When Erika Jayne stepped onto the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills scene in 2015, she shocked many viewers with her underground pop-performing persona that liked to “pat the puss” and sing “It's expensive to be me.” But things only got more shocking this past year when she divorced her high-profile lawyer husband just prior to all those embezzlement allegations coming to light. Jayne has been vetting the pointed questions and loyalties of her co-stars throughout the eleventh season of the reality series, and it's gotten pretty intense. With the reunion nigh, though, one of the biggest questions surrounding Erika Jayne’s situation have seemingly been revealed: how much does the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills pay its cast?
Reports have been indicating that the upcoming Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reunion saw Erika Jayne and host/executive producer Andy Cohen butting heads the most. Apparently, he wanted her to clarify things she said about her and Tom Girardi’s legal woes on the show. Namely, as we saw in the reunion’s teaser trailer, why she didn't leave sooner if Girardi was a cheater and as controlling during the marriage as she claimed. Cohen in fact can be heard outright saying, “I know what you make on this show,” with the implication being that her Real Housewives salary is substantial enough for her to support herself without him.
According to the New York Times, Bravo evidently does pays its Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast a lofty salary. It suggests that Erika Jayne was potentially making “more than $600,000” just from this controversial last season alone. This isn't necessarily how much her castmates are racking in, given that Kyle Richards and Lisa Rinna have now been on the show the longest. But it does give some idea as to how Erika Jayne has been affording some of her previously lavish lifestyle in the wake of her legal troubles, as well as hinting at what her co-stars might be making.
Erika Jayne was very frank in sharing that she expected to get nothing out of Tom Girardi in their divorce. Yet she revealed on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills that she packed up and left her mansion with him the day she filed for divorce and moved into a house that has an estimated $7,500 monthly rent (per OK Magazine). Her reported Bravo salary is likely covering the rent of that new home, along with her ability to still fly private jets.
All that said, Erika Jayne’s salary probably can't cover how much the trustee in the embezzlement case against Tom Girardi’s law firm is suing her for. They want the Real Housewives star to pay back a whopping $25 million that her companies reportedly received from the law firm. The money, which was allegedly used for credit card expenses and her glam team, was supposedly meant for money owed to Girardi’s clients and creditors. Jayne is also simultaneously facing several civil suits from the victims of Girardi’s purported schemes.
The first of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ 4-part reunion specials airs tonight on Bravo. Maybe Erika Jayne gives Andy Cohen the answer he's looking for as to why she didn't leave Tom Girardi with that metaphorical $600,000 check in her pocket. Judging from the teaser, though, she still seems rather guarded for legal purposes. Her husband doesn't seem to be capable of doing the same for her.
