Meredith Marks Watched One Episode of Every Real Housewives Before Joining RHOSLC

Photo: Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Vulture

Meredith and Brooks Marks engaged with Vulture Festival on Sunday — wrapping and giving out some of their favorite products to audience members along with some wonderful panel responses. Among the gifts: details on Meredith’s, uh, unique prep for her first season of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. “I watched very, very little reality television prior to this,� Meredith said of her first season (while noting she did tune in for Emily Maynard’s season of The Bachelor — because the contestant wore Meredith Marks jewelry). “So when I found out that I was on Housewives, I made the mistake of watching one episode from every franchise and never watching a full season,� she continued. Among the few she watched was the episode of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in which Lisa Rinna accuses Dorit Kemsley of doing coke in her bathroom, unaware of how iconic that moment is. “It’s funny because when you watch these shows without understanding the whole context of the season, they really seem kind of silly. Like, Oh, that’s not a big deal!,� Meredith said. “That was one that I was like, Ooh, gosh, that was a little bit much. Other than that, I was like, This seems easy breezy.�

Even if a lack of preparation made her feel like a “deer in the headlights� at the start of her season, Meredith thinks it made her more engaged in the show. “I wouldn’t have known how to play it if I wanted to, which was good and positive and made me realize that that’s really just the way to go,� she explained. “’Cause if you’re not being authentic and true to yourself, you’re just going to get caught in lies, it’s going to backfire.� As for Meredith’s advice for when one of your reality-TV castmates’ (alleged) lies backfires and leads to a federal indictment? “Just jump in the tub.�