Most of Season 11 of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills was spent focusing on the legal woes of Erika Jayne and her now-estranged ex-husband Tom Girardi. Erika vehemently defended herself after news broke that Tom and his legal firm were being sued for embezzlement.
It was revealed in a hot mic moment that Erika was still in touch with Tom, speaking on the phone, even though she spent a lot of time trying to convince her friends that she and Tom had no contact. Season 12 will continue to explore the relationship between the estranged couple.
Erika recently opened up about her feelings for Tom, and how she is surviving the loss of her marriage.
Erika said she struggles with moments of ‘sadness’
“I still am mourning that marriage,” Erika said of her divorce from Tom. “I think that gets lost in the sensationalized version of it all. This was someone I was married to for over 20 years and was with, like, 23 [years]. It’s difficult. There are real moments of sadness, real moments of — like when the holidays came around, you know, for Christmas, I would just remember how much fun we would have. … But what are you going to do with that? These things happen in life. They happen to everyone; everyone’s mourning something.”
It was announced that Erika officially filed for divorce from Tom in November of 2020, only one month before news broke of the lawsuit against Tom and his firm Girardi & Keese, accusing them of embezzling millions of dollars from victims. Erika has also been named in lawsuits, claiming she benefitted from the stolen money to fund her music career and uphold a high-class lifestyle. With allegations swirling of wrongdoings, Tom was placed under a conservatorship and moved into a facility that specializes in memory care.
When she revealed to Crystal Minkoff and Garcelle Beauvais in Season 11 that she had been speaking to Tom occasionally, viewers were shocked. She claimed that Tom called her on a daily basis to say that he loved her, and now Erika admits she still speaks to Tom occasionally. “Of course [I take his calls],” the Pretty Mess author said. “He’s not well, and so he’s in a state of decline and sometimes it’s good and sometimes [he thinks] I’m someone else. So it’s fine.”
Erika maintained her innocence and denies all knowledge of Tom’s activities
Season 12 will continue to cover the legal debate and also the divorce between Erika and Tom. The first episode of the season shows Erika snapping at production and her co-stars as they continue to probe her on what she knew.
“[It’s] very hard, very difficult to be asked the same questions over and over [and] give the same answer, but yet no one’s really listening,” Erika admitted, “So yes, I get really frustrated and very explosive just, like, trying so hard to, you know, I wish that that would’ve been over, but it wasn’t because what would we be talking about?”
Erika claims that she is an easy target for the public to blame because of her status as a reality TV star. “I am front and center. I am the face of this instead of the lawyers that worked at the firm and referring attorneys and, you know, law funding people — instead they point to me,” Erika said. “For my mental health, it’s been hard. No doubt. But again, I couldn’t lose and I was just going to fight it out every way possible and still am.”
Erika’s new tagline claims she has “nothing to hide and nothing to lose,” and viewers will see how she handles the constant questions from her fellow Housewives.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.