Erika dives even deeper into the scandal and her divorce in part four of 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' reunion.
Andy Cohen is asking all the questions and Erika Jayne is not holding back. On part four of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reunion Wednesday, Jayne got real about her finances and the conversations she's been having with her estranged husband, Tom Girardi, since his transfer to a mental care facility after being diagnosed with dementia.
When asked why Cohen or Kyle Richards didn't alert Jayne about rumors brought to them years ago by Bethenny Frankel concerning Girardi's financial issues, Richards and Cohen said they thought it was just gossip at the time.
"Right. To a lot of people it didn’t register, also when the firm filed and when everything happened. There were many lawyers that called me and said, ‘God, I thought Girardi Keese was healthy,'" Jayne said.
With many viewers writing in to ask how Jayne is paying to keep up her glam amid her current financial turmoil, the Pretty Mess author pointed to an earlier segment about the paycheck she receives from the reality TV series.
"You just told me you pay me a lot of money, earlier segment. So, there you go," Jayne explained of how she's footing the bill for her hair and makeup team.
"So you’re spending your money? " Cohen asked. "Like everyone else here," Jayne shot back.
While Jayne has kept her contact with Girardi minimal, she revealed that she has spoken to the now-disbarred attorney since his transfer to an assisted living facility.
"I just wanted to make sure…," Jayne began, holding back tears. "I just wanted to make sure he was safe. Because after the pictures came out, he looked so bad, I just wanted to make sure he was in the right place."
Jayne had previously blown up on Gracelle Beauvais after an off-camera conversation she shared was later brought to light, revealing that she was still receiving calls from Girardi.
"So we were talking, and this again goes to 'the sham,' that, you know, I could not answer those calls because people would say…," Jayne trailed off.
"That you were in cahoots with him? " Cohen asked. "Of course. Of course," Jayne affirmed. "So that’s why I blew up at Garcelle."
"Because you did not want people to have the impression that you two were…," the Watch What Happens Live host started.
"That we were..." She began, before gesturing with her hands, implying an exchange of information. "Yeah. I had not spoken to him until he went into the care facility," the 50-year-old performer reiterated.
"How many times have you spoken with him? " Cohen asked. "You know, he calls every day," Jayne shared, to the shock of Cohen and her cast mates. "He’s called five times today."
When asked if she's expressed her anger to her ex over their divorce and the scandal that's followed, Jayne said she has.
"I’ve asked him how he could put me in this position," she said before Cohen asked if Jayne questioned whether or not Girardi committed the crimes he's being accused of.
"I asked him why am I… why …why would you….," an emotional Jayne tried to explain.
"It's OK," Lisa Rinna chimed in, attempting to comfort her co-star.
"It’s not OK!," Jayne fired back. "Why would you leave me with millions of dollars in lawsuits pointed at me?"
"Did you ask him if he stole from these people?" Cohen probed.
"Andy. Andy. He doesn’t even acknowledge anything. None of it. It doesn’t even matter what he says, because he’s incompetent. So I’m left holding the f**king bag," an angry Jayne retorted.
Jayne claimed that in Girardi's declining state, no matter how much she's pressed her ex, he hasn't acknowledged or admitted to any of the allegations leveled against him.
As far as the LA Times article which alleges that Jayne had $20 million transferred from Girardi's law firm to her company, EJ Global, Jayne vehemently denied those claims.
"It was not," Jayne maintained. "There was not $20 million transferred into your…," Cohen began before getting cut off by the reality TV star.
"EJ Global. That is correct," Jayne jumped in.
She continued, "There is not $20 million, no. My lawyer wrote to Page Six, to E!, everybody else, but somehow or another, that doesn’t seem to be told."
Cohen continued to question Jayne's finances, asking her next about her $14 million American Express bill, which she said was money spent over a 12 year period.
"Over 12 years, so if you knock that down to $2 million per year, that’s pretty much what we’re all doing this year. I mean, doing in this lifestyle," Jayne explained.
"So, the allegation is that the money that we have seen you spending was money that Tom stole from others," Cohen said before giving Jayne a chance to set the record straight.
"This is a very long bankruptcy that will be pulled apart, both his firm and his personal bankruptcy. I am not in bankruptcy. I am being sued by everyone who thinks I’ve got some magical pot of gold at some rainbow, I have no idea," she explained. "But wait a second: If that is proven, what money was allegedly misappropriated? When? How? Does that mean every lawyer’s salary should be clawed back? Does that mean every secretary’s salary needs to be clawed back? Or the referring attorneys? Or anyone else that’s in that business?"
"So why was it ruled that you could be roped into this? " Cohen pressed.
"I don’t know. You know? I would have to ask my lawyer," Jayne said.
While claims have been made that Girardi's legal troubles began long before Jayne was ever on RHOBH, the "XXPEN$IVE" singer said she would never have gone on the reality TV show if she had known was what going on at the firm, let alone make a song with that title.
"I would not have been on a reality TV show! " Jayne proclaimed.
"'Cause you can’t hide s**t like this. That’s what I’m saying," she continued. "This is not some master plan. This is not, you know, Erika being some financial f**king mastermind. This is a tragic sequence of events that are completely terrible."
Jayne has been accused of not showing enough sympathy for the victims accusing Girardi of embezzling millions from them, but when it comes to how she says she can serve them best, it's by cooperating in court.
"You know how I can serve the victims the best? By cooperating in court, and rolling up my sleeves and getting down to the bottom of it, and that is what I have done," Jayne said. "Really — if everything is true, that has been alleged — is how I can help. And I have."
The tense conclusion to the four-part reunion was that moment of levity, where Jayne not only expressed sympathy for the victims and their need for justice, but also thanked Cohen and her cast mates for listening to her side of the story.
"Thank you for hearing me out today. This is not pretty. It is ugly. I am well aware, and I have been pressed for however many months now, and stories have run wild, and people have filled in the blanks," she explained. "I hope, today, you all leave knowing a little bit more of my side and understand this will not be wrapped up easily. It is a long, arduous process. And all I can do is put one foot in front of the other."
Part four of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reunion special airs 8 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo.
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