Keeping Up With the Markses

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It was no surprise to see Meredith Marks kick off BravoCon with a DJ set. At 9:30 a.m., fans flocked to an outdoor stage in the Las Vegas sun, eager to capture photos and videos. She played remixes of popular songs – like Lindsay Lohan’s “Rumors,” Tinashe’s “Nasty Girl,” and Dua Lipa’s “Houdini” – cleverly mixed with iconic lines from The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, including memorable phrases about husbands, disengagement, and telling people to leave.

The crowd is loving her performance, which includes playful antics like adjusting equipment, playfully holding headphones near her hair, and tossing roses and rubber ducks to the audience. She’s wearing a short, sparkly maroon dress that echoes a famous outfit from a previous season. One attendee, who spent between $620 and $1,460 on tickets, said it doesn’t matter that she’s not doing much – the music selection is fantastic.

Okay, so BravoCon… they didn’t pick Meredith to spin records at the opening, which, honestly, is fine. But let me tell you, Real Housewives of Salt Lake City – the tenth installment of the franchise – blew up when it first aired in 2020. It gave us Lisa Barlow talking about her Mormon faith and, well, Jen Shah before everything went down. Heather Gay came in with a hugely successful medspa business, but Meredith? She brought her son, Brooks. He was only 21, but he’s got that same dry wit as his mom and a serious skincare routine. Brooks didn’t steal the show from Meredith, though – he actually added to her appeal. Now we’re wrapping up an amazing sixth season, and it’s totally obvious: Meredith Marks’ whole thing is a family affair.

Early in her Las Vegas DJ set, Marks was joined onstage by her husband, Seth, 53, to a huge round of applause. Seth, who describes himself as a “rodeo clown” on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, explains that he likes to lighten the mood when riders fall off their horses, especially if the cameras are rolling. During Marks’s set, he acted as an enthusiastic supporter, dressed in business attire. He excitedly announced to the crowd, “This is the best day of PTO ever!” just as a remix began repeating the word “slut.” He then playfully asked an audience member, who knew the lyrics, “How do you know all the words?” while handing her the microphone.

Once Seth leaves the stage, Brooks, 26, and Chloe, 24, from the Marks family come out. They move to the music their mother is playing, sharing quiet laughs and secrets. Both are featured on the show Next Gen NYC, which follows the children of Housewives stars (like Kim Zolciak-Biermann, Kandi Burruss, Teresa Giudice, and Meredith) as they try to make it in New York City relying on their family’s wealth and connections. While many Bravo fans initially criticized the show as being about privileged “nepo babies,” Next Gen NYC unexpectedly became a hit. Its premiere in 2025 was the most-watched debut in Bravo history.

The new show Next Gen NYC seems to suggest that reality TV success is something people are born with, and if that’s true, the Markses certainly have the genes for it. However, they’re facing tough competition from other families known for reality TV drama. The Giudice-Gorgas are famous for their intense family fights, which even led to Bravo pausing The Real Housewives of New Jersey while they considered recasting. The Hilton-Richards-Umansky family has a history in reality TV, but their attempt to launch Kyle and Mauricio’s daughters with Buying Beverly Hills failed after only two seasons. And while Don’t Be Tardy, featuring the Zolciak-Biermanns, ran for eight seasons, Kim and Kroy’s recent divorce – and the resulting public drama – is now playing out in the tabloids. Despite these contenders, the Markses stand out: they currently have two shows, four popular family members, a marriage that appears stable, and numerous business ventures that keep them in the spotlight.

Brooks jokingly admits she sometimes dreams of escaping to Croatia and starting a new life. However, she quickly adds that she wouldn’t last a day before returning home. She feels incredibly grateful for her close-knit family and can’t picture her life without her parents nearby.

Backstage at BravoCon, getting the Marks family together proved difficult. With Meredith busy at the most popular panel of the weekend (RHOSLC), Brooks and Chloe needing to work the red carpet, and Seth wanting to visit Meredith’s booth, we finally managed a quick chat. But just as we found a free couch at the Caesars Forum, a fan recognized them and asked for a picture. Lisa Barlow once jokingly called them a family obsessed with posing, and true to form, they happily obliged. Meredith wore a sleek black dress, Brooks a luxurious knit outfit, Seth jeans and a black shirt over a Bravo “Mazel” tee, and Chloe completed the look with trendy barrel-legged jeans and a black tank top.

Even now, the Marks family still argues about how they first got involved with The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. Meredith was a natural fit for the show – she’s intelligent, attractive, well-connected professionally, lives near Salt Lake City (in Park City), and wasn’t afraid to use her legal training to win any argument. “It wasn’t one big meeting, but we definitely had many conversations about the show,” Meredith explains.

“Mom, we had one conversation about it,” Brooks explained. “She put a contract in front of us and just said, ‘That’s what we’re going to do.’”

Okay, so Chloe totally calls Brooks out on something he said – you can see it in her eyes as she turns to face him. It’s funny because they fall into these really classic roles in their dynamic. Brooks is the big thinker, always full of ideas and planning everything out. And Chloe? She’s the one who actually makes things happen, the glue holding everything together and keeping the peace. It’s a dynamic I see a lot in movies, honestly.

“That’s not quite how I remember it,” Seth said, his voice reminding people of Frank the Tank, a character played by Will Ferrell in the movie Old School. “I believe we actually talked about it several times.”

Brooks gently told his dad, in his usual calm voice, that he didn’t need to raise his voice to be understood. Later, Brooks noted his dad sometimes needed to listen more, and Chloe added that he occasionally tended to lecture.

“My therapist said, ‘Do not sign that fucking waiver or go on that show,’” Seth continues.

“We don’t need the F-words,” Meredith jumps in.

Seth finally managed to complete his thought without swearing. “It was a simple fact,” he said. “We were working on fixing our relationship, and my therapist specifically told me, ‘If you want to save your marriage, don’t go on that show.’”

Within the Marks family history, Meredith and Seth met through a mutual friend while Meredith was a student at Northwestern, studying business and law. By the time filming for RHOSLC began in late 2019, their marriage was failing. Seth traveled frequently for work, while their son, Brooks, was taking a break from his studies – a semester off between his first two years at New York University and his planned two years at University of Southern California. Ultimately, Brooks didn’t end up transferring and instead returned to NYU.

Honestly, taking time off from college felt like a win-win. I could be there for my mom while she was going through her separation, and I finally had the chance to really focus on building my Brooks Marks brand. A lot of people wrongly thought I dropped out of school for the show, and at first, some fans thought I was trying too hard – especially when I launched the tracksuits! But things changed after I got caught in the crossfire of Jen Shah’s online attacks. Seeing that side of things, people started to understand my personality and appreciate my dry sense of humor.

Meredith admitted that season would have been impossible to get through without Brooks. She really needed his support because she went into the show completely unprepared, not even having watched a single season of any Housewives franchise beforehand.

Viewers also began to like Meredith. Initially, people joked that she and her close friend on the show, Lisa Barlow, looked and sounded so alike with their similar hairstyles and vocal patterns. However, opinions changed after a disagreement with Shah, where Meredith calmly stated, “I’m disengaging.” This line became popular and represented her approach to conflict on the show. It was a unique strategy for a Bravo reality star, as Housewives are usually expected to be involved in drama. Meredith managed to avoid this by focusing on her family life. She openly discussed her separation from Seth and admitted to seeing other people—a common storyline for a Housewife starting her second season after a difficult marriage. But then, surprisingly, Meredith and Seth reconciled and worked things out.

Meredith jokingly credits watching Real Housewives together during the COVID-19 pandemic with helping to save her marriage. She says they’re the only couple she knows who can make that claim.

As a Bravo fan, there’s nothing I love more than when they manage a crossover, and this year’s season of RHOSLC delivered! The ladies went on a yacht trip with the cast of Below Deck Down Under – can you believe it was the first time Bravo ever did something like that? The drama kicked off immediately when Britani Bateman brought up a TikTok accusing Seth of cheating. Meredith Marks, never one to back down, responded with this incredibly drawn-out, quote-filled rant, basically calling Britani a liar. Seriously, every word felt like it had an extra vowel! The rest of the season pretty much revolved around the fallout from that trip. Apparently, Meredith went off on Britani on the plane ride home, though we haven’t seen any footage of it – some fans are hoping it’ll surface at the reunion. The story from the other cast members is that Meredith was relentlessly harassing Britani, even pushing her seat! Meredith and Lisa Barlow claim it’s an exaggeration, and Meredith insists she wouldn’t have had time to watch Crazy Rich Asians if she’d been yelling the whole flight. She just seems really bothered by the lies and doesn’t care what people think of her if they’re going to believe someone who’s already been caught in a lie. Basically, she’s not sweating it.

Okay, so Meredith is seriously building an empire! It’s amazing to watch. She’s got her jewelry business, but she’s totally revamped her Park City store into this incredible speakeasy and caviar bar – which makes sense because she also launched her own caviar line! And if that wasn’t enough, she’s created these gorgeous bath bombs inspired by her famous love of baths. Oh, and she designed a board game called Rumors and Nastiness! But honestly, the biggest surprise is her DJing! She started messing around with the turntables, and her manager got her a gig at Pittsburgh Pride where they rolled her onstage in a bathtub! It blew up from there – she played West Hollywood Pride and then went on a whole sold-out tour, mostly at gay bars, which her husband Brooks isn’t thrilled about, but honestly, it’s iconic.

“I’m not trying to see my mom every time I go out,” he says.

While Brooks and Chloe believe appearing on reality TV hasn’t altered their mother, she feels it’s had a significant impact on them. She explains, “Being on television and constantly scrutinized by the public inevitably changes a person. It’s impossible to go through that experience without being affected by both the good and bad feedback.”

I’m really seeing a change in Brooks this season! He seems way more sure of himself and is finally trusting his instincts, which is awesome. It’s also a little sad to see him starting to pull away from Meredith, but it makes sense – he needs to focus on his fashion line, which just launched its first resort collection! It’s cool to see him stepping up. And it’s interesting how his success is bringing Chloe closer to the family. Meredith says Chloe’s been a huge help with everything – expanding the brand, managing distributors, basically helping the Marks family take over the world! Meredith clearly relies on her a lot, and it was sweet to see her playing Chloe’s new single – a little thank you, maybe?

Seth seems content appearing on both his wife’s and children’s reality shows. During a panel for RHOSLC, he playfully encouraged the audience to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Lisa Barlow’s husband, John, and even asked them to do it again so he could get a better video for social media. At a Bravopalooza event with around 20 Bravo stars and VIP fans, Seth convinced a fan to deliver Meredith Marks’ famous line – “You’re a liar and a vicious, despicable person” – directly to her.

For some husbands, this level of enthusiasm might be overwhelming, but Seth seems to embrace it. He explains, “I’m glad to be involved, because it’s all been so positive.” He feels his son is finally becoming his true self, and sharing that journey publicly on reality TV was a deeply happy experience for him. Seth’s voice catches slightly as he talks about his son Brooks coming out and how Brooks has handled the attention with the same calm and composure as his mother.

Brooks says his dad often teases him, pointing out how much he takes after his mother. Apparently, his mother doesn’t find the joke funny at all, and Brooks shared this with a knowing smile.

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2025-12-29 17:57