Even though Erika Jayne, 49, was still very much married when the cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills filmed the May 19 season premiere of the Bravo series, her eventual split from estranged husband Tom Girardi, 81, was definitely foreshadowed in Season 11’s opening hour. Especially when Erika admitted that she “dreaded waking up” while in quarantine with him.
The startling admission came after everyone met up at Dorit Kemsley’s house for a fun night of drinks and snacks (including a lot of pigs in a blanket). While sitting outside, Lisa Rinna asked everyone to reveal their “best moment” and “hardest moment” during COVID. Most of the ladies said they were “thankful” to have the time in quarantine with their kids and husbands, but Erika felt a bit differently.
“[My time in quarantine] was very dark,” Erika said. “Like all of us, I’m busy all the time. And when I came home from [doing Chicago in] New York, it was really silent.”
Then, as the camera panned through Erika’s empty house in a horror movie-like fashion, she continued, “And then, when I didn’t have anything to do, I was walking down halls of the house, and I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t shake it, and I couldn’t shake it. I was feeling this incredible dread.” (Also, kudos to the editors who showed Tom on the cover of a magazine at the exact moment Erika said the word “dread”.)
“Who am I if I’m not working?” she asked. “Every day I woke up and I dreaded waking up. So I called a psychiatrist and I went on [the anti-depressant] lexipro. And it was the greatest thing.”
Later in her private confessional, Erika added, “I did not want have to see a psychiatrist — I felt that it was a sign of defeat.” She then told the girls, “My problems are still there, but my attitude about them is different.” Erika didn’t divulge what problems she was alluding to, but given the fact that she and Tom split soon after these first few episode were filmed, we’d have to venture and guess and say her marriage was definitely one of them.
TEAM GARCELLE!! (…but why are we talking about this?) #RHOBH pic.twitter.com/wUwOoKS6ly
— HOUSEWIVES FANATIC (the original) (@hwivesfanatic) May 18, 2021
Earlier in the episode, Garcelle Beauvais went off on Lisa Rinna for how she treated Denise Richards last season. (Yes, they’re still talking about Denise.) While Garcelle sided with Denise after Brandi Glanville claimed they hooked up and Denise denied it, Lisa sided with Brandi. And it caused a divide in Lisa and Garcelle’s friendship. But during a sit-down lunch, Lisa apologized for her actions.
“I was harder on Denise than I needed to be,” Rinna told Garcelle. “I’d much rather [have] been like you and gone, ‘I don’t care, I’m standing by my friend.’ Like, that’s f***** up. Absolutely, 100 percent.” Garcelle then noted in her confessional that she thought Lisa’s apology was less than sincere. “I think Rinna is trying to own it really quickly so that I don’t come for her,” she said.
“Why couldn’t you just be there for her?” Garcelle asked Lisa. “Why couldn’t you just let the other girls come after her?” Lisa replied, “Garcelle, I wish I could. I couldn’t,” insisting Denise “wasn’t honest” about last season’s alleged affair.
“It’s not about Brandi,” Lisa clapped back. “No one cares what they did.” But Garcelle wasn’t buying that. “It didn’t seem like that, though,” she said. “It felt like you guys were focusing on whether she slept with Brandi or not.”
Garcelle also said that because of the way Lisa treated Denise, she’s now not sure if she can ever trust Lisa. But even so, Lisa walked away from the conversation thinking everything was good between them again — according to Sutton Stracke — but Garcelle said it’ll take way more than one lunch date to repair their friendship.
Want more drama? New episodes of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills air Wednesdays at 8pm on Bravo.