On the premiere episode of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, viewers met each of the housewives, including Lisa Barlow, a 45-year-old mother who co-owns a liquor company with her husband John.
While some of the housewives and their partners aren’t Mormon, Lisa and her husband are part of the faith.
However, Lisa says, “Mormon 2.0” may be the best way to describe her, leading some people to wonder if she drinks despite it being something the Mormon religion forbids.
John and Lisa Barlow co-own Vida Tequila
According to an archived report via Salt Lake City Tribune, Lisa Barlow and her husband co-founded the Vida Tequila brand back in 2007. It’s a high-end brand of tequila and appears to be well-reviewed and successful.
At the time of that article, it was noted that Vida Tequila featured three types of distilled and aged tequila, including Blanco, Reposado, and Anejo. All of them were made using 100-percent blue agave from the Mexican state of Jalisco.
At the time of the article, the tequila was available in Utah liquor stores and making its way to other states’ restaurants, bars, and liquor stores. Those included major areas such as New York and Chicago.
Lisa and her husband are sometimes seen on Vida’s Instagram page, showing off the product or posing with people involved in the business.
As mentioned, it’s a successful business, and owning it isn’t necessarily a bad decision in the couple’s eyes, but drinking the tequila or other alcohol would be against the Mormon religion.
Does Lisa drink her own product or alcohol in general?
Whether or not Lisa drinks alcohol is open for speculation and interpretation based on Lisa describing the type of Mormon she is. She grew up in New York, where her Jewish family covered to Mormonism. Both she and her future husband ended up in Utah, where they attended Brigham Young University. Lisa’s sister was in the same Mormon mission John was, and that’s how the couple met.
As for Vida Tequila, the couple ended up meeting the owner of a distillery during a trip to Mexico. The rest was history as they went on to create a successful brand as the high-end tequila business began to really take off over the past several decades.
Since the Mormon religion forbids the consumption of alcohol, that would lead many people to think Lisa Barlow doesn’t drink. She even gives a quick guide to the religion in RHOSLC Episode 1, saying, “Don’t drink. Don’t swear. Treat your body like a temple.”
However, Lisa’s Bravo bio indicates she isn’t “one to adhere to all of the traditional and strict Mormon rules.”
In a Forbes piece several years back, Barlow mentioned that her kids were aware of the business and enjoyed visiting restaurants and seeing the process involved.
She said she and her husband were also teaching their kids that the “brand is one to be savored and sipped.”
“We teach them it’s sophisticated. It’s chic to know what’s in your glass and to savor it for creating memories and not to be used for forgetting,” Lisa said.
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Last week, the RHOSLC cast member talked about being “Mormon 2.0” – an updated way of practicing religion.
“I just feel like as I’ve gotten older and have my own family, that I feel like ‘Mormon 2.0’ best fits me. I love our religion, but I also love our business, too,” Lisa said with regards to her faith during her interview on NBC’s Today.
“I think the biggest thing for me is I’m authentic to myself. I love the religion I choose — religion is a choice — and I choose to be LDS. And for me, I think it’s important that — that’s a part of my life and I’m on TV and I committed to sharing my life, and that’s a big part of it,” Lisa added.
During an interview with Us, Lisa also said there’s a checklist of things you don’t do as part of the religion to be perfect with it. She said she’s far from perfect, though.
“But for me, I’m like, you know what, I’m still an individual. I’m not like everybody else. So why would we all check off the same boxes? So I’m just doing Mormonism my way,” she said.
Lisa Barlow’s comments don’t necessarily confirm or deny that she enjoys her own product or other alcoholic beverages. The fact that she doesn’t follow all the rules could hint that she enjoys Vida from time to time. However, the real truth of the matter may arrive as more RHOSLC episodes air.
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on Bravo.