Before Tom Girardi, Erika Jayne, from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, lived a life that was a lot less fabulous than it is today. Erika met Tom in the late '90s, and after less than a year of dating, the couple tied the knot. At the time, she was grateful to have Tom as he provided her with a lavish lifestyle and even took care of her only son. Erika felt secure once Tom entered her life and believed she could live without a fear in the world.
However, life changed after 20 years of marriage once Tom was accused of embezzling settlement funds from the victims who lost loved ones in the 2018 Lion Air plane crash. Both she and Tom lost everything, including their infamous Pasadena mansion that Erika had been living in since she met Tom. Now the reality star will have to go back to a life without all the glitz and the glam her husband had provided for her for so many years.
Long before Erika was Erika Girardi, she was just Erika, a small-town girl from Georgia with big dreams to become a star in Hollywood. In her memoir, Pretty Mess per Erika, whose lifestyle hasn't changed, had two fathers: her biological dad and her step-dad. Her biological father was around during her early stages of life, but she never saw him again after he moved to California. Erika's step-dad is who she would consider her "father-figure" as he was the one who was "loving and kind" towards her and the one who started her love of fast cars.
At the age of 18, the singer moved to New York City with her mother. In order to help pay the bills, Erika began auditioning for roles on several TV shows, including a Fly Girl on In Living Color or playing the first-ever dead person on Law & Order. While Erika, who won't watch the reunion episodes, was auditioning for TV roles during the day, at night, she worked in New Jersey dancing at the infamous go-go club Shakers to make money. However, the club was nothing close to a strip club, and Erika would simply dance and talk to blue-collared guys who would go to Shakers after work. While living in NYC, Erika met her first husband, who was also named Tom, at a club called China Club where he was working as a DJ. At the time, Erika was only 19-year-old while Tom was seven years her senior. The reality star described Tom as a "tall, muscular Sicilian with the kind of streetwise swagger that only native New Yorkers can muster."
After only six months of dating, Erika, who got Bravo subpoenaed, worked as a waitress when she wasn't hustling for acting gigs, which is where she met Tom Girardi. After less than a year of dating, the couple got married, and she began living the lavish life she always dreamed of.
Erika worked hard to provide a good life for herself and her son. After she met her second Tom, she felt she no longer needed to fight to become a success. Eventually, Erika was able to live out her dream of being a singer and a dancer thanks to Tom and RHOBH, as Erika Jayne. Now that she has all this legal drama, it seems Erika will have to fight for success once again.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST on Bravo.
Source: BravoTV