‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ star Erika Girardi is still married to estranged husband Tom Girardi and doesn’t foresee her divorce being finalized anytime soon.
via People:
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star told Entertainment Tonight on Wednesday that she ranks the dissolution of her marriage “at the very bottom” of her priority list as she navigates ongoing legal challenges surrounding her alleged role in Tom’s embezzlement scandal.
Erika, 50, filed for divorce from Tom, 82, after nearly two decades in November 2020, amid rising racketeering and embezzlement allegationsagainst both her ex and his company.
Allegations included both a criminal and civil suit, the latter of which named Erika as well. Tom was accused of embezzling money from, among others, a settlement intended for the loved ones of victims of a 2018 plane crash.
Erika maintains that she was unaware of Tom’s criminal actions, which resulted in him being disbarred by the California Federal Court.
“I know the truth, I know what’s coming, I know what’s happening,” Erika told ET. “More sophisticated ears are willing to step back and take a look at the total picture and are not willing to jump on sensationalized headlines.”
Tom, who has been diagnosed with late-onset Alzheimer’s and dementia, is under a conservatorship managed by his younger brother. He has been living in a nursing facility with 24-hour care since July 2021.
Erika shared with ET that she thinks fans who watched the allegations play out on TV “misunderstand” her “concern” and “compassion” for the victims.
“People need to understand that this is, again a really complex situation,” Erika explained. “I’ve walked right up to the line as to what I can and cannot say.”
Just last month, more charges were filed against Erika and her company, EJ Global LLC, accusing her of being the “frontwoman” in Tom’s money “scheme.”
Documents obtained by PEOPLE claimed that Erika “acted as the ‘frontwoman’ of the operation, selling to the world (including unsuspecting clients) that Girardi Keese was successful.”
“To this day, Erika uses her significant public platform to lie about her own involvement and to try to assist Tom and the others in getting away with it,” the documents stated.
Erika said to ET that, although not everything is settled yet, she sees “light at the end of the tunnel” when it comes to her legal battles.
“[The light] is slow to come, but that’s OK,” she says. “I knew this going in. So I’m going to soldier out. I mean, that’s the way it is. They just push through. I’m not giving up.”
Although she described the last year and a half of her life as “really turbulent,” Erika said she has never stopped trying to share her side of the story.
“I have just worked very hard to continue to tell my story, my truth, and basically shout it from the rooftops,” she said. “And it felt like a lot of times I haven’t been heard, or didn’t want to be heard.”
‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ premieres tonight at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.
