Friendships can blossom in the darkest of times.
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City's Meredith Marks and Jen Shah have had quite a rocky relationship over the past few years. Drama between the two got especially heated on season two of the Bravo series, as Meredith accused Jen of liking homophobic tweets directed at her son, Brooks Marks.
But things have changed, as the two have recently formed a super-close friendship amid Jen's ongoing legal drama on the show's current third season, confusing many viewers and cast members alike. Meredith broke down the reasoning behind their unexpected reconciliation on the Nov. 2 episode of Watch What Happens Live.
"First of all, Jen has a lot of things going on right now, as we all know," Meredith explained to host Andy Cohen. "And I don't kick someone when they're down."
In July, Jen plead guilty in federal court a week before her fraud case was to go to trial. The date of Jen's sentencing—in which she could face up to 30 years in prison and up to $9.5 million in restitution and fines—happens to fall on Meredith's birthday, Dec. 15.
With all the chaos going on in Jen's life, Meredith said on the late-night talk show, "The last thing I wanted was for Jen Shah to be worrying about Meredith Marks."
"I felt like she needed support, and I felt like I had a level of understanding of where she was coming from," the 50-year-old continued. "And when you have understanding, you have acceptance, and she gave me that. She gave me and my family clean apologies and a level of understanding and insight into what she was going through that made her do these things."
Meredith supported Jen in NYC in the days leading up to her guilty plea with fellow RHOSLC co-star Heather Gay. A day before the hearing, Meredith shared a message with fans on her Instagram story about the trial's verdict.
"For those of you who may not know this: I live in the United States of America," she wrote on July 10. "In the US, one has a right to a trial and is presumed innocent until proven guilty."
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on Bravo. Catch up on past episodes streaming now on Peacock.
(E!, Bravo and Peacock are all part of the NBCUniversal family.)