The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills caravanned down the coast for a relaxing girls’ weekend during the Sept. 21 episode, but when a new disturbing article about Tom Girardi surfaced online, Erika Jayne almost had a “nervous breakdown”.
Following a pop-up picnic on the beach and a dinner at the hotel, which you can watch in the video below, Erika invited Kyle Richards and Lisa Rinna to her room to share some sensitive information. “Yesterday was the hearing for Tom’s conservatorship so that his brother could take over his affairs,” she began telling them. “So, someone sent me an article about what was said in court and there was just this one piece of it that just really bothered me. It says, ‘Tom’s brother asked the court to give him the authority to place Tom in a facility that treats neurocognitive disorders such as dementia'”.
Lisa and Kyle then asked Erika how she’s feeling about this new development, to which she said, “Girl, I’m ready to have a nervous breakdown because regardless of what is going on with him legally, this is someone I was married to for 22 years. I knew this last night before we went to dinner. I read this article. So I sat there with this last night.”
When asked whether she agrees with Tom being put into a facility, Erika told the ladies, “No, and I’ll tell you why. I have a little bit of experience with this. My grandmother was put into a home, she had very bad dementia and died of Alzheimer’s.”
In her confessional, she admitted, “This is a very difficult thing because I watched my grandmother die. And to see this happen here again…” She then further told the ladies, “When my grandmother was in her home, you know, Tom paid for that. He was there for my grandmother. We have to remember that. He needs a caretaker for sure, but I don’t think he needs to be in a home like I saw my grandmother in. I know what they do to you in there. It’s supposed to be great care, but if they lash out, then they medicate you. They only weigh us down is what I’m saying. What is his life then?”
When Kyle asked Erika who she thinks will be visiting Tom since Erika can’t, Erika said, “That’s another point”. He’ll be “left alone”, she said. “To do what? Rot? Where is this man’s family? It feels like he is of no use to [his children].”
When Lisa said the kids don’t want to “deal with the alleged things that are going on”, Erika said, “That’s right. They don’t want the stain. They don’t want the public scrutiny. They don’t want being associated — it is tragic all the way around. It’s a nightmare across the board and every day it unfolds a little bit more and more.”
Then, Erika brought up the alleged burglary again, and claimed that she still doesn’t know “anything past [that] he got out of surgery. [The intruders] could have stabbed him, they could have killed him, they could have done anything to him.”
“I may be getting a divorce from this man, but that doesn’t mean I have divorced myself from caring for another human being who clearly can not care for themselves. I can’t be married to the man, but I certainly don’t want him in some facility where he’s not taken care of and discarded. That is just something that I don’t feel is okay. It’s f***ed up. You want to know who your friends are? Get old and go broke,” Erika concluded.
Want more drama? New episodes of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills air Wednesdays at 8pm on Bravo.