‘RHOSLC’s’ Heather Gay Says She Felt ‘Validated’ Watching ‘Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’: ‘We Weren’t Lying!’ (Exclusive)

Heather Gay has found kindred spirits in the ladies of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star, 50, revealed she is a fan of the Hulu reality show and why she felt seen with how the Mormon faith was represented as a former member of the church.

“It basically validated what I wrote about in Bad Mormon,” she explained, referring to her memoir. “And it validated what we’ve been talking about on Housewives for the last five seasons.”

The Bravolebrity added that she felt the Salt Lake City Housewives laid the “groundwork for this culture.” She claimed that when they first came on the scene, they were criticized for not “representing it” properly and others accused her of “speaking out because I was disgruntled or because I had been rejected.”

“Now, when you see this whole other generation, these young girls that are saying the exact same things that we’ve been saying for the last five years, and living it,” she continued. “It pulls back the curtain even more. I feel very seen and validated, and like, ‘See? We told you so. We weren’t lying. No lies were told.’ ”

Gay recalled how she and her peers used to be called “old-school Mormons” and would be told that the Mormon church had “changed and evolved” since they departed.

“These are young, 21-year-old girls that are not one day different than I was when I was 21, in terms of what their expectations are and what the cultural pressures are from their families and beyond,” she countered.

The reality star told PEOPLE that she hopes and “prays” the cast of the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives will follow her trajectory and become feminists and pursue opportunities given to them by the show with “reckless abandon, because it’s their way out.”

“When I meet people, I feel rescued by the Housewives. I feel rescued by these opportunities,” Gay said. “Every book I write, I feel is cathartic therapy, unburdening more of what I’m unpacking. And I would never have been able to do that without these opportunities.”

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The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives has quickly become one of Hulu’s biggest reality series since its premiere on Sept. 6. Earlier this month, Hulu confirmed that the ladies of MomTok will bring the dancing and drama back to our screens for another 20 episodes.

The reality series follows eight popular Mormon #MomTok influencers who rose to popularity in 2020 — Taylor Frankie Paul, Jennifer Affleck, Demi Engemann, Mayci Neeley, Jessi Ngatikaura, Mikayla Matthews, Whitney Leavitt and Layla Taylor.