Erika Jayne has broken her silence on estranged husband Tom Girardi’s prison sentence.
During the Friday, June 13, episode of iHeartRadio’s “Diamonds in the Rough” with Teddi Mellencamp, Erika, 53, reflected on learning the news of her ex-husband’s fate while in London earlier this month. While Erika said her performances across the pond were “better than any sex you could ever have,” the legal drama was hovering over her head.
“And then 10 minutes before the second show, I get the news that Tom is being sent to prison. … It just hurts,” she said. “It reopens old healing wounds, and it is something that, you know, I had a sold-out crowd in a theater just for me, and I was so grateful. My happiest place in the whole world to be is on stage. So while I was happy … there’s a little piece [of me] that was like, ‘Ugh.’”
The reality star admitted that the development in Tom’s case took a little bit out of her. “I was very disappointed because those people [in the audience] were there for me, and I felt like five percent of myself was feeling sorry for myself,” she explained. “I was 95 percent there, and five percent of myself was feeling sorry for myself. This was the day that he got sentenced, my second show. My first show was flawless. And my second show was great, don’t get me wrong. But there was that five percent I could have given the audience, and instead I was feeling sorry for myself.”
While she insisted that the crowd “loved” her performance regardless, Erika was “fighting back thoughts and emotions” that distracted her on stage.
News broke on June 3 that Tom, 86, was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison after he was found guilty in his California wire fraud case. He was also ordered to pay over $2 million in restitution to his victims.
Us Weekly confirmed in August 2024 that Tom was found guilty on four counts of fraud. His trial determined that he embezzled more than $15 million from multiple clients from his law firm. According to a press release at the time, Tom diverted millions of dollars from his law firm’s operating account to pay expenses not related to work, including his and Jayne’s company EJ Global plus funded private jet travel, jewelry, luxury cars, golf and social clubs.
“Tom Girardi built celebrity status and lured in victims by falsely portraying himself as a ‘Champion of Justice,’” United States Attorney Martin Estrada said in a press release at the time. “In reality, he was a Robin-Hood-in-reverse, stealing from the needy to support a lavish, Hollywood lifestyle. Today’s verdict shows that the game is up – we can all now see this defendant for what he was and the victims he callously betrayed.”
Tom and Erika tied the knot in 2000. In November 2020, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star filed for divorce. The following month, Tom’s legal woes began after he was accused of embezzling settlement funds intended for the victims of families killed in an airplane crash.
Erika was pulled into the drama as she and Tom were accused of embezzling the money to fund their lifestyle. Erika, for her part, was not accused of any crimes. Tom was disbarred by the State of California in 2022.
In February 2023, Tom was indicted on five counts of wire fraud. The indictment accused Tom and his colleague Christopher Kazuo Kamon of fraudulently obtaining millions that belonged to Girardi Keese clients between the years of 2010 and 2020. Tom pleaded not guilty.
Despite not facing any charges, Erika did face legal woes as she was sued by multiple people as a result of Tom’s alleged crimes.
“It’ll be four years in two weeks that I left home and everything happened. In that four years, I’ve been able to accept a lot of things, heal through a lot of things, and I will continue to do that,” Erika said on the RHOBH After Show in December 2024. “I’m not completely out of the woods. I’m still being sued in a lot of places, but those things will resolve. It is what it is. I just try to maintain the healthiest attitude possible going forward.”
