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There are many stages of grief, including anger, and viewers have seen the wrath the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, Erika Jayne, has unleashed on her costars throughout her time on the show.
In a new interview with InStyle, Erika’s therapist, Dr. Jenn Mann, says that “Yes, you actually do need to grieve a divorce.” Adding that “shame and guilt” are natural feelings to go through when leaving a partner for the sake of your own well-being, in addition to anger. Erika seemingly agreed reposting the article to her Instagram stories.
Erika has been heavily criticized for filing divorce papers to end her marriage to her estranged husband, Tom Girardi, just as news broke that he had allegedly embezzled millions of dollars that were owed to widows, orphans, and a burn victim.
The public, as well as some of her cast, found the situation a little too coincidental, and Erika herself has faced lawsuits alleging she knew of Tom’s crimes and profited from them. Erika adamantly claims that she had no knowledge of the embezzlement or any of Tom’s sordid endeavors prior to her decision to leave the now-disbarred attorney.
Erika has stated in the past that Tom controlled everything in their marriage, as well as engaging in multiple infidelities during the couple’s marriage.
Dr. Jenn says, “I see women experiencing so much shame and guilt around divorce.” Adding, “Feeling a sense of failure around the marriage, even when leaving was the right thing to do, can be overwhelming.”
The relationship expert continued by saying that those feelings of shame and guilt “perpetuate everything else.”
This could indicate the reason behind Erika’s erratic and unpredictable behavior during the most recent season of RHOBH. Between screaming she’s the “only one” she cares about, mixing alcohol and anti-depressants, and moments of tears, the entertainer had viewers wondering what was going on with her as she seemed to express NO shame at times, but then again, denial is also one of the steps as well.
Erika recently addressed her regrets during Bravo Con 2022 and took ownership of her misusage of medication and alcohol calling it “not my finest moment.” She had many of those “moments” during season 12.
Bravo has put The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ season 13 on an indefinite pause for the time being after season 12 took an emotional and “dark” toll on the cast and producers.