As we suspected, going to prison hasn’t been very Shah-mazing for Jen Shah so far. In a journal entry posted on her Instagram, the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star shares her memories of February 17, the day that she surrendered for a 78-month sentence for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a telemarketing scam that primarily targeted senior citizens. A copy of the entry was uploaded to Shah’s Instagram, along with a video of her husband reading it aloud.
Shah describes having an “anxiety attack†and crying on a FaceTime call with her oldest son, Sharrieff Jr., on the way to Bryan Federal Prison Camp. When it was time to say her in-person good-byes to her husband and her younger son, Omar, she says she felt “silently urged†by officers to hurry up. She alleges that an officer did not let her keep her release plan, contacts list, Quran, or driver’s license in her bag of essential items. The loss of her contacts list in particular made her feel “instantly isolated†because she didn’t have the “mental bandwidth†to memorize everyone’s emails, addresses, and phone numbers. After a couple more descriptions of tearful hugs and kisses, Shah recalls her entire body feeling “numb†as she turned back to wave at her family. “I am truly scared. I feel physically sick,†she writes. “I feel like I don’t belong here. I thought I could do this but I’ve decided I can’t. I want to go home right now, but I know that is impossible. Please Allah help me, please.â€
Coach Sharrieff Shah added in his video that during the last 19 days, his wife has read four books “cover to cover,†written book reports, been assigned a job in the camp, and started learning a new language. Well, we do remember the early days in the pandemic when everyone thought they should pick up some new skills … for Shah, we suppose this is just a different type of lockdown.