After making her debut on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Diana Jenkins‘ experience is inspiring her charitable endeavors.
The newcomer, 49, took to Instagram on Wednesday, September 7, to announce that she donated $100,000 to family members of the victims involved in the 2018 Lion Air 610 plane crash. Jenkins hinted that her decision came after her costar Erika Jayne was named in a fraud lawsuit connected to the accident.
“I was not aware of this tragedy until it became a topic of conversation on RHOBH. I feel so much sympathy for the widows and orphans left behind,” Jenkins, who joined the Bravo series during season 12, wrote via Instagram. “I know firsthand the pain and suffering that accompanies the loss of a family member, having lost my brother in the closing days of the Bosnian War.”
She concluded: “I want to do what I can to support those people who suffered so much.”
According to the social media post, the entrepreneur will be making the donation through her new charity, The Sunela Foundation. The non-profit organization partnered with GVNG to help raise funds for various causes.
Ahead of Jenkins’ RHOBH debut, Erika’s legal issues made headlines after she filed for divorce from Tom Girardi. In November 2020, the performer, 51, parted ways from the attorney, 83, after 21 years of marriage. One month later, the pair were accused of embezzling $2 million in settlement funds from the families of Lion Air Flight 610 victims.
In court documents obtained by Us Weekly at the time, it was noted that the Pretty Mess author was being sued by class action firm Edelson PC. The fraud lawsuit focused on the crash that killed 189 people in 2018.
Edelson PC claimed that Erika and Tom’s divorce was “a sham attempt to fraudulently protect” their assets and that Tom and Erika were “on the verge of financial collapse and locked in a downward spiral of mounting debts and dwindling funds.”
The Bravo personality, for her part, continued to maintain her innocence amid the legal issues. In January, the Georgia native was dismissed from the fraud lawsuit against her estranged husband in Illinois. The lawyers noted at the time that they planned to file a new case against Tom in California.
Meanwhile, Tom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and later placed under a conservatorship amid his own legal woes. His brother Robert Girardi was named the effective conservator of his person and estate in July 2021.
Earlier this year, Erika opened up about having her personal issues get discussed on RHOBH. “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,” she exclusively told Us in May. “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.”
The singer noted that filming during such a difficult time in her life came with its own set of challenges. “The season before was a real fallout. This season is about really trying to pull yourself together and go on. It was tough but ultimately, I’ll get there and it’s part of the human experience,” she added, telling Us that she “mixed alcohol and antidepressants” while cameras were rolling. “You can’t go through what I have gone through the previous season and not feel something. I wanted to have some fun and I wanted to not feel so heavy. So that’s what I did.”
