Tom Girardi is not your typical Househusband. Bravo fans met the high-profile lawyer when Erika Jayne joined the cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills during season 6 in 2015, but it quickly became clear that he wasn’t going to have a major role on the series.
While some Real Housewives’ husbands get involved in the drama and attend group events, viewers rarely saw Tom, who is 32 years older than Erika, on the series. The topic of their age difference (and sex life), however, was discussed by the other women.
“I’m tired of having to justify my 20-year marriage. Go get a 20-year marriage and then come f—king talk to me,” Erika quipped during an April 2020 episode of the show. “It’s great to have financial support. But having someone’s emotional support is something that I wish I had more of growing up.”
Later that year, news broke that Erika filed for divorce from Tom after 21 years of marriage — a decision that surprised fans as season 10 of the series showed more insight into the “Pretty Mess” songstress’ marriage than any other RHOBH season.
“After much consideration, I have decided to end my marriage to Tom Girardi,” she said in a statement to Us Weekly in November 2020. “This is not a step taken lightly or easily. I have great love and respect for Tom and for our years and the lives we built together. It is my absolute wish to proceed through this process with respect and with the privacy that both Tom and I deserved I request others give us that privacy as well.”
One month later, fans learned that the twosome had been accused of embezzling $2 million in settlement funds intended for the families of Lion Air Flight 610 victims. Class action firm Edelson PC subsequently accused the pair of faking their split to “fraudulently protect” their money, claiming that Tom and Erika “are on the verge of financial collapse and locked in a downward spiral of mounting debts and dwindling funds.”
As the case continued to make headlines — and Tom’s assets were frozen — the reality TV personality accused Tom of being unfaithful to her. “This is Justice Tricia A. Bigelow. She was f–king my husband Tom Girardi and he was paying her Saks bill and paying for her plastic surgery,” Erika wrote alongside a series of alleged text messages between the twosome via Instagram.
While Erika later deleted the post, Tom never publicly responded to the claims. Bigelow’s lawyer, meanwhile, told the Los Angeles Times that the post was “nothing short of criminal,” revealing they were “considering” options to “protect Justice Bigelow from further harassment.”
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