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In the trailer for Hulu’s The Housewife and the Hustler 2 trailer, Bravo fans see Erika Jayne meet with Tom Girardi’s victims for an awkward sit down.
The uber popular Hulu documentary The Housewife and the Hustler exploring the lavish lives and alleged crimes of Tom Girardi and his estranged wife Erika Jayne is getting a sequel.
“This story was a nuclear explosion,” a voiceover says in the new trailer for ABC News’ The Housewife and the Hustler 2. “Today, several victims will get a chance to finally meet Erika Girardi.”
Erika Jayne of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills fame filed for divorce from Tom Girardi in November 2020 after twenty years of marriage. One month later, the two were named in a fraud and embezzlement lawsuit. The RHOBH couple were accused of misappropriating $2 million in settlement funds meant for the families of Lion Air Flight 610 crash victims.
The RHOBH star was also accused of having prior knowledge of Tom’s crimes as he and his law firm, the now-defunct Girardi Keese, handled her finances for years.
Despite the allegations, Erika Jayne has continued to maintain her innocence.
“I’m at a loss for what to say,” Erika Jayne says in the trailer for The Housewife and the Hustler 2. She also reveals to Tom’s victims that she “did” watch the first Hulu documentary about her estranged husband’s alleged crimes.
During the meeting, one victim asked why it took the Bravoleb “so long” to agree to a sit-down.
“I was never asked to do this,” Erika replies. “No one was really interested in my side of the story.”
The Housewife and the Hustler 2 premieres on Hulu on Monday, February 12.
Over the last three years, the 52-year-old Bravo star has been very vocal about her lack of involvement in Tom’s business and crimes. She has also been open about the truth behind their marriage and divorce on the past several seasons of RHOBH.
Now, the RHOBH star is ready to move past all of this but will continue to defend her name if she needs to.
“I’ve moved past the last three years, but I don’t know if others will let me move past,” she told Us Weekly in October 2023. “I still have legal things that are tying up, and they will take time because that’s the legal process. But I want to move on. … Every time someone asks me about Tom Girardi or something like this, you realize you’re cutting open a healing wound and you’re stabbing around in it, and that hurts.”
“I can’t change the fact that I was reactive and that I felt so very cornered every day that I came to work. I can’t change the fact that I started out very calmly explaining my position and I was not heard. And then I raised my voice and I still was not heard,” she continued. “It is what it is. I mean, there was no playbook. There was no one here to walk me through it. I was walking through it alone. Yes, I had lawyers, but they don’t hold your hands. … What I kept telling myself was, ‘You’re right.’ And to hold on and don’t quit.”
While Erika may be ready to move past all of the drama in her life thanks to her estranged husband it doesn’t seem like that will be happening anytime soon.
In January of this year, a Los Angeles federal judge ruled that Tom Girardi was competent to stand trial for fraud despite claims the once-famed Los Angeles attorney suffers from late-onset Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
The 84-year-old is “accused of federal wire fraud charges and other counts in two jurisdictions — Los Angeles and Chicago” in connection with the misappropriation of $18 million dollars in client settlement funds.
Tom will now stand trial for the February 2023 indictment. He is charged with five counts of wire fraud and faces up to 20 years in prison for each count.
The trial will most likely take place in mid to late 2024.
Tom’s upcoming fraud trial and possible conviction could cause more financial and legal issues in Erika’s life. Last month, The U.S. Sun reported that Erika could face even more losses when it comes to her divorce from Tom if he gets convicted of fraud. And it’s currently not looking great for the former attorney.
If Tom is convicted of fraud, it will affect the RHOBH star’s wallet. According to lawyer Ronald Richards, Erika could loose one million dollars on top of “exempt property payouts from the bankruptcy estate.”
“Her divorce has been sitting on ice since 2021. They’re doing nothing in that case,” Richards explained. “She is set to get half of whatever remains after the bankruptcy case, some things are exempt and there are community assets. But if he’s convicted a restitution order could attack whatever is left, and she could lose out, as well as be on the hook for lifetime alimony payments.”
Basically, if there was theoretically any money left after the bankruptcy case, that doesn’t take into account the restitution Tom may have to pay if convicted of fraud.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.
