Weathering the storm.
Erika Jayne is opening up about her ex-husband Tom Girardi's ongoing legal battles, calling the fraud and embezzlement lawsuit, which she was recently dismissed from in the state of Illinois, the "darkest" time in her life.
"You know, when they can't get to that man, then they turn to his partner. And that's what I think has happened," The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star exclusively told E! News' Justin Sylvester on the Feb. 11 episode of Daily Pop. "I think that I have taken a lot of the attention that should be for other people. Other people, not just person, people. I've been the whipping girl for a lot of people and I've taken the beating in the public when others should be."
If it weren't for her own status, Erika—who split from Tom in Nov. 2020, a month before the lawsuit was filed—believes hardly anyone would have heard about her ex's entanglement. "I think it would be a bad legal story and I think it would have gone away," the "Pretty Mess" singer shared. "I do think that because I am on a reality TV show, it is magnified. I think that because of what I've done professionally, it is magnified."
Overall, the controversy has changed her.
"This has been the darkest part of my life," she continued. "Just the most desperate, most afraid I've ever been in my life. Most unsure, most volatile. I've been angry, I've been sad, I've been happy, I've been everything. And it's really challenged me to my core."
Last month, E! News confirmed Erika had been dismissed from Tom's case (Jay Edelson, an attorney for the plaintiffs in the case, vowed to refile in California). The original civil lawsuit accused the former couple of embezzling $2 million from a Boeing 737 airplane crash settlement fund made to Illinois-based plaintiffs whose family members were among the accident victims.
Hear more from Erika in the video above and don't miss part two of E!'s exclusive interview with Erika on Daily Pop next week, airing weekdays at 11 a.m.
Erika's beauty line Pretty Mess Hair is available online now.