Real Housewives of Vancouver star receives threats

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Anyone who has watched The Real Housewives of Vancouver knows that things can get pretty nasty on the show. But reality TV has taken a turn for the really nasty, as one of the housewives has called in the police and hired a bodyguard after receiving what she felt were threatening text messages.

Jody Claman, a West Vancouver boutique owner and the woman portrayed on the show as its villain, received a series of text messages on a single day last month which she interpreted as threatening. The writer self-identifies as "a very close friend" of fellow housewife – and Ms. Claman's season-one nemesis – Mary Zilba.

The initial message read, in part: "Your [sic] done! Enjoy you deserve everything coming your way lolol Sweetie crack heads have nothing to lose and can't wait to meet you."

Another text read, in part: " Its [sic] terrible what u hear on the news these days about plastic covered garages ball pin hammers mutilated humans who would do such a thing .. Tying people up beating them then dropping their carnage off at the hosp.. Wow, I'd hate to be involved in any of that."

Another text message, sent the same night, read, in part: "The show can not protect you. I am in the REAL world and [this] behavior [sic] does not fly. Trust me. You will regret ever crossing her."

When contacted by The Globe and Mail, Ms. Claman would not say what had happened which may have led to that text message – anyone associated with the series is under a strict confidentiality agreement – but acknowledged that she had gone to the police and sought protection, hiring a bodyguard and a driver.

"I was terrified," she said. "I'm a big girl but I have a family and I have a five-year-old and this is just too out of the realm of a reality that I find normal. And that's what scared me. And I felt it was the responsibility of the producers to nip it in the bud and they called the RCMP."

According to Ms. Claman, the sender was contacted by the production company and local police and apologized for the texts. Still, Ms. Claman has retained the bodyguard and driver. She says she feels the messages implied the sender has gang connections, with phrases such as, "Do some research on my past no one talks to my friends this way."

The text messages were provided by Ms. Claman's lawyer, Brian MacKay, after he was contacted by The Globe. Mr. MacKay said he instructed his client to call police.

"Jody really is afraid for her person," he said. "Whereas I put more trust into the police, and certainly gang members aren't really interested in … cat fights."

According to Mr. MacKay, Lark Productions, which produces the series, also reported the matter to police.

Ms. Claman says she contacted the Vancouver Police Department initially, but was referred to police in West Vancouver, where she lives.

The West Vancouver Police Department said it could not comment on an ongoing investigation, citing privacy reasons. Lark Productions issued this statement: "Anything surrounding the production of The Real Housewives of Vancouver remains confidential. As with all our series, the safety and security of our cast and crew is always a primary consideration during production."

Mr. MacKay says the phone belonged to a woman who is not one of the housewives, but is also associated with reality TV. When contacted by The Globe, her publicist said she could not comment because of the confidentiality agreement with Slice, which broadcasts the show.

Attempts to reach Ms. Zilba on Wednesday were not successful.