Meredith Marks Opens Up About Leaving Salt Lake City for Months After 'Some Pretty Dark Times'
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Meredith Marks is opening up about her mental health after a "trying year."
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star, 50, escaped to Provence, France, where she "found [her] zen" after dealing with drama from her costars, the death of her father and her nephew's battle with addiction.
"It was a trying year, there were some pretty dark times," she told Page Six. "As you know, I like to disengage. So at the end of last winter, I left Utah. I didn't come back here for about five or six months."
"I really needed time and space to process everything that had gone on — both within my family and my circle of friends, and how they handled what went on with my family," she added.
Marks also raved about her retreat in the lavender fields of Provence. "It was a very spiritual journey for me. I left. I just needed time to decompress and heal myself," she explained.
"And, of course, therapy never hurts," Marks noted. "I just really needed to go and take a lot of time for myself."
Andrew Peterson/Bravo Lisa Barlow and Meredith Marks
The jewelry designer previously faced several accusations from her RHOSLC costars, including that she called the authorities on Jen Shah and lied about attending her father's memorial service after he died last year following a struggle with Alzheimer's disease.
During a January episode of the Bravo hit show, Marks addressed the accusations about Shah, telling her costars, "If you guys think that I'm feeding evidence to the FBI, that's f------ insane. I feel like every time I'm around you guys, I'm being attacked, and I have done nothing but be honest with everybody."
Marks added in her confessional, "This makes absolutely no sense, like, I didn't ride in the van with you guys, so now I suddenly fed the FBI all this information on Jen? I'm so flattered these women think I'm more powerful than the FBI, but I think they could find Jennifer Shah without me."
The following month, Marks spoke up about the alleged lies on the show, arguing that her costars were "repugnant human beings for discussing somebody's father's death this way."
RELATED VIDEO: Meredith Marks Thinks Jen Shah Did the Best She Could to Take Accountability for Her Remarks
Marks also opened up last month during the season 2 reunion special about her reaction to costar Lisa Barlow's explosive rant about her.
"The content is absurd. If that's how you feel about me, fine. That's okay, I don't really care about that. [But] the venom and the hatred that the delivery came with is what resonated," she said.
"I couldn't even sit and watch it. I'd stop it, it took me about an hour to get through it," Marks added. "I was sick, utterly sick."
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Now that Marks is on the other side of the drama, she told Page Six she feels a sense of clarity.
"Over the new year, I was in Aspen and I went to visit my father's grave. I feel like that was the ultimate point of closure for me on this whole chapter," she said, before noting how her nephew Alex is now sober after seeking treatment.
"And seeing Alex thriving today is obviously a massive positive," she added. "It feels good to be through it."
