Heather Gay, known from The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, will share her story of leaving the Mormon church in a new three-part documentary on Bravo, called Surviving Mormonism. The documentary will also explore controversial issues like conversion therapy.
The 51-year-old reality star left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after starting on the Bravo series in 2020.
The TV personality, originally from Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, shared with People magazine on Tuesday that creating the documentary about the church felt deeply meaningful to her.
The Brigham Young University graduate expressed surprise at finding empowerment and fulfillment in challenging their faith, identity, family, and community, saying they never expected to feel this way.
Gay explained she felt a strong need to raise public awareness about important issues.
The Bravo docuseries also features interviews conducted with former members of the Mormon church.
Gay expressed deep respect and gratitude for the survivors who opened up to her. She noted the vulnerability of sharing such personal and difficult experiences with someone known from reality television.
‘That takes a leap of faith, and I feel such a kinship to them.’
Gay said the 2016 documentary Scientology and the Aftermath, featuring Leah Remini, motivated her to create a documentary about her own experiences with the Mormon church.
Honestly, when I heard what she did, it just resonated with me so deeply. It felt so right that she was finally letting those unheard voices be heard, giving them the space they deserved. It reminded me so much of my own journey when I left the Mormon church – that feeling of finally breaking free and finding your voice after being quiet for so long. It was incredibly powerful to watch, and I felt instantly connected to her for doing it.
Gay said she ‘didn’t really realize how similar that experience was until [she] left.’
Gay particularly admired Remini’s willingness to reflect on her past involvement with faith and acknowledge that she hadn’t fully understood everything at the time.
While I was actively involved, everything seemed positive and idyllic, like rainbows and unicorns, as I put it. But after leaving and distancing myself, I began to truly understand and hear the difficult experiences of others who had also left Mormonism – stories of just trying to survive.
Gay explained that when you’re directly involved in something, you rarely hear about the negative stories surrounding it. People don’t discuss those issues, and it’s a topic generally avoided.
People who leave are often ignored and discouraged, and their voices are lost. It’s only when they’re gone that you start to hear the complaints – I experienced that myself, only hearing criticism of the church after I had left.
Last month, Gay shared on Instagram how thankful she was for the courageous individuals who contributed their stories of faith and resilience to the documentary series. She believes viewers will be equally moved by their experiences.
The reality TV personality shared with People magazine that she felt like an outsider after leaving the church. She’s discussed this feeling in detail in her books, Bad Mormon (2023) and Good Time Girl (2024).
After leaving the church, Gay explained she felt a strong sense of duty to share her experiences as a former member.
Traveling allowed me to meet many people with incredible stories they were eager to share, as Gay explained.
You know, one of the most incredible things that happened to me was unexpectedly connecting with people from all walks of life, all over the globe. Hearing their personal stories was truly powerful and deeply inspiring – it really shifted my perspective.
Surviving Mormonism with Heather Gay is slated to debut Tuesday on Bravo at 9:45 p.m. ET.
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2025-11-12 03:06