Heavy/NBCUniversal Andy Cohen.
Andy Cohen is sharing celebrity stories in his 2023 book, “The Daddy Diaries: The Year I Grew Up,” and many of them are about stars from the Real Housewives franchise.
But while on an interview tour to promote his book, the dad of two shared a story about receiving a baby gift from “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Jen Shah just before she pled guilty to wire fraud charges in July 2022.
In an interview with USA Today in May 2023, Cohen revealed that Shah gave him a gift of an expensive baby Dior dress shortly after his daughter, Lucy Eve, was born via surrogate in 2022, but that he didn’t feel right about keeping it after her guilty plea was issued.
Cohen told the outlet that after thinking it over, he “re-gifted ” the baby dress to “someone famous who’s a Housewives’ fan.” “I said, ‘I feel like you could have it and enjoy it, not only as a ‘Housewives’ fan, but because it’s a beautiful thing,'” he said. “But I didn’t feel appropriate accepting it because of obvious reasons.”
Shah, who was originally charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering in a nationwide telemarketing scheme, began a six-year prison term at Bryan Federal Prison Camp in February 2023, per NBC News.
Andy Cohen Previously Gave Fans a Peek at Jen Shah’s Baby Gift
In his book, Cohen wrote about Shah’s gift in a diary entry dated July 10, 2022. He noted that after he arrived home from a trip to “a bounty of packages,” the one that stood out was from Shah, who happened to be “in town for her trial.”
“Not only was there a mini microphone for Lucy, she also got her a baby Dior dress and headband,” Cohen wrote of the gift. “On the one hand, I was touched that she thought of me with all she has going on, but on the other, I didn’t love how much she must have spent. And like is that money coming from people she ripped off? Do I need to turn this baby Dior dress into someone? Are there elderly fraud victims who should have?”
Cohen was seen gushing about Shah’s gifts on his Instagram story before he found out about her “guilty” plea, as seen in screenshots posted by Reality Blurb at the time. In video clips posted on July 10, Cohen called the gifts “Shah-mazing” and said he was “blown away” by them. But he appeared to have deleted the clips the following morning once news of Shah’s guilty plea broke.
Andy Cohen Revealed What Other Real Housewives Stars Gave His Baby Girl
Shah isn’t the only Real Housewife who sent gifts to Cohen’s house when Lucy was born. When speaking with Today Parents in 2022, the Bravo host said his daughter got a lot of “really great stuff” and “ a lot of labels” from Real Housewives stars.
One of the gifts he dished on was a large jewelry box from “Real Housewives of Potomac” star Gizelle Bryant. In addition, “Real Housewives of Orange County” star Tamra Judge and “Real Housewives of New York” alum Dorinda Medley both sent over Gucci gifts for the newborn.
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