Erika Jayne addressed speculation that she joined the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills knowing about her husband Tom Girardi’s money scandal, and revealed how she and Tom began their romance.

In 2020, Erika left Tom amid accusations that he embezzled millions of dollars from his clients.

Speaking on Bravo’s Hot Mic Podcast, Erika addressed the theory that she came on the show knowing about the money scandal.

“You gotta be crazy [to do that]. It would be so much easier to have been quiet and wealthy over there,” she explained. “It just would have been a really bad legal story — as opposed to putting yourself out there on ‘Housewives’ and everything else that comes with it, over and over and over again, and not being able to get away from it.”

She then shared one of her “lowest times.”

“I was going in to pick up one of my antidepressant prescriptions at the CVS and walking by my face on the cover of — I don’t know which [outlet] it was that said — ‘How did she blow $25 million?’” shared Erika. “I knew I recognized the face, that was me. And I thought, my god it had really become something else. And unless you do really TV shows, you really don’t know what it’s like.”

Erika compared it to castmate Kyle Richards facing her marital issues in the public eye.

“This is happening, you guys,” said Erika. “I remember just being cornered in a f**king ugly stairwell and just being, you know, asked all these questions on my day off, just trying to go to the grocery store. And it just doesn’t feel good.”

She claimed this is one reason why she and Lisa Rinna are so close, because they understand what it’s like to have it “hard” as ‘Housewives.’

Erika also took a swing at her critics.

“When I see someone that’s very interested in others, but very protective of theirs, what are you masking?” she asked. “Or you’re either masking something, or you have nothing. And I will remember that, and I will swing at you when I feel like I’m ready. May not be today, may not be next year, but — cause that s**t hurts.”

Addressing her past, Erika said she couldn’t “make it” as a performing artist in New York City, as she was “divorced” with a “small child.”

“With my family’s support, I moved to Los Angeles. People think I up and left. That’s not true,” she said. “It’s a game of attrition. There’s so many no’s. You have to stick it out till you get the one yes.”

Once in LA, Erika got a job at a Beverly Hills restaurant called Chasen’s, where stars, entertainers and dignitaries frequented.

“The second version of Chasen’s … had investors, and one of those investors happened to be a man, a lawyer named Tom Girardi, who I waited on. He was very kind,” said Erika. “Everybody loved Tom. He was a good customer. He was a good tipper. He was really sweet to the valet, to the bus boy.”

Erika said she knew Tom “well over a year” before they even went on a date, and after their first date they were “never really apart.”

It began around Christmas time when Erika told him at the restaurant, “‘Did you hear I was single?’”

“He said ‘no.’ I said ‘yeah.’ He goes, ‘Well do you want to go out to dinner?’ And I said ‘Yeah. Give me a call sometime.’ And I wrote down my number,” said the star. “The next call I receive is from his secretary Charlene … saying ‘Can you meet Mr. Girardi for dinner tonight.’ And I said, ‘No I cannot. And if Mr. Girardi wants to take me out he can call me in advance himself. Thank you very much.’ And I hung up the phone. I didn’t hear from Tom.”

According to Erika, he came to the restaurant a week later and told Erika she was “ignoring” him and “not taking” his calls.

“I said, ‘No you haven’t called me. You had your secretary call me.’ He’s like ‘Well are we going to go to dinner or not?’ I said ‘Well this is what I was waiting for. Was you to ask me.’ And we did,” she continued. “We had a really nice time. And we just continued our relationship on from there.”

She said they got married within a year. At one point she told him that she just moved out of her place, and she needed to find an apartment.

“He goes, ‘Well you know there are a lot of bedrooms in this house. You could stay here until you figure it out if you’re tired of sleeping on your friend’s couch,’” she said. “I did … I think I stayed in [his guest] room for like three weeks till he was like, ‘Now Erika, come on.’”

She kept her job as a cocktail waiter until Tom expressed that he didn’t want her to work – that he wanted her to be with him.