Wait, Did Britani Bateman Actually Bug Meredith Marks' Room? “I Mean…” (EXCLUSIVE)
Britani Bateman opened up about the allegations that she'd been spying on Meredith Marks during the RHOSLC After Show.
Britani Bateman's recording drama on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City cast's group trip is far from over. On Season 5, Episode 15, Meredith Marks had a suspicion that Britani bugged her Puerto Vallarta villa room. Although she didn't find anything, The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City After Show proves there might be more to the story.
While sitting down with Lisa Barlow for an interview, Britani opened up about the allegation that she'd placed a recording device in Meredith's room.
"I ... well ... I was thinking about it ... no! I didn't bug her room," Britani said, laughing. "It's absolutely ridiculous."
"I mean, you guys don't know me yet, really, that well," she added. "You don't know my heart. You don't know my intent. And I think it's kind of a sadder commentary on the trauma that you guys went through."
Why did Meredith Marks think Britani Bateman bugged her room?
Meredith and Britani had intense drama during the trip when Britani claimed she heard Meredith crying and throwing up in her room (Meredith denied the latter). Later, after Britani was seemingly caught recording a tense moment in the group while they were in a sprinter van, Meredith suspected that Britani could have also been recording Meredith in her room, coming to the conclusion that was how Britani heard the noises she assumed were crying and vomiting.
Does the RHOSLC cast think Britani Bateman bugged Meredith Marks' room?
No, most of the women were firmly on Britani's side for this one.
"In the history of the stupidest things I've ever heard in my life, this might top everything," Bronwyn Newport said. And though she understands that there was a lot going on during the trip, to think that Britani would bug Meredith's room is "hysterical" to her.
"I just can't picture Britani hiding a listening device," she added.
While Heather Gay didn't necessarily think Britani planted a listening device, she did help Meredith investigate during the episode. During the After Show, she shared new details on the experience.
"I don't know if I know where to look because of the books I've read or the television shows I've watched or if it's just pure instinct," she shared. "I don't want to discount any of those. It could be genetics! My dad was in the FBI. My dad did counter intelligence, so genetically I've inherited a little bit of a special agent skill."
And yet, she found nothing in her search — not that she thought she would. While Heather admitted she didn't actually think she'd find the room bugged, she wanted the chance to make sure everything was solid.
"I usually take your concerns seriously," she told Meredith. "And I felt like, you know, this is something we can figure out. If there is a recording device in your room, it's going to be in the light fixture, it's going to be on the night stand, it's going to be on the television, it's going to be around electronics, right? This is something we could do a cursory sweep and go to bed tonight with a relative level of confidence that there were no obvious recording devices in your room. And, you know, Britani is a mixed bag."
Nevertheless, Meredith maintains that the walls between their rooms were thick.
"I never heard one word from one other person on that entire trip," she said.
So how could Britani have heard her crying? As the women realized after testing their rooms in the episode, Meredith was simply mistaken — you could absolutely make out what was going on next door.
"You can hear through the walls," Bronwyn concluded. "So now I know that Angie [Katsanevas] knows I was frantically calling Todd [Bradley] every night like, 'Get me out of here. This is insane.'"
