It’s “XXPEN$IVE” to be Erika Jayne, but at least she’s still making money somehow.
The embattled “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star admitted to Andy Cohen that the reality show is her main source of income now that she can’t rely on her multimillionaire estranged husband, Tom Girardi.
Jayne, 50, said during the first episode of the four-part “RHOBH” reunion on Wednesday that she was “literally trying to survive” while shooting the series over the winter, so she didn’t think about the paycheck until recently.
“Yeah, unfortunately, it is,” she said of having to bank on Bravo to get by. “You know, that is more now of a consideration.”
She is likely raking in $600,000 per season, the New York Times reported.
With that in mind, Jayne was quick to defend herself against fans who have called for her to be cut from the show amid her and Girardi’s mounting legal and financial woes.
“Why should I be fired?” she asked Cohen, 53. “Why are you presuming that I’ve done something? Why aren’t we letting the legal process play out?
“You’ve heard one side — and a lot of bulls–t on that side,” she added. “Give me a chance to defend myself. Watch me. I’m ready for the challenge. Watch me do it.”
The “Pretty Mess” author also revealed that her legal team wanted her to quit being a “Housewife,” but she refused.
“I said, ‘No, because I have nothing to hide.’ And they said, ‘Well, you know that this s–t can get flipped around on you. Everything can be parsed, twisted, turned and, yes, possibly turned against you.’ Whether it is true or not, it almost doesn’t even matter at this point,” she explained.
“But I’m not a quitter, and I wanted to honor my commitment. I wasn’t going to run away from what’s coming at me.”
Jayne’s personal life became headline news in November 2020 when she filed for divorce from her husband of 20 years, Girardi. The following month, they were accused of embezzling money meant for Lion Air Flight 610 victims whom the now-disgraced attorney, 82, had represented.
The lawsuit played out in real-time during filming for “RHOBH,” with Jayne adamantly denying that she had any knowledge of Girardi allegedly stealing money from “orphans and widows.”
She acknowledged the people who accused Girardi of stealing from them at the reunion, saying, “There’s a lot of talk about me being cold and a lot of talk about me not having empathy and sympathy. The truth is I do, but I’m in an almost impossible situation. And anyone who has been wronged, I want them to be made whole. I’m talking about the alleged victims of all of Tom’s alleged misdoings. And it’s important that people hear that from me.”
“The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” reunion continues next Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.