'RHOM's' Stephanie Shojaee Denies “Bitter” Rumors She Was Her Husband’s Ex’s Assistant

Rookie The Real Housewives of Miami star Stephanie Shojaee is already clapping back at her digital critics.

Stephanie, who joined the Bravo franchise in Season 7, raised a few eyebrows regarding her lavish lifestyle and her marriage to her husband and business partner, Masoud Shojaee. After rumors surrounding the couple's courtship circulated online, she set the record straight while taking a dig at Masoud's ex-wife.

In a July 2025, a Reddit thread circulated that accused Stephanie of several salacious acts. One of them was an accusation that she worked for Masoud's ex-wife, Maria Lamas, before they got together and referred to the Bravo newbie as a "gold digger."

"Stephanie was her husband’s wife’s assistant," the post claimed. "She had an affair with him. She says she has been with him for eleven years. He was officially divorced in 2019. So you do the math."

"For years, Stephanie was a mistress to this rich, older man," the thread continued. "She worked for the wife and snaked her way into his life and company through that job."

The real estate agent responded to the thread's rumors via Instagram Stories after a fan asked her if she really was her husband's ex-wife's assistant. Stephanie vehemently denied the accusations and said she's never even met Masoud's ex.

"Assistant?” she scoffed in response. "I’ve never met the woman… Let’s be clear: rumors like that don’t start from truth, they start from bitter people looking for attention.”

“But I get it,” Steph added. “When people can’t be part of the story, they try to rewrite it.”

Stephanie has also been accused of changing her last name to her husband's while he was still legally married to his ex-wife and of copying his ex's entire life. According to Maria's 2021 feature with The Real Deal, Maria also worked as a real estate investor at Masoud's real estate company, SHOMA Group.

The thread also claimed Masoud lost contact with his children after his divorce from his ex-wife and that the children don't speak to him, claiming his daughters took him to court after he allegedly took $6.7 million out of a trust he created for them. Additionally, the person who wrote the thread said the couple also has financial issues that weren't discussed on RHOM. When fans first met the Shojaees, they decided only to focus on their luxuries, including a private jet she uses to have caviar with friends like her fellow co-star, Larsa Pippen.

"Stephanie and her husband are also currently being sued for $10 million dollars that they allegedly owe a Miami real estate lender. I wonder if she has even watched housewives before. When the money seems too good to be true, it often is!"

Stephanie shared on the show that she and Masoud met at a Miami Heats game when she was 26 and he was 50. Several fans commented under her Reddit rumors and admitted her and her husband's relationship timeline overlaps with his and his ex-wife's marriage.