<\/p>\n
Jen Shah says she and husband Sharrieff “Coach” Shah fought for their marriage while the former reality star was in prison for her role in a years-long telemarketing scheme<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
Jen and Sharrieff, who have been married since 1994 and share two children, “were on the verge of a divorce” before the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City<\/em>\u00a0alum reported to prison<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n “My family has come closer together through all of this,” Jen tells PEOPLE in a wide-ranging interview in this week’s issue<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Jen Shah<\/a> and her husband, Sharrieff “Coach” Shah<\/a>, fought for their marriage while the former\u00a0Real Housewives of Salt Lake City<\/em><\/a>\u00a0star was in prison \u2014 after they had already been “on the verge of divorce” before Jen reported to jail.<\/p>\n Jen, 52, was\u00a0arrested<\/a> in March 2021, and she later pleaded guilty<\/a> to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She was subsequently\u00a0sentenced to prison<\/a> for her role in a years-long telemarketing scheme\u00a0that the government said\u00a0defrauded innocent people across the country<\/a>, and after serving\u00a0two years and nine months at a federal prison camp in Bryan, Texas, she was released<\/a> in December 2025.<\/p>\n Now, Jen \u2014 who is serving the remainder of her sentence under home confinement<\/a> \u2014 tells PEOPLE in a wide-ranging interview<\/a> in this week’s issue that her legal troubles “overlapped with my own personal pain.”<\/p>\n “My husband and I were separated. We were on the verge of a divorce,” she says, referring to Sharrieff, whom she has been married to since 1994.<\/p>\n “I was overwhelmed with immense grief from the death of my grandmother, my father and my aunt, all in a very short period of time. I was spiraling deeper into my previously diagnosed clinical depression,” Jen adds.<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n