Erika Jayne previews parts 2 and 3 of 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' season 13 reunion and her new doc, 'Bet It All on Blonde.'
Erika Jayne is fine being in the middle of the drama. Well, in the middle of watching the drama.
"Listen, after the last two years, I'm so golden. It was like a dream," she tells ET of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 13 reunion. She found herself smack dab in the middle of Dorit Kemsley and Kyle Richards' verbal tennis match on the left couch of the all-cast sit-down special with Andy Cohen. Part 2 airs Wednesday night.
"I sat back and let everybody else talk," she notes. "I was just like, 'Yeah, you guys go right ahead...'"
Part 1 saw cracks surface in Kyle and Dorit's once (thought-to-be?) close friendship, with Dorit labeling Kyle "manipulative" for a text message she sent the Beverly Beach designer the night before the taping. In the message, which Dorit shared with Erika backstage, Kyle essentially asked that Dorit keep their private conversations private, and suggested they work on their issues off-camera instead of on the reunion stage. Dorit saw it as a threat, and confronted Kyle about it on set, telling the OG diamond holder she did not fear her and her "punisher" ways.
Erika says, no, she does not see Kyle as manipulative nor a punisher, "but I'm not in their relationship."
"I can only speak from where I see it," she says. "Dorit needs to-- you can watch."
Ahead of the taping, Erika appeared on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen and made a comment about wanting to see her co-stars, namely Kyle, "eviscerated" at the reunion, as she had been the prior two years amid the demise of her marriage to disgraced attorney Tom Girardi and the legal web she's found herself trapped in as a result of his alleged wrongdoings.
"You know what? I did not ask for her to be eviscerated," Erika clarifies. "I said I was eviscerated. So, my question was more towards Andy like, 'Hey, you really put pressure on me these last two years. You're gonna do it to her, too, because this is all we've heard about."
The "this" Erika refers to is Kyle's own marriage troubles. Near the end of filming season 13, Kyle and her husband, Mauricio Umansky, announced they were separated after 26 years of marriage. Kyle's shared a little with the group about going through a "tough" time, but specific details about why she and Mau landed on the path they have remain few and far between. That's lead to a lot of questions from co-stars and viewers alike. Erika offers up an "I don't know" when asked if Kyle's answers at reunion satisfied the 90210 ensemble.
"I think you're gonna have to read it on their faces," she muses.
As for if viewers will be satisfied, Erika says, "It depends on what lens you're looking from."
"Those who say, you know what? It's between she and Mauricio, it's really none of our business and those who say, no, I want more because you brought this other person into the story," she explains. "So I don't really know. I can speak for myself, which is, I'm friends with Kyle. Whatever she wants to tell me is great. It's not my marriage and I'm going to be friends with her whether she's married, divorced, separated or whatever she chooses to do."
That "other person" is Morgan Wade, the country singer with whom Kyle's become fast friends over the course of the last year. Their relationship's spawned countless tabloid stories suggesting they're more than friends, which Kyle has repeatedly denied.
"It's hard to live in a place like that, where ... there's so much speculation as to whether they're friends or more than friends," Erika reflects. "And it's like, you know what? Everybody let Kyle tell us who and what-- and what difference does it make, whether you agree or don't believe her? It's her life that you're watching. And so, that's her walk, her journey."
Erika gets a little time in the hot seat herself, with more questions about her ex's legal woes and alleged victims. In sneak peeks, Andy asks Erika to explain meeting with some of those people on camera for ABC News and Hulu's Housewife and the Hustler 2: The Reckoning documentary, and Crystal Kung Minkoff seemingly suggests Tom may be faking his cognitive issues to get out of court (a judge deemed him fit for trial in one case earlier this year).
"For me, there is nothing left to say," Erika says of the matter, acknowledging her actions will do the talking in that area from here on out. Fans will get more clarity on her reality in Erika Jayne: Bet It All on Blonde, the two-part documentary about her return to performing with a Las Vegas residency. It premieres after part 2 of the RHOBH reunion.
"I think that you get to see me completely differently in Bet It All on Blonde than you have seen me on Housewives," she teases. "I mean, it's pretty raw. Maybe people will walk away with a different understanding of who I am and not a persona so much, you know? Erika Jayne is a persona. She is an over-the-top character; larger than life, fantasy, love, escape, glitz, glamour and fun. There ain't a whole lot of that in Bet It All on Blonde."
Her castmates will get to watch it along with the audience. They didn't get a sneak peek at the doc.
"I don't know if any of them have ever seen me quite like that, even though we know each other," she says. "People show up as different version of themselves all the time. Who knows what they'll think."
Check out an exclusive sneak peek at one of Erika's unfiltered moments from Bet It All on Blonde here:
Next week, the RHOBH reunion concludes and Erika admits "it was a little unusual the way we ended."
"I can only speak for myself, I felt completely OK," she reiterates. "I felt like I said everything I needed to say, others may not have had the chance."
Viewers are anxious to see what exactly goes down with Sutton Stracke, who experienced some sort of medical event on the couch, as previewed in the trailer for the three-part special.
"She's fine," Erika promises. "She's OK."
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo. Erika Jayne: Bet It All on Blonde airs directly after it this Wednesday, March 6, starting at 9 p.m. ET/PT. All episodes stream next day on Peacock.
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