Erika Jayne shared new details about a recent abusive relationship on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
How to Watch
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 15 airs on Thursdays at 8/7c on Bravo and streams next day on on Peacock.
Stream on
The revelation came about during Erika and Sutton Stracke’s reunion with Denise Richards on Season 15, Episode 10, amid a discussion about the latter filing for divorce from Aaron Phypers. She had brought up a photo of Denise with a “black eye,” and after the RHOBH alum shared her story, she told her, “Just so you know, I went through this too.”
Erika clarified that the incidents, which she said had occurred “recently,” did not involve “any of [her] husbands,” including Tom Girardi, and “no one” knew, at the time.
“I met someone, and it started out fun,” Erika recalled to a producer. “There were no expectations of happily ever after or this is my person or any of that, like, bulls–t. And it was several months after I met this person that it turned into chaos.”
Erika Jayne recalled having to “call 9-1-1” amid a domestic violence incident
“The first time this happened, I was incredibly calm, and I put on my best hostage negotiator voice,” Erika added in her confessional, without going into specifics of the altercation. “And this person was f–king mad. I was afraid, but I was so numb inside that I almost felt nothing.”
Back at the table, Sutton asked who the person was. Erika replied by saying that their identity didn’t “really matter,” but noted that the incident happened “not too long ago.”
“It was after Tom. It had happened more than once,” Erika stated. “And then, like, the third time I was just like, this is not for me.”
She continued, “I’m just gonna say one thing, and I’m gonna leave it right here. You have no idea how shameful it is to be the mother of a police officer and have to pick up the phone and call 9-1-1. And then call your family member and say I think you should hear this from me first, before you hear it from anyone else.”
RELATED: Erika Jayne Reveals If Her Son, Tommy, Has Met Her Boyfriend John McPhee (EXCLUSIVE)
How Erika Jayne coped after her abusive relationship ended
Despite the harrowing experience, Erika assured Sutton and Denise that the “hard” situation was “water under the bridge” at that point: “I’ve tried to pull myself as best up as I can and keep moving forward.”
When Denise said, “Thank god you got out,” Erika told her, “Yeah, of course. Well, look, it stopped right at the right time. And that’s far and away gone. It is what it is.”
Denise, meanwhile, further pointed out that Erika had recently begun “dating someone new,” i.e. boyfriend John McPhee, and she responded by saying, “Life goes on.”
RELATED: See What Erika Jayne Revealed to a RHOBH Producer About Her Boyfriend John McPhee
In a preview for Episode 11, however, Erika tearfully admits that she felt “a lot of shame” after “getting hit or choked” to her therapist, who replies, “But you were very lucky that you survived.”
Meanwhile, Erika further explained on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills After Show that she had also leaned on Kyle Richards and Dorit Kemsley for support.
“I think it’s important for everybody watching to understand that certain things are very delicate, and you don’t necessarily kind of reveal them in the moment,” she elaborated. “But I confided in Kyle and in Dorit when everything was over, and they were kind enough to keep confidence from me.”
As for why she decided to publicly share her story on RHOBH, Erika credited “brave” Denise for opening up about her experience first, before later adding, “It was on my heart. It was the right moment, and I did it.”
Get the latest update on Erika’s new relationship with John — including if he’s met her RHOBH castmates yet.
