Erika Jayne Questioned About Alleged $20 Million Loans From Tom
Back in the hot seat. Erika Jayne navigated a series of questions from her Real Housewives of Beverly Hills costars during the Wednesday, August 18, episode, about the alleged funds she received from Tom Girardi‘s firm.
“I wake up and I go, ‘This is really happening. All of this is really happening in real-time.’ I mean, I’m so tired and so overwhelmed and everything happens day to day,” the 50-year-old reality star told her castmates at Kyle Richards’ Christmas dinner on Wednesday’s episode. “And there’s more coming. I’m far from done.”
Sutton Stracke subsequently asked whether Erika was “truly blindsided” by Tom’s alleged actions — or if she at least found out information through the media before it made headlines.
“I don’t have access to lawsuits before they hit press,” the Pretty Mess author replied.
Things got even more tense after the ladies insisted Sutton, 49, own up to the fact that she invited the women over to discuss Erika’s case without her earlier in the episode.
“You guys, are you really that afraid of me?” Erika asked the table, which also included Dorit Kemsley, Lisa Rinna, Garcelle Beauvais, Crystal Minkoff, Kathy Hilton and former Housewife Teddi Mellencamp.
Sutton then brought up the “$20 million elephant in the room,” questioning, “Why is the paper saying that $20 million went into your LLC?”
“The obvious question is, ‘Did you know any of this?’ … As your friend, I don’t think you did,” Kyle said. “Everybody was like, ‘Do you know where that money is coming from? Is that a loan? Is that over time?’ That was the biggest question.”
Erika played coy, noting, “That is another question that we will uncover as well.” After Sutton pushed, the singer claimed, “I was kept away from the books.”
When Sutton said that would make her “insane,” Erika agreed, “It did.”
She concluded, “No one knows the answer, but him.”
Erika filed for divorce from Tom, 82, in November 2020 after more than 20 years of marriage. The following month, the former couple was accused of embezzling funds intended for families of the victims of a 2018 plane crash.
Scroll through for more of Erika’s answers to her costar’s burning questions:
