Lisa Rinna Doesn't Believe Erika Jayne Knew 'Anything' About Tom Girardi's Business Dealings, Admits There Were 'Many Moments That We've All Questioned' Costar's Story
Lisa Rinna is sticking up for Erika Jayne after her fellow Housewives questioned whether they can trust the Pretty Mess author amid the legal woes surrounding her and estranged husband Tom Girardi.
Rinna appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on Wednesday, August 11, when Cohen asked Rinna how much she believed Jayne knew. "Listen, I've known Erika a long time, I don't think she knew anything. You tell me, how she would know?" she answered. "Why would Tom Girardi tell Erika anything? The lawyers didn’t even know. That is how I feel, I'm going to stand by it."
When asked by a fan to name one moment she was unsure or weary of something she was told, Rinna answered honestly. "Oh, alot. I've had alot. Of course, of course. I've had alot of moments, I mean, there's alot coming out, There's alot," she said. "And you know, I talk to [husband] Harry [Hamlin] about it. I talked to Erika about it too. I do have a close relationship with Erika, you can't forget that, so I am on the phone with her. It doesn't always happen when you see it. So yes, there have been many moments that we've all questioned, myself [included]."
When Cohen asked if she had gotten answers, Rinna responded, "Well, no, there are no answers yet".
In the episode that aired on Wednesday, August 11, the Housewives discussed Jayne becoming emotional on last week's episode after Garcelle Beauvais told the group that Girardi had been calling his estranged wife.
Beauvais and the 50-year-old hugged it out after The Jamie Foxx Show alum said she "wouldn't do anything to hurt" her friend to which Jayne said not to "worry about it."
"The reaction is a little much. This isn't about Garcelle. This is about Erika and her problems," Sutton Stracke said in a confessional. "So it makes me think: Is Erika being honest with us?"
Jayne left the La Quinta cast trip early and returned to Los Angeles without an explanation. The next day, a Los Angeles Times article detailed how her 82-year-old ex was "accused of improperly funneling more than $20 million in loans to [Erika] Jayne's entertainment company."
"Is someone going to jail?" Kyle Richards asked as the group discussed the story. "If he's [Girardi] found guilty, yeah. He's going to jail," Stracke explained. Richards then asked about what would happen to Jayne.
"There's going to have to be some reconciliation where she goes to court," Stracke answered.
"If she did receive $20 million from the firm, that money should be going back to all the victims [of the embezzlement case]," Stracke explained, adding she believed "the money is gone."
Richards said that she suspected that Jayne knew about the article and it was likely that she "left" because of it: "I mean, this article is implying that Erika was complicit and knew everything."
"I hate to be devil's advocate here. Maybe she didn't know. But if her name is on that LLC, she is responsible for that LLC," Stracke said. "She's responsible for where the money comes from."
Dorit Kemsley felt the "picture that's being painted is that there was no money but that they had a very lavish lifestyle and all of this was in an effort to keep this up."
Meanwhile, Beauvais and Crystal Kung Minkoff discussed the article together. In a confessional, Beauvais said that she "can't imagine this article came out without [Erika] getting a head's up" and that it "would explain why she flipped out at me and she left La Quinta."
When the group returned to Los Angeles, they met at Kemsley's home to discuss their concerns. "I left La Quinta thinking something's amiss," Stracke, 49, said. "And I'm sorry I'm jumping into this, but I just got to get it out there."
"I think that we have heard stories that, to me, don't add up. I left yesterday very concerned. And then I started thinking, and my alarms went off, and red flags started flying everywhere," Stracke continued. "I'm like, what have we gotten ourselves into?"
"I have questions," she added. "I am not sure how much I want to be around my friend during this time."
