RHOSLC Newbie Ashley Quai Reveals Lisa Barlow Was ‘Reason I Made It’ Through Season 7

Ashley Quai may be new to “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” but she already has some very strong opinions about her new castmates — especially Lisa Barlow.

Quai, who joined RHOSLC season 7 as a friend of the cast, has known Lisa for 20 years. Their history goes back to 2006, when the former makeup artist joined Lisa’s glam squad.

After experiencing her first season of filming, Ashley made it clear that their longtime friendship only became stronger.

“I (expletive) love Lisa Barlow,” Ashley, 44, told Us Weekly. “She is the baddest (expletive) out of this whole friend group. She supported me. She kept me alive. She had my back, and she’s a baddie. That’s why all these girls do not like her. She is a bad (expletive)!”

Ashley Quai Says Lisa Barlow Got Her Through RHOSLC Season 7

Ashley doubled down on her praise for Lisa, revealing that she relied on her longtime friend while adjusting to life in front of Bravo’s cameras.

“I knew Lisa would be there no matter what. She is the reason I made it through this season,” Ashley said. “Lisa has always been a friend of mine. [She] had my back when I needed it.”

Lisa isn’t Ashley’s only longtime connection to the RHOSLC cast.

Ashley has known Meredith Marks for approximately 10 years, while her relationship with Whitney Rose has a more personal connection. Ashley’s late sister-in-law, Shari Quai, who died in April 2023 after battling cancer, was Whitney’s best friend.

Ashley explained during season 7, Episode 2 that she relocated following Shari’s death so she could be closer to her brother and his three children.

“I really like Whitney,” Ashley told a producer. “Whitney continues to show up for my brother and his kids. And through that, I saw who she was: a beautiful woman, stand-up mother. But I love Lisa and Meredith. So, can’t we all just get along?”

As Bravo and Cocktails previously reported, Whitney has also opened up about losing Shari and the connection that now links her to Ashley.

Ashley Quai Reveals What Fans Can Expect From Her First RHOSLC Season

Ashley was born and raised in Utah and is an entrepreneur and former makeup artist. She has been married to her husband, Stephen, for five years and has a 23-year-old daughter, Zariah.

Despite her longstanding friendships with several Housewives, Ashley admitted she wasn’t exactly an RHOSLC expert before joining the show.

“I got real good clips in the 30-second, minute span,” she said of watching the series on TikTok. “Being on it and seeing how these 30 seconds are really three hours has kind of been eye-opening.”

Ashley told Bravo Insider that viewers will get to see more than drama during her debut season.

“Viewers will be able to see people’s true colors and some fun times. My true colors are all of the rainbow. We’re just beautiful little unicorns, right? We’re real girls for sure,” she said.

While Ashley admitted she is “terrified” to relive the fights, she’s much more excited about watching the cast’s trip to Hawaii.

“Our Hawaii trip and the luau, how we all got up danced and had a good time, I’m excited for that,” she said. “I think our butterfly experience there was a lot of fun, so that will be fun to watch back. And Mary, Lisa, and I had a great time. I would say we had good times in Hawaii.”