Why Hasn't Erika Jayne Divorced Ex Tom Girardi? 'RHOBH' Star Reveals She Has Been 'Grieving' Her Marriage
As Season 13 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills approaches, star Erika Jayne opened up about why she and ex Tom Girardi have yet to divorce despite their 2020 separation.
"You have to grieve a marriage and you grieve a lot of things. I had a complete change of life, not just a marriage, a sickness of a spouse, and then losing your home, and your money, and all at one time, so grieving that sort of stuff and working through the legal problems is a lot," Jayne spilled, referencing her estranged husband’s Alzheimer's diagnosis. "My heart will always be open. I don't think I'll choose to share my private life on camera. I think that I need one thing that's mine. I just need one thing that's mine."
When asked if she would be open to putting her love life on TV again, the mother-of-one said, "Timing is everything. Let me recover. I've got a lot of bills to pay. I've got a lot of things to work out. When and if the time is right."
She also dished that she is back on the dating scene despite her decades-long marriage, noting, "My heart is not closed. I'm OK. I'm social, and I should be."
Although she is open to a new romance, Jayne is still legally married to Girardi.
"In the order of all of the problems I'm facing, it's probably the absolute last thing," she said of a divorce. "I just don't think about it. The day I filed for divorce and we were legally separated, that was it for me. We are in very different places. I have a lot to clean up and pick up and move on."
"We all have to do it our own way. Nobody's gonna look out for you but yourself," she explained. "Even after a two decade-plus marriage, that's what it came down to, looking out for yourself."
The reality TV personality also spoke about pal and RHOBH costar Kyle Richards, who recently split from husband Mauricio Umansky.
"I am Kyle's friend, and I am going to support her through this separation and whatever they choose to do," Jayne told a news outlet. "... I'm a friend, I'm a supporter, whatever she wants to share with me that's her right to do so. I'm not in this marriage and I don't like it when other people pry. You don't know what goes on behind closed doors. Let them work it out."
According to the RHOBH trailer, the shocking separation will seemingly be a large part of Season 13, which premieres on October 25.
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"Everyone has an opinion and we're there to get her opinion," she added. "My opinion is, I'm Kyle's friend, they are married, she will let me know what's happening when she's ready to. It's my job as a friend to support her in whatever she chooses to do."
"It also takes a lot of strength to show up, be vulnerable, be open, have conflict, resolve it or not, state your opinion," Jayne continued. "It takes a lot to stand on your own two feet on that show."
ET interviewed Jayne.