Meredith Marks Graces So.Gay’s First-Ever Ally Cover As ‘Ally Of The Year’

Meredith Marks’ signature catch phrase might be all about disengaging from the conversation, but she’s been meaningfully engaging with the LGBTQ community since well before the world was first introduced to her on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. She’s using her increasingly big platform now to speak up for a group of people that has always welcomed her with open arms.

So.Gay CEO and Producer: Alex Hughes

Brand Manager: Ethan Dancyger

Photographer and Creative Director: Zac Olewnicki

Production Designer: Kole Parchman

Fashion Stylist: Indigo Boy David

Fashion Stylist Assistant: Ashley Mahabir

Hairstylist: Kevin Kelly

Makeup Artist: Kyle Anderson for MAC COSMETICS

Makeup Artist Assistant: Robbie Jackson for MAC COSMETICS

Video: Trey Sullivan

For six seasons and counting now, the Chicago native has become known just as much for her advocacy for the community as she is for her love of bubble baths, distaste for being secretly recorded by her cast mates, and ability to rock a blazer better than anyone else in Utah. In addition to supporting her son Brooks through some difficult moments in which his sexuality became fodder for social media trolls, Meredith has worked closely with GLAAD and even sells merch that says, “LGBTQ Rights? I’m Engaging.”

All of which makes Meredith the perfect first recipient of So.Gay’s Ally of the Year Award, which she’ll accept at our upcoming 2026 Pride House in Brooklyn, New York. To help honor Meredith and her allyship, she’s also the star of So.Gay’s first ever Ally cover.

Below, Gibson Johns chats with Meredith Marks about her relationship with the LGBTQ community, navigating difficult moments with Brooks, the ever-growing Marks family business, her DJ career, and what really keeps her coming back to RHOSLC after all these years.

So.GAY: Hi, Meredith! How did the photo shoot go for your cover?

Meredith Marks: Oh, my gosh! It was fabulous. For starters, the team was incredible. Everyone was so good at their job, which I love, especially when you’re dealing with creatives, because that just makes the whole experience so much better. But it was amazing. We had so much fun, and all the different looks were gorgeous. 

So.GAY: This is the first “ally cover” for So.GAY, and you’re receiving the first ever Ally Award at our Pride party in June. It must feel good to be recognized in this way.

Meredith: I mean, quite frankly, it’s the biggest honor to be recognized as an ally to a community that’s really important to me. That’s as big of an honor as it gets. I’d rather be recognized for that than anything. Sorry, Bravo! [Laughs] I love you.

So.GAY: What does allyship or being an ally like look like and mean to you?

Meredith: I think that it’s about supporting people for who they are, whether you’re talking about sexuality, you’re talking about race, you’re talking about religion, whatever it may be. To me, being an ally is being able to support people for who they are, period. And obviously, you know, the LGBTQ community has a very close place in my heart, not just because of my own son, but it’s a very comfortable circle for me. It’s a social circle that I’ve been in my entire life going back to my teenage years and, of course, having a child who’s gay makes it all that much more important, but it’s something that’s always been very important to me, that people can just be who they are and not be ashamed or embarrassed of it. That’s what life is about.

So.GAY: That was actually my next question for you, because I feel like we hear a lot about your relationship to the community—and it’s such a deep one—but I want to know more about some of those earlier gay figures in your life. Who were the people who introduced you to this community?

Meredith: If we go back to my childhood when I was really young, then we’re looking at people that were around my mom and, unfortunately, back then we lost a lot of those people to AIDS. It was awful. As a child, a lot of my memories are surrounding that, because it was just a devastating situation. You know, these people who were in your life and who we love suddenly are very, very sick, and it was kind of a crazy thing. And but then, as I got older into my teenage years, actually, Marcellus Reynolds was one of my very, very close friends. He still is one of my very, very close friends. I think he was the first openly gay Black man on Big Brother. And over the years, I just got to become friends with a lot of other people in the community. But he was definitely one of my early, early friends. For me, it’s a group of people I love. I have fun with them, I do. I mean, that’s why, if I go out at night, odds are I’m going to something that’s LGBTQ-friendly, because I have a good time.

So.GAY: Cut to you being on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. That first season, obviously, your son Brooks became this breakout star of the show, but he was still young then, and if I remember this being part of the conversation during the first two seasons where people were trying to have him come out on their terms and not his terms, and they were labeling him before maybe he was ready to publicly. What do you remember in hindsight about that time? Because, I mean, talk about allyship—you were so there for your son in such a public way, but that also must not have been a very easy thing to navigate. 

Meredith: It was really, really difficult. When he first went on the show, he was 19 years old, and you have an audience of people screaming, “He’s an adult! Why are you protecting him?!” Okay, I’m sorry, 19 years old is still very young, and he was just trying to figure out who he was himself he was just growing up, going through a normal process of coming into himself and figuring out where he stands in life, and having the public tell you who you are when you’re still trying to figure that out is very trying and difficult. It was very, very hard for him, and obviously, as his mother, it became hard for me, because you always feel anything your kids are going through. And, quite frankly, that’s why I am such a huge advocate for GLAAD, because they reached out to us and wanted to support us, and I will always be so grateful and forever indebted to them because of it. 

People should just be able to be who they want, and it shouldn’t have to be a label. You can fall wherever you fall. Sexuality is not a simple, cut and dry thing all the time. There’s nothing wrong with that. People should be able to take their time. They shouldn’t have to feel that. They shouldn’t have to be labeled. If you are labeled and want to label yourself and scream it out to the world, go for it! There’s nothing wrong with that, but that’s a personal choice. 

People should not be getting outed, so to speak, or put into a stereotype, because, “Oh, he behaves like this, so he’s gay,” you know? Let people decide what they are on their own.

So.GAY: It’s also cool to see Brooks now on “Next Gen NYC,” which actually has multiple queer people on its cast. He’s now a part of this friend group where it seems as though he feels supported, which must be cool for you to see, as his mom.

Meredith: “Next Gen” is spectacular, by the way. One thing I do want to say about that time with Brooks that I’m optimistic about is, I kind of hope that a lot of that was just sparked by the anger of people being in COVID, and that it wasn’t real hate. So let’s hope that if this all happened today, it would be a little bit different.

So.GAY: Yeah, people were commenting about the shows differently back then.

Meredith: It was a weird time. So I have to just hope that some of this we can chalk up to that, but, yes, “Next Gen” is amazing. That group is spectacular. Their dynamics are really fabulous. And I just think the way they manage each other, their relationships and the conflict is impressive. They are young and, quite frankly, I think they handle conflict better than we do as Housewives.

They know how to navigate it. They know how to, generally speaking, treat each other with a certain level of respect, even if they’re fighting. I was very impressed by them as a whole group. Of course, I’m impressed by my own kids, but I was impressed by all of them.

So.GAY: Me too. Obviously, Bravo and “Housewives” has such a large gay fan base and a very vocal one at that. I always feel like, when people show up for us, we show up for them, and it’s very clear that you have shown up for the gay community. I’ve seen that many times, but most recently I could really feel that on the ground at your DJ set in New York back in December. What does that feel like from your position?

Meredith: It’s amazing, because I feel so much love, and I have so much love for the community. So to feel it coming back to me is just very fulfilling. And like I said, it’s a comfortable space for me. You know, over New Year’s, I DJed at the Tryst Hotel in Puerto Vallarta, and I was probably the only woman staying at that hotel. I loved it. To me, it was very comfortable. I mean, maybe if it was a hotel filled with straight men, I might not feel the same way, but I loved it because it’s like a fun, loving crowd. It’s easier than women, to be totally honest, for me, being with gay men. I mean, I’m good with the lesbians, too. Don’t misunderstand me, but straight women can get very competitive sometimes, as we have seen, and I just don’t get that same thing in the LGBTQ community. It’s just an easier space to exist in for me.

So.GAY: Well, I think the community is pretty good at sussing out whose allyship is maybe more empty or more performative, and yours is very much not that, which is obviously important, too. Like, your relationship with GLAAD, for example… it just goes deeper. Also, I mentioned your DJing, and your DJ sets are pretty gay. [Laughs] You’re giving us what we want!

Meredith: Like I said, I’d rather be at a gay bar any night of the week. [Laughs]

So.GAY: I do want to talk about your DJing for a little bit, because the environment at the show I was at was so electric and fun. Obviously, being in a room full of Bravo fans kind of ticks that box, but it was also at another level because of the way that you get the crowd going, Seth’s involvement, Brooks and his friends from “Next Gen NYC” coming on stage. It’s just an incredible atmosphere, and now you’re taking it to Might Hoopla and BottleRock. Does it feel like you’re sort of on this upward trajectory with this where there’s no real limit to where you can take it?

Meredith: From my standpoint, there is no limit. Eventually I will get my residency in the summer in Europe. It’s been incredible. It’s been so much fun. It’s like throwing a party without having to do all the heavy lifting. You know, you’re just making people happy. You’re having a good time. And, generally speaking, everybody is having a great time and dancing and singing and just being happy. It’s fabulous. It’s almost like it was BravoCon every week.

So.GAY: I was also there at your set during BravoCon at, what was it? Like, 10 AM on the first day, and I walk up and I hear cheering and there are smoke machines and you’re onstage playing a mashup of “My Heart Will Go On” and “Slut Pop.” It was pure happiness.

Meredith: I mean, full disclosure, I was probably more nervous about that set than any other one I’ve ever done. Because A, it was at like 9:30 in the morning, and I was thinking, “Oh, my gosh, how am I going to get people going this early?” Like, this is unusual! And B, it’s filled with every Bravo fan under the sun and every one of my castmates, everyone on all the other shows, all the executives, all the producers. I’m like, “Oh gosh, I can’t screw this one up.” And then Andy came out, and that was a total surprise. It was fabulous. But that’s honestly one of the few shows I really was nervous about, but the people were partying it off at 9:30; they didn’t care that it was 9:30 AM.

So.GAY: We did an interview at the beginning of last season, and I think “Next Gen” season 1 had just finished. There’s this idea I keep coming back to about how this whole thing has really become a family business for you. You’re on multiple shows, you have caviar jewelry, the board game, you’re DJing, Chloe is going to release a song… there’s so much that the Marks family is doing. What’s it like bringing everyone in and doing so much of this together?

Meredith: We all overlap in business, and we have some things that I think are coming to fruition that will make us overlap even more. It’s fantastic because we’ve got Brooks, who has his collection that I always had curated in my store. I have a small jewelry store on Main Street [in Park City] with an art gallery in the back of it, and we’re going to open the lounge down the street. 

Brooks and I, we’ve always crossed over since he’s worked for me. Chloe, you know, obviously works for me. And then she’s releasing her single pretty soon that she teased, and obviously that will tie back into my DJ world to some extent. I hope that one day I can open for her. Reid is doing real estate development in college towns, and we are all looking into a new venture that will tie back into that—more to come about that later. 

We keep starting and building and then the businesses all cross over. Like, when you look at my game, we have the caviar tins in it. We’ve got the little diamond game pieces. And the same with the bath bombs, the motifs and the boxes tie back to the jewelry. Everything kind of comes full circle with all of it. It’s exciting and it’s fun, and we all love working together. Having family involved in your business can be difficult—don’t misunderstand me!—but there are people you trust, and if my son Reid comes to me and is like, “I want you to invest in this property,” I’ll ask him a couple of simple questions, and I’ll say “yes” or “no.” Anyone else I’d have to do hours of due diligence to see what I’m getting involved in. This is my son—of course I trust what he’s telling me.

So.GAY: What keeps you going six seasons and counting into your “Real Housewives” run? What do you enjoy most about it and what keeps bringing you back every year?

Meredith: It’s such an interesting process and it’s so complex, because there are so many different elements to it. And as you get into these later seasons, it’s complicated, because you’re on a reality show and you’re following our lives, but now six years in, the reality show has really become a huge part of our lives. And it gets very complicated, because the reality show isn’t about the reality show, but it almost becomes a piece of the puzzle. Do you see what I’m saying? And it becomes really hard to cover your lives without that being outwardly a part of it. 

So, it starts to shift a bit, and I think we’ve seen a little bit of that shift. But, at the end of it, you have great times, you have horrible times. To me, it’s about growth. It’s about learning. It’s about trying to see who I am. Why do I make the choices I make? Sometimes they’re great ideas, and sometimes they’re not so great. Perhaps I should have said nothing on that airplane. You know, an airplane is not the best place to vent to your friend about another friend sitting around in front of you. Lesson learned, okay!

You have these moments that are really great, you have some that are really not great, and that’s real life. But, the question is, what do you take away? What do you learn from it? How do you grow? How do you do better? How can you make it more introspective, and how can you use the show as a platform to accomplish things that are important to you, which, in my case, are the causes that I care about. Obviously, as we’re on the subject, the LGBTQ community is definitely one of them that I have worked hard to show support for, both on the show and off. 

And then, of course, we want to promote our businesses, too. There are so many positives on it that they outweigh the negatives. As soon as the positives no longer outweigh the negatives, I’m finished, and that’s that. And, quite frankly, as horrible and difficult as this last year was for me, at the end of everything, I think it’s pretty clear that there’s some weird stuff going on in Utah and the things they’re saying about me are not correct, and there’s a lot of false information being spread. That was a full targeted takedown that they failed at. And so, at the end of all of it, you’re like, “Okay, I’m still here. Now what?” And then it makes you say, “Why do I keep coming back after a season like that?” But then you also say to yourself, “Do you think I’m really gonna let them win by getting rid of me?”

So.GAY: Oh, exactly. You always need to come back to correct the record, and show people that it didn’t work. Tying this back to the beginning of our conversation, you’re on So.GAY’s allyship cover, and you’re going to receive this honor. Is there a message that you would like to send to anybody who’s going to read this interview, perhaps somebody who is struggling to find an ally like you or who’s struggling to find that community and that support that you’ve been able to give to so many people?

Meredith: I think it’s really important for people to be true to who they are, and sometimes to realize that you may be in a situation that is just a means to an end, and that’s the situation you’re in. But it’s not the end. I know there are people out there who are living in spaces where they are not comfortable being open about who they are, and it doesn’t have to be that way, and you can change that. Sometimes it just takes a moment to be able to make that change, especially if it’s a younger person who’s still living at home with a family or community where they’re not accepted. Sometimes you have to bide your time, but you will get there, and there is a lot of support out there. 

Anyone feeling like they need it should always reach out. There are a gazillion different organizations to reach out to, and I just hope that one day we live in a world where we don’t have to talk about if you’re gay, straight, bisexual, or whatever you just are. I didn’t have to stand up and say to the whole world, “Hi, I’m straight!”

When you’re looking at true equality, it shouldn’t really matter to anyone else how anyone identifies. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting closer.

Keep up to date with everything Meredith Marks by visiting MeredithMarks.com