Post-reunion pondering.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' explosive three-part reunion concluded on Wednesday evening, and now, Erika Jayne is giving her final thoughts on the season so tumultuous that her co-star Denise Richards recently announced she was exiting the Bravo show once and for all.
"You know, everybody internalizes this show differently," Erika said in an exclusive conversation with E!'s Justin Sylvester on Thursday, Sept. 17's Daily Pop. "I would've liked to see her stay, but she has to do what's right for her and her family."
The Wild Things actress was at odds with her fellow housewives for the better part of season 10—first because she expressed concern about her daughters overhearing the group's conversation about threesomes, and later due to Brandi Glanville telling Kyle Richards and Teddi Mellencamp that she and Denise had sex (which Denise has vehemently denied).
"I think the most frustrating part about all of this was that Denise could not even acknowledge what was said on camera," Erika said, likely referencing what could also be traced back to the conversation with Brandi, as she accused Denise of repeatedly badmouthing Kyle, Teddi and the other RHOBH ladies, and though Denise admitted as much about Teddi in a confessional, she denied doing so at the reunion when confronted.
"So it's kind of like irrefutable evidence," Erika added. "And then just, 'I didn't say that,'...but it's on camera!"
Erika was also upset with the fact that Brandi wasn't able to make her own appearance at the reunion.
"Had it been any other Housewife in that situation, Brandi would've been seated right there to confront her," the singer expressed. "But she wasn't...it puts us in a weird place—and you know this game better than me, Justin—so when the Brandi thing comes to light, we as a cast have to talk about it. And we're dragged into it."
She continued, "Now you're taking Brandi, who's an important piece of this story for months now, and you're not letting her speak? And I just feel like had it been any other woman, Brandi would've been there."
Justin and Erika went on to hypothesize why Denise and even other actresses might struggle with reality TV, with the RHOBH star noting, "There's no stop and start. There's no script."
"You're talking off the top of your head. Everything is up for grabs. Everything will and can be used," Erika expressed. "And you have to be able to live in that space. And there's no protection from production or the network, or your friends or, you know, anyone."
The harsh truth, she added, is that "sometimes you win and sometimes you lose."
"Everybody looks bad. Everybody takes a hit," Erika said. "Everybody stumbles and there's no retakes, really."
So where does The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills go from here? Well, if it were up to Erika to find Denise's replacement she'd call on someone who knows reality TV very well: "Come on down Kris Jenner!"
Watch Erika's full conversation with Justin on Daily Pop in the above clip. Watch the RHOBH "Secrets Revealed" special on Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 9 p.m. on Bravo and binge past seasons on Peacock starting Sept. 20.
(E!, Bravo and Peacock are all part of the NBCUniversal family.)