount of time she should be ordered to spend behind bars to just three years. “Jen has never been arrested or detained for any crime. My wife’s current legal predicament was caused by a confluence of events that came together at various points, which caused her to spiral out of control,” the University of Utah special teams coordinator and cornerbacks coach wrote in a letter to the judge in December 2022. Sharrieff alleged that troubles in their relationship led Jen to “make catastrophically bad business decisions and develop relationships with awful people.” “Because of my absence, I was not able to see how badly my wife was suffering,” he continued. “As I think about it now, I saw her spending more time in our bedroom alone. She often fell asleep in our children’s bed waiting for me to come home. She would constantly tell me that she feels so alone.” While her husband stated that Jen “took the first huge step in making things right by acknowledging her own guilt and accountability,” the government argued that the Bravo star’s “belated expressions of remorse ring hollow” and recommended a sentence of 10 years. Scroll through for Jen and Sharrieff’s complete relationship timeline:

From reality TV meltdowns to allegations of fraud, Coach Sharrieff Shah has stood by Jen Shah through it all. While Bravo watchers were introduced to the couple when The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City launched in late 2020, the twosome met in the ‘90s while attending The University of Utah. "We had a class together. I saw her, my heart stops immediately," Sharrieff recalled of his wife on season 1. "I walk up to her [and ask], 'Is that seat taken?' She looks at me like, 'There's nobody there. I guess not.' That's how we met." The pair were still in college when Jen got pregnant with their eldest son, who was born in 1994. They would go on to tie the knot that year. “The second I find out I am devastated because I'm like, ‘You don't understand. My life just ended. This is against everything I've been,’” Jen, who was raised Mormon, recalled on the “Currently Cringing” podcast in 2020 about struggling to tell her parents she was pregnant. “And it was so weird for me because Sharrieff like, ‘Oh my gosh, I'm so happy.’ Cause his mom calls his dad, his dad gets on the phone and is like, ‘Jen, I'm so excited, baby.’ ... And I'm like, ‘Hey, this is really weird. Cause we're not married.’" After they got married, Jen converted to Islam, and they welcomed a second son, Omar, in 2003. "When I was about five years into my marriage, we had our first son, and it was time to start thinking about how we are going to raise him under one religion. It was important to me that we had consistency. I didn't want my son to be confused with what mommy is practicing and what dad is practicing," she explained to E! News. While Jen certainly made waves for her antics during season 1 of RHOSLC, things got real during production of season 2 in March 2021 when she and assistant Stuart Smith were arrested for their alleged roles in a telemarketing scheme that defrauded hundreds of victims who were mostly over the age of 55. “Jennifer Shah, who portrays herself as a wealthy and successful businessperson on ‘reality’ television, and Stuart Smith, who is portrayed as Shah’s ‘first assistant,’ allegedly generated and sold ‘lead lists’ of innocent individuals for other members of their scheme to repeatedly scam,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss explained in a statement at the time. [sendtonews type="float" key="cI1ObgsNBl-2829741-14453"] The reality TV personality and her assistant initially pleaded not guilty to all charges. While Smith changed his plea in November 2021, Jen agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud as part of a plea deal, which included a sentencing range of 11 to 14 years under advisory guidelines, in July 2022. Leading up to her sentencing, which is set for January 6, 2023, after several schedule changes, Jen and Sharrieff asked the judge to reduce the amount of time she should be ordered to spend behind bars to just three years. “Jen has never been arrested or detained for any crime. My wife’s current legal predicament was caused by a confluence of events that came together at various points, which caused her to spiral out of control,” the University of Utah special teams coordinator and cornerbacks coach wrote in a letter to the judge in December 2022. Sharrieff alleged that troubles in their relationship led Jen to “make catastrophically bad business decisions and develop relationships with awful people.” “Because of my absence, I was not able to see how badly my wife was suffering,” he continued. “As I think about it now, I saw her spending more time in our bedroom alone. She often fell asleep in our children’s bed waiting for me to come home. She would constantly tell me that she feels so alone.” While her husband stated that Jen “took the first huge step in making things right by acknowledging her own guilt and accountability,” the government argued that the Bravo star’s “belated expressions of remorse ring hollow” and recommended a sentence of 10 years. Scroll through for Jen and Sharrieff’s complete relationship timeline:

The couple exchanged vows after meeting at The University of Utah.

Their eldest son, Sharrieff Jr., was Born.

Their family was completed when son Omar was born.

One year before their lives changed because Jen signed on to Housewives, the “Shah Squad” celebrated Thanksgiving with a “grateful and love filled #TBT.”

RHOSLC premiered on Bravo in November. By the end of the season, cracks in their marriage had emerged when Jen had a breakdown over Sharrieff not supporting her when her father died.

“After my dad passed a year ago and with Sharrieff being gone all the time, I became very depressed. I had to go on medicine for anxiety and depression, but I was scared, though, to get on medication and, like, it was a sign of weakness,” she explained in a December episode. “After my dad passed away, I was lashing out at everybody around me. I mean, it almost cost me my marriage. He was done with me acting out and it wasn’t until, you know, Sharrieff was like, ‘I’m leaving,’ that I was like, ‘Wait, hold.’ That was my rock bottom.”

Jen was arrested on March 30 and maintained her innocence for more than one year.

Jen changed her plea to guilty in July. Two months later, she marked 28 years of marriage to Sharrieff.

“All of me, loves all of you. You’re my end and my beginning…my yesterday, today, tomorrow, MY ENTIRE HEART. ♥️,” she gushed via Instagram. “Happy 28th Anniversary Sweetlove. #forever #shahmazing #oneandonly #blessed #rhoslc #bravotv.”

Along with his two sons, Sharrieff penned a letter to the judge asking for leniency ahead of Jen’s sentencing. “She knows the emotional and psychological toll that her sons have already been forced to pay,” he wrote about the “embarrassment, fear and shame” Jen and their family have experienced. “These are harms for which she will spend the rest of her life atoning.”

Four days before her scheduled sentencing, Jen traveled to Pasadena to watch the University of Utah play Penn State in the Rose Bowl. (Sharrieff's team lost to the Nittany Lions 35-21.)

Jen’s family, including Sharrieff and their two sons, were by her side at her sentencing in New York City on January 6. Before she was sentenced to six and a half years in prison, Jen apologized to the victims and her family. “To my baby Omar, Mommy is so sorry you were woken up at gunpoint. My late father, I want to tell him I am sorry,” she said. “I am humbled by your love for me.”

Jen reported to FPC Bryan in Texas for the start of her 78-month prison sentence. "I want to thank all my supporters out there that have been there throughout this entire journey and supported me through the most difficult time of my life," the reality star said in an interview shared via her website shortly before she surrendered. "And not only me, but my family. I wanna say thank you for supporting me, for loving me, for standing by my side ... and I wanna say I'm sorry. I'm sorry for letting you down. I'm sorry for letting the victims down. I want to from this point forward prove worthy. I want to make each victim whole. I want to prove worthy of the love and support that Sharrieff and Omar and Sharrieff Jr. and my mom have shown — my brothers and sisters have shown me — throughout this journey." 

In the middle of serving her prison sentence, Jen found a way to mark her anniversary with Coach Sharrieff.

“Happy 31st Anniversary today to me and my baby! Words cannot express how much I love and appreciate you,” she wrote via Instagram on August 26. “You bring so much joy to my life & I am forever thankful for your overwhelming love and support as we approach this next chapter. Thank you for blessing me with two amazing young men. I love you so much & can’t wait to hold you again soon. 💕 #Bismillah.”