Erika Jayne Divorce: A Timeline of Tom Girardi’s Deposition, ‘Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Filming and More

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Erika Jayne Divorce: A Timeline of Tom Girardi's Deposition, 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Filming and More

Attention Real Housewives of Beverly Hills viewers wondering about the quick turnaround from Erika Jayne gushing about Tom Girardi on the season 11 cast trip to Lake Tahoe to her filing for divorce — Us Weekly is investigating the timeline of the drama. During the season 11 premiere of the Bravo series, which aired in May 2021 (and filmed in October 2020), the Pretty Mess author referred to her time in quarantine as “very dark.” She explained, ”Like, all of us, I'm busy all the time. When I came home from New York, it was really silent. And then, when I didn't have anything to do, I was walking down the halls of the house and I couldn't sleep and I couldn't shake it, this feeling of incredible dread,” she said. “Who am I if I'm not working? … Every day I woke up, I dreaded waking up. So, I called a psychiatrist, and I went on Lexapro." Months before she informed her costars about her struggles, however, she claimed she and Tom were bonding amid the coronavirus pandemic. “Tom and I spend a lot of time at the kitchen table chatting. We go to bed early, which is I know kind of lame, but kind of nice,” Erika said on Jenny McCarthy’s SiriusXM show amid the COVID-19 crisis in April 2020. “We’ve been married for 20 years, of course we get on each other’s nerves. But lately, we’ve been OK, I mean it’s fun. Maybe it’s because we’ve had a four-month break (when I was in NYC on Broadway), but so far so good. I mean, we haven’t been ready to kill each other.” [jwplayer RbBv7X14-l3ahXupL] Things clearly took a turn in November 2020, when Erika filed for divorce, but she didn’t let her costars in on the situation at the time. Kyle Richards told E! News ahead of the June 9, 2021, episode of RHOBH that the group was “really shocked” by Erika’s filing. “Because we had just been in Tahoe together and there was not even an inkling about divorce or anything and all of a sudden … it was really shocking,” she said. “In hindsight, if you look at their relationship, maybe you wouldn't be that shocked. But I mean, they were married 20 years. It was a very big shock to get that text. It was literally like in a blink, it was done." Two months before Erika sent the text, however, Tom was already in court and being questioned about his finances during a virtual judgment debtor exam. Scroll through for a complete timeline of the situation:

Credit: Shutterstock (2)

Erika Jayne Divorce: A Timeline of Tom Girardi's Deposition, 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Filming and More

Attention Real Housewives of Beverly Hills viewers wondering about the quick turnaround from Erika Jayne gushing about Tom Girardi on the season 11 cast trip to Lake Tahoe to her filing for divorce — Us Weekly is investigating the timeline of the drama. During the season 11 premiere of the Bravo series, which aired in May 2021 (and filmed in October 2020), the Pretty Mess author referred to her time in quarantine as “very dark.” She explained, ”Like, all of us, I'm busy all the time. When I came home from New York, it was really silent. And then, when I didn't have anything to do, I was walking down the halls of the house and I couldn't sleep and I couldn't shake it, this feeling of incredible dread,” she said. “Who am I if I'm not working? … Every day I woke up, I dreaded waking up. So, I called a psychiatrist, and I went on Lexapro." Months before she informed her costars about her struggles, however, she claimed she and Tom were bonding amid the coronavirus pandemic. “Tom and I spend a lot of time at the kitchen table chatting. We go to bed early, which is I know kind of lame, but kind of nice,” Erika said on Jenny McCarthy’s SiriusXM show amid the COVID-19 crisis in April 2020. “We’ve been married for 20 years, of course we get on each other’s nerves. But lately, we’ve been OK, I mean it’s fun. Maybe it’s because we’ve had a four-month break (when I was in NYC on Broadway), but so far so good. I mean, we haven’t been ready to kill each other.” [jwplayer RbBv7X14-l3ahXupL] Things clearly took a turn in November 2020, when Erika filed for divorce, but she didn’t let her costars in on the situation at the time. Kyle Richards told E! News ahead of the June 9, 2021, episode of RHOBH that the group was “really shocked” by Erika’s filing. “Because we had just been in Tahoe together and there was not even an inkling about divorce or anything and all of a sudden … it was really shocking,” she said. “In hindsight, if you look at their relationship, maybe you wouldn't be that shocked. But I mean, they were married 20 years. It was a very big shock to get that text. It was literally like in a blink, it was done." Two months before Erika sent the text, however, Tom was already in court and being questioned about his finances during a virtual judgment debtor exam. Scroll through for a complete timeline of the situation:

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May 2020

According to The Housewife and the Hustler, Erika was subpoenaed in May 2020, six months before she filed for divorce.

Credit: Damian Dovarganes/AP/Shutterstock

September 2020

Tom told a judge during a late September 2020 hearing that he had “maybe a couple thousand” dollars in a personal bank account, claiming his stock portfolio of millions was “all gone.”

“At one point I had about $80 million or $50 million in cash. That’s all gone. I don’t have any money,” Tom said, adding that he “taken a penny in salary out of the firm for more than two years.”

While sources told Us that Erika wasn’t aware of Tom’s legal woes, the Los Angeles Times reported that she called to testify in Tom's case again in September 2020 before she filed for divorce but was out of town.

Credit: John Tsiavis/Bravo

October 2020

Cameras started rolling on season 11 of RHOBH in early October 2020, with Erika sharing a picture from the production on October 4.

Credit: Courtesy of Kyle Richards Umansky/Instagram

October 2020

The same month filming began, Erika traveled to Lake Tahoe with her costars. During the trip, she mentioned that “one of the things she loves most about” Tom is that “he lets me be myself.”

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November 2020

Four days after they returned from the trip, Erika informed Kyle, Lisa Rinna and Dorit Kemsley about the filing in a text message which read: ”Ladies, I truly consider you my close friends. And this is why I'm reaching out to tell you that I filed for divorce this morning. Thank you for supporting me. This will be tough.”

Credit: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

November 2020

That same day — November 3, 2020 — Us confirmed Erika filed for divorce.

"After much consideration I have decided to end my marriage to Tom Girardi. This is not a step taken lightly or easily," she said in a statement. "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 deserve. I request that others give us that privacy as well."

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December 2020

The following month, class action firm Edelson PC filed a lawsuit against the spouses, accusing them of embezzling $2 million in settlement funds intended to help the families of Lion Air Flight 610 victims. The firm claimed Tom and Erika’s split was “a sham attempt to fraudulently protect Tom and Erika’s money,” claiming in court docs that they “are on the verge of financial collapse and locked in a downward spiral of mounting debts and dwindling funds.”

Their assets were subsequently frozen.

Credit: YouTube

June 2021

The same day the episode during which she informed her costars of her split aired in June 2021, Tom appeared virtually in court for the first time in months, telling the judge that he disagrees with his brother, Robert Girardi, being named his conservator amid his health issues.

“Obviously, I disagree with the conservatorship altogether,” the former lawyer, who has been diagnosed with late-onset Alzheimer’s and dementia, said. “I think that we should put together the reasons why the conservatorship should be dissolved, and then we’ll address it, address the court. Right now, I have nothing to say to the court.”

The judge subsequently declared that Robert will take over decisions regarding Tom’s health, healthcare, daily dealings, estate and finances.

Credit: ABC News

June 2021

One day after The Housewife and the Hustler detailed years of allegations against Tom, Erika’s lawyer, Peter Mastan, filed a petition to stop representing the Bravo star in the spouses’ bankruptcy case.