Real Housewife and Bad Mormon: Heather Gay on Surviving Mormonism (Part 1)

A Little Bit Culty

Sarah Edmondson & Anthony “Nippy” Ames

True Crime, Society & Culture, Education

4.6 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 24 November 2025

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Heather Gay, Real Housewife, “Bad Mormon,” and faith deconstruction trailblazer, joined us to talk about her journey from devout church girl to outspoken survivor. She shares what made Mormonism so magnetic, how family, secrets, and ritual shaped her upbringing, and the pivotal moments that cracked her certainty wide open, including appearing on past ALBC guest Dr. John Dehlin’s Mormon Stories Podcast.

From endowment ceremonies and culinary faux pas to finding her voice outside the fold, Heather dishes on the unique mix of pressure, community, and hope that comes with leaving a high-demand religion. This first part of our conversation’s raw, real, and unexpectedly relatable—even if you’ve never worn sacred garments, tried to appease your bishop, or “woken up” because of a frozen burrito.

Follow Heather on Instagram and Facebook, pick up her memoir, Bad Mormon, and catch Surviving Mormonism on Peacock or Bravo.

Also…let it be known that:

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business, individual, anyone or anything. Nobody’s mad at you, just don’t be a culty fuckwad.

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CREDITS:

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Audio production: Will Retherford

Production Coordinator: Lesli Dinsmore

Writer: Sandra Nomoto

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Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Join me and follow the podcast conspiracy theories, where we explore what's really going on behind the official narrative.
0:09.1	Like, what if the Loch Ness monster isn't a monster at all, but an elephant?
0:13.7	What do the richest 1% know that we don't?
0:16.7	Why are they building all those bunkers?
0:18.9	And really, what the heck is going on with the Denver airport?
0:22.7	Join me every week to see just how high up this goes on the Spotify podcast, conspiracy theories.
0:29.8	Listen on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
0:34.2	This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal, medical, or mental health advice.
0:40.2	The views and opinions express do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast
0:45.1	and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business, individual, anyone, or anything.
1:01.4	No. individual, anyone, or anything. I'm Sarah Edmondson.
1:02.8	And I'm Anthony Nippy Ames, and this is a little bit culty.
1:05.8	We woke up from a cult, and that journey was captured in The Vow on HBO and in my memoir, Scard.
1:11.1	Now, in this podcast, we break down the shame and secrets that make these experiences so destructive
1:15.7	with honest conversations on how seemingly benign groups can cross into the cultiverse
1:19.9	and how to spot and recover from trouble if it happens to you.
1:23.4	Each week, we bring an expert, survivors, and whistleblowers to explore red flags, resilience,
1:27.4	and even share a few laughs because sometimes you've got to laugh.
1:30.7	Subscribe to our Patreon for early and ad-free listening, some live Q&A and exclusive content at patreon.com slash A Little Bit Culty.
1:37.7	Welcome to Season 8 of A Little Bit Culty.
1:40.9	Seeking down to the depths of the ocean. Hanging on to win my life. Welcome back to a little bit culty, everyone.
2:00.0	Today's guest is none other than The Heather Gay, yes, the star of the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, New York Times bestselling author of Bad Mormon, and now the powerhouse behind the incredible limited series surviving Mormonism.
	...

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