Got her back! Former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Teddi Mellencamp is showing support for her former costar Erika Jayne amid her legal woes.
“I can’t imagine how challenging this has been for her. I’m proud that she’s been able to be so open. I think Erika’s excellent at being a really good friend to other people and I think it’s hard for her to let people in,” Teddi, 40, told Us Weekly on the Friday, September 3, episode of the “Getting Real with the Housewives” podcast. “I think that even though people may want more and every single crumb of detail, this is more than she ever has shared before and I think that goes to show how much she’s probably really been struggling.”
During the Wednesday September 1, episode of the Bravo show, Sutton Stracke kept questioning Erika, 50, over her ongoing divorce with Tom Girardi and her legal battle.
“I do think it’s a little bit hypocritical to never ask somebody questions about their personal life to then all of a sudden want all of the questions answered. Like nobody was grilling her about all of these personal details before, they were just letting it be,” the “Teddi Tea Pod with Teddi Mellencamp Podcast” host explained. “Nobody knew who Sutton was before Real Housewives, nobody even knew who I was either, but if you’re really concerned about your reputation, if you want to uphold, like, an amazing reputation and all of the charities you’re in and all the things, you don’t go on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. … so that argument is a little flawed for me.”
Erika filed for divorce in November 2020 and one month later, she and Tom were accused of embezzling settlement funds intended for plane crash victims. The former lawyer’s firm has since been accused of giving Erika’s business more than $20 million in funds over the years. While Tom, 82, has been placed under conservatorship amid his battle with Alzheimer’s, Erika has maintained that she didn’t know anything about his legal troubles.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs on Bravo Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET.