The Theranos founder and the former “RHOSLC” cast member grew “close” as fellow inmates in Texas.

Real Housewives of Salt Lake City alum Jen Shah was on ‘poop duty’ with Elizabeth Holmes in prison

The Theranos founder and the former "RHOSLC" cast member grew "close" as fellow inmates in Texas.

By Sharareh Drury

April 1, 2026 3:24 p.m. ET

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Jen Shah, Elizabeth Holmes. Credit:

Chad Kirkland/Bravo; Michael Kovac/Getty

Former reality TV star Jen Shah says she and fellow inmate-turned-friend Elizabeth Holmes took on some dirty work while in prison.

Speaking with PEOPLE in her first interview since being released from Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Tex., *The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City *alum shared how she and the disgraced biotech mogul had "naturally come together" as friends due to both being "high-profile" inmates.

One unique bonding experience in prison came when Shah and Holmes, whom she calls "Lizzy," were "assigned to poop duty together."

"I feel like when you do poop duty with someone, like, you're going to be close," Shah said.**

Jen Shah. Chris Haston/Bravo via Getty

In 2022, Shah pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing. In January 2023, she was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison, as well as five years of supervised release. However, she was released in December 2025 after serving 33 months and transferred to community confinement, which, according to the Bureau of Prisons, "means the inmate is in either home confinement or a Residential Reentry Center (RRC, or halfway house)."

Holmes was convicted of fraud in January 2022 and began an 11-year sentence in May.

Shah said she and Holmes lived together in the same unit for the last 10 months of her sentence. She explained that the two were assigned to the same bathroom, and if bathrooms were not kept clean, after "three strikes" inmates were assigned "poop duty."

"I almost made it through my time without having to do it. Sure enough, our bathroom got hit," Shah said, explaining that the assignment required her to sit on a metal chair in the bathroom for an hour "and watch everyone come in and use the bathroom."

"When [someone uses] the bathroom, you have to get up, go inspect the bathroom, either clean it if they don't clean it, or let them know to come and clean it," she added.

"You're literally sitting there in the bathroom, so, if you can imagine the smells and everything going on for poop duty," Shah said.

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The reality star bonded with Holmes "over being on this journey of positive change," Shah's rep Chris Giovanni previously told PEOPLE. "Their situations brought them together, and they have a good understanding of one another. They're getting through it together."

Giovanni also shared that Shah adopted a "very loving" motherly role in Holmes' life, saying "Jen's given [Holmes] a lot of advice. She's even met Elizabeth's baby and held her."

Shah revealed in her interview that, when she and Holmes would take evening walks together, the two would discuss how much they missed their families as well as ways they could participate in prison reform once released.

"Your hands are really tied there. There's not much you can do as an inmate," Shah said. "Lizzie and I felt like we could make a difference... We would talk about a lot of stuff like that, plans after."

Shah appeared on the first three seasons of Bravo's *Real Housewives of Salt Lake City*. Her 2021 arrest became a major plot point for the series' second season, with cameras rolling when federal agents first came looking for Shah.

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Source: “EW Celebrity”