Photo: Bravo
He's a college football coach.
By Rebekah Kuschmider — Written on Nov 12, 2020
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City premiered on Bravo on Nov. 11 with a brand new cast of women ready to bring the drama to eager audiences.
Salt Lake City is known for being housing the headquarters of the Mormon Church, but not all the new SLC Housewives are believers. In fact, Jen Shah says in her bio for the show that she is leaving the church to convert to Islam.
Shah and her husband Sharrieff Shah have deep ties to their city, however. Sharrieff Shah is a University of Utah alumnus and former football player, and now he is one of the coaches for the team.
Their son is also a player for the Utes these days so the state and the football program are dear to all their hearts.
Who is Jen Shah's husband, Sharrieff Shah?
Read on to find out everything you need to know about Sharrieff Shah.
Who is Sharrieff Shah?
While Jen Shah grew up living in SLC and was active in the Church of Latter-Day saints, her husband is a native of Los Angeles.
He arrived in Utah to play football at the University of Utah, where he had an impressive career as a college player and was even named Sports Illustrated Defensive Player of the Week in 1991.
He finished school and went on to become a lawyer but always stayed close to the program, working as a sideline reporter the local ESPN radio affiliate.
What does Sharrieff Shah do for a living?
After finishing law school, Shah said he felt obligated to follow through on being a lawyer professionally.
He worked at firms in Salt Lake City but football was always trying to get him to come back. He was approached about coaching three times before he finally agreed in 2012.
He joined the team as a cornerbacks coach and eventually started coordinating special teams as well.
A number of his players have gone on to get NFL positions, including Brian Allen who went on the play for Pittsburgh and Dominique Hatfield who went to the Los Angeles Rams.
Who are Jen and Sharrieff Shah's kids?
The couple have two boys, Omar and Sharrief Jr.
While Omar appears to be in his teens, Sharrief Jr. is a college grad who played for the program where his dad coaches.
In fact, he started on the team just a year after his father took the coaching job. The younger Sharrief graduate with a degree in exercise science.
Are Jen Shah and Sharrieff Shah Mormon?
With the show being set in Salt Lake City, it's easy to assume that all the cast members are part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
And that used to be the case for Jen Shah. In her show bio, she says she grew up in the Mormon Church but,always felt conspicuous in the majority-white religion.
Shah is of Hawaiian and Tongan descent. Later, when she learned more about the attitude of the Church toward people of color, she walked about the religion entirely.
She made the choice to convert to Islam, the religion her husband follows. We don't know if that was a choice she made before or after she got married but she will probably address the questions on the show.
How did Jen and Sharrieff Shah make their money?
Based on social media posts, Shahs appear to be living a typical Real Housewives lifestyle, complete with Jen tagging designer brands and opulent travel.
But Sharrieff isn't making the kind of salary that some top-line NCAA coaches make.
In fact, he earns under half a million per year.
What are Jen Shah's companies?
Jen owns a number of different enterprises including some marketing businesses and a couture fashion line.
Either those are incredibly successful or they have a source of independent wealth.
Posts like this always contain tags for designer brands.
The Shah marriage isn't the drama.
From what we can tell, the Shah's aren't going to be the couple that carries plotlines all their own this season.
If anything, it seems like their family life may be pretty solid.
Instead, Jen notes in her show bio that she and the other women in the cast don't always see eye-to-eye. It will be fun to see how that all develops as the season goes on.
When does Real Housewives of Salt Lake City air?
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City airs on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on Bravo.
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. She is the creator of the blog FeminXer and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.