Meredith Marks has provided much of the comic relief on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City over the years, but the show has had much deeper implications for her and her family. "I do honestly credit Real Housewives, coupled with COVID, for saving my marriage," Marks, 53, exclusively reveals in Us Weekly's Reality Stars of the Year issue. "We were in a horrible place when we first started. And, you know, it depends on how you embrace this show, but if you do it the way I did, which I think is the right way, you really learn a lot about yourself. And there's a lot of self-reflection that goes in. You see how other people perceive the things you do and say, and a lot of times, it's like, 'Wait, I didn't mean it that way,' or, 'I misspoke,' and it can create a lot of problems, and it teaches you how to communicate better." Marks and her husband, Seth, opened up about their marital problems all the way back in season 1 of RHOSLC, which premiered on Bravo in 2020. At the time, they were separated, in part because Seth's career was keeping him away from his wife's home base in Utah. While it's far from unusual for a Real Housewives franchise to focus on a separation, it's very rare to see a couple come out intact on the other side - but that's exactly what happened for Marks. It's one of the things that makes her so fascinating: She has a taste for luxury that includes long bubble baths and caviar, but she's still reasonable enough to figure out how to keep her marriage whole when the chips are down. Chad Kirkland "I was pretty straightforward that I had some very significant problems, and we worked really hard to get to the place that we're at," Marks tells Us. "And there's been a multitude of times over the years since then where a lot of the women have tried to decimate my marriage, and it's sort of screwed up. Like, I told the truth, and a lot of them don't talk about their problems, and I don't try to destroy their marriages." Reba McEntire Flawlessly Recites the Meredith Marks 'You Can Leave' Rant Some of her castmates might disagree with that statement, but there's no question that Marks never hesitates to put it all on the line for the cameras. Another memorable story line saw her fiercely defending her son Brooks after her former costar Jen Shah allegedly "liked" homophobic tweets about him, which Marks says was personally one of her lowest moments on the show. Brooks is now 26, but he's still off-limits - and so are claims that she still coddles him. (Marks has made a few appearances on Bravo's Next Gen NYC, which follows Brooks and several other children of Housewives as they make their way in New York City.) "He's my child. I mean, I know people made fun of me for babying him or whatever. I don't baby him," she explains. "He's a grown-up, but he's always going to be my child, and so I'm always going to be protective - and not just of him, all three of my kids." The way Marks interacts with Brooks on camera is actually one of the things she's most proud of about her Housewives tenure. Before Brooks came out publicly, Marks tried to support him in every way she could, and she loves when fans tell her how much it means to see that kind of loving mother-son relationship portrayed on television. Meredith Marks Defends Lisa Barlow After She Misses 'RHOSLC' Cast Trip "At the end of the day, we all have our stories, and for me, most often, it's, 'I wish I had a mother who handled my sexual preferences the way you dealt with your son,'" Marks says. "My husband and I get this all the time, and that's why we keep coming back." Marks doesn't currently have as many ongoing feuds as some of her castmates, but the one thing she won't tolerate is slander about Seth and her children. "That's sort of a little bit of a trigger point for me," she explains. "But now, I know everybody knows it, so I know now, when they're doing it, what the intention is, and I don't think moving forward [that] it will be a trigger for me. ... If I know what you're trying, then I'm aware, and I'm like, 'OK, not gonna let you in on this one. Sorry.'" Chad Kirkland That's not to say Marks won't dip into the dramatic when necessary. Her booming delivery of the command "YOU! CAN! LEAVE!" in season 4 will go down as one of the most iconic one-liners in Housewives history (which you can find printed on both official and unofficial merch), and her season 5 Sprinter van fight with Britani Bateman was a good reminder not to cross her unless you're ready to go head-to-head with a woman who knows a lot of synonyms for "disgusting." Her ever-changing "accent," meanwhile, continues to amuse viewers wondering how Marks can shift from British to Southern in a few seconds flat. While some fans think it shifts based on how much Marks has had to drink, she says it's just a consequence of being a globe-trotter with plenty of globe-trotting friends. RHOSLC's Meredith Marks Reacts to Jen Shah's Sentence Being Reduced Again "It's interesting, because I pick up v