The July 14 episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills featured a lot of crying — Erika Jayne wasn’t the only one shedding tears this week. In fact, the water works started during a fight between Sutton Stracke and Crystal Minkoff — a fight that actually carried over from last week’s episode.
Following Sutton’s jab at Crystal’s “ugly leather pants”, Sutton broke down in tears and nearly left Lisa Rinna‘s bolognese lunch prematurely. But after she was comforted by the ladies, she decided to stay. However, that didn’t mean Crystal was going to be nice to her.
Crystal actually refused to apologize for saying she felt “violated” by Sutton’s unexpected bedroom visit in Lake Tahoe. She did, however, apologize for calling Sutton “manic” after Dorit Kemsley urged her to do so. Especially given the fact that Sutton’s dad, who was “manic”, died by suicide. So the ladies finally decided to “move on” from their spat and lower their expectations when dealing with each other.
Then, four days later, Kyle Richards revealed that she, Dorit and Kathy Hilton all tested positive for COVID, so everyone had to go into quarantine for “at least” two weeks. And during those last few days of quarantine, it was reported that Erika and estranged husband Tom Girardi were being sued for fraud and embezzlement.
“Seeing these headlines makes you cringe,” Dorit said during her confessional. “Some of these victims — they’re widows. They’re orphans. That’s a punch in the gut”.
It was also reported that Erika and Tom’s divorce was a big “sham” in order to hide finances, but Erika denied those claims. “The things that are being said are just wrong,” she told Kyle and Lisa during a video call on Dec. 4, 2020 — two days after the news broke. Then, when Lisa asked Erika how someone would even hide assets in a divorce, Erika said, “I wouldn’t f***ing know.”
“Divorce is very painful. And then to have it called a ‘sham’ is even more painful. It took a lot of courage to leave, and it took two seconds for some a**hole to say it was a sham and everyone to believe it,” Erika said.
Later, when a producer asked Erika how she first found out about the Boeing lawsuit, she said, “I can’t answer that”, but she told Lisa and Kyle that “some very bad things could happen” to her in the future. Yet she has “no idea” why she was named in a lawsuit that she has “nothing to do with”.
When Kyle asked what the “worst” cast scenario would be for her, Erika said “criminal charges”, but she and Lisa both said that wouldn’t apply to her, so perhaps she was referencing Tom.
Erika then explained that she’s being forced to hire and pay for her own lawyers to fight “millions of dollars in lawsuits”. She also said Tom’s not helping her at all. “It’s depressing,” she said, as she broke down in tears.
When Erika finally reunited with a few of the ladies in person — specifically, Lisa and Crystal — she revealed that she started seeing a psychiatrist because of all the “stress” she’s been feeling.
Erika told them she had “no idea” about anything that’s being revealed and she often asks herself: “what’s coming” next? And in various private confessionals, Kyle and Garcelle Beauvais both said that they don’t believe Erika knew anything. “One thing that I do know is that husbands can have secrets that wives don’t know about,” Garcelle noted, referencing her own experience with her ex-husband cheating on her.
Erika also explained that two years ago, when she was first named in a lawsuit with Tom, she questioned it but he told her not to worry about it. And when she “pressed further” he said he didn’t want to talk about it. So she claims that anytime she ever tried asking Tom about stuff that seemed off, he’d shut her down. “I pushed as hard as I could until I couldn’t push anymore”, she said. And that’s why she divorced Tom, whom she claims could be “mean” and “vicious” behind closed doors.
Finally, when Erika and Kyle met up at a park for some one-on-one time, Erika completely broke down. “Kyle, this is so hard to do. I’ve never been this overwhelmed, and in a place where my hands are literally tied. I could have never predicted this — this f***ing s*** — ever,” Erika cried. “There’s nothing I can do except wait to tell my side of the story.
“God, Kyle, my divorce is not a sham,” Erika continued, as snot and tears rolled down her face. “It’s just not. Nobody wants to be in the position I’m in right now. It is really unenviable — being the possible target of a federal criminal investigation is like not cool. To have all those things said about you, which are not true. And then to have everyone basically question everything — it’s lonely and it’s quiet. And you would be shocked at how quickly people turn on you… how quickly people distance themselves from you.”
Erika then said she’s “hoping” someone’s checking on Tom because he “is not good”. And when Kyle asked if she’s talked to him at all, Erika said “no” over and over again — “not since the day I left him.”
“Tom is a tough man,” she said. “One of the many reasons why I filed for divorce is his resistance to anything.” Erika said she previously tried talking to Tom about his health and how he was “degrading in front of” her, but he was always in denial.
Then Erika went into saying that she felt Tom “resented” her for every step forward she took in her career. “Around the time of Chicago, Tom’s view of me had changed. He was like, ‘Who the f*** do you think you are?'” she said in her confessional before telling Kyle that Tom’s “not an angel.”
Erika said she’s go to hug Tom and he “wouldn’t hug me back”. Everything people saw on “the outside”, she said, was very different than what went on behind closed doors.
Erika then concluded by saying she’s extremely “scared” for her future, before breaking down in more tears.
Want more drama? Watch a few more clips from this week’s episode above — then, catch new episodes of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills on Wednesdays at 8pm only on Bravo.