Erika Jayne on “Contempt” in Marriage to Tom & “Hardest Part”

Credit: Jenny Kim/Bravo,

Erika Jayne addressed “contempt” in her marriage to Tom Girardi and the “hardest part” since their separation. She and her former co-star Teddi Mellencamp also dissed former castmate Lisa Vanderpump, and Teddi hinted at their “late-night calls” on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

After Erika left Tom in 2020, allegations surfaced that the attorney embezzled money from clients. The estranged couple had been married for over two decades, and many cast members assumed they were solid.

Speaking on the Two Ts In A Pod podcast, Erika said she “kicked off” the “separation streak” on RHOBH – alluding to the later separations of Kyle Richards and Dorit Kemsley.

Erika expressed that she doesn’t think she’ll ever marry again, and she addressed how she turned a blind eye to Tom’s alleged cheating.

According to Erika, at the end of the marriage, there was “contempt” on both sides.

Teddi shared that she thought Erika’s marriage was so much better than her own when Erika first joined the show.

“I was holding up the walls of a marriage that was, you know, sliding,” Erika responded. “So I can’t believe you’d think that.”

Reflecting on the upcoming four-year anniversary of her separation from Tom, Erika said the “hardest part” was being “accused of things that I did not do” and having it “repeated over and over to the world.” She also felt like she “needed to hide.”

Addressing the claim that Real Housewives of Orange County’s John Janssen offered to pay his girlfriend Alexis Bellino double her salary to not return to RHOC, Erika said her own husband Tom “would have paid” her to do the same.

But Erika added that her relationship with her first husband Thomas Zizzo – the father of her now-grown son – is “great” and they’re “still friends to this day.”

Turning the subject to RHOBH, Teddi later suggested that Vanderpump, who allegedly had “sick breath,” would often call her late at night.

“Garlic,” Erika interjected. “Cigarettes, garlic breath, and Chardonnay.”

“It was a lot of late-night calls,” said Teddi before imitating her voice. “It was like, ‘Hey, we need to talk for a second.’”

According to Teddi, they would discuss “what I needed to do the next day … and it was never good. It was never the right advice.”

Erika added, “That’s not what the job is.”