--- title: "The Truth About How Erika Jayne Escaped Marriage to Tom Girardi" url: https://allabouttrh.com/2024/02/15/how-erika-jayne-escaped-marriage/ type: post date: 2024-02-15 modified: 2024-02-15 markdown_url: https://allabouttrh.com/2024/02/15/how-erika-jayne-escaped-marriage.md author: "Lara Sophia" --- # The Truth About How Erika Jayne Escaped Marriage to Tom Girardi ## Details about how Erika Jayne was able to leave her nearly 30-year marriage to Tom Girardi are finally coming to light thanks to The Housewife and the Hustler Part 2. In part two of Hulu's investigative documentary, [Erika Jayne](https://allabouttrh.com/category/the-real-housewives-of-beverly-hills/erika-girardi/)’s lawyer, Evan Borges, appeared alongside her good friend, Jim Wilkes. Before we spill the tea, [Jim Wilkes](https://allabouttrh.com/2023/06/02/erika-jayne-not-dating-jim-wilkes/) may look familiar to RHOBH fans as he was linked to Erika Jayne in 2023. Erika Jayne and the 72-year-old Tampa Bay attorney first sparked dating rumors in June after they were [photographed strolling through Caesars Palace](https://allabouttrh.com/2023/05/30/erika-jayne-photos-new-man/) in Las Vegas together. ![Erika Jayne spotted out and about with her new man, Jim Wilkes.](https://allabouttrh.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/IMG_3535-1200x1200.jpg)Erika Jayne and Jim Wilkes. A rep for the *[Real Housewives of Beverly Hills](https://allabouttrh.com/category/the-real-housewives-of-beverly-hills/) *star later told ***AllAboutTRH*** that Jim Wilkes is Erika Jayne’s ***“lawyer and family friend of over 20 years”*** and nothing more. Okay, back to the tea! On *[The Housewife and the Hustler 2: The Reckoning](https://allabouttrh.com/2024/02/01/erika-jayne-housewife-hustler-2/)*, Evan Borges and Jim Wilkes got candid about how Erika Jayne was able to walk away from her marriage to [Tom Girardi](https://allabouttrh.com/2024/01/20/rhobh-star-erika-jayne-divorce/) and their luxurious lifestyle with practically nothing. ***“In summer 2021, you and Erica were referred to our firm,***” Borges explains. ***“I had some very basic questions for her. ‘Why did you call for divorce just a month or so before the bankruptcy cases? And what did you know?’ Her answer to me is privilege, but I would describe it as escalating pressure [and] lawsuits. My strong suspicion is that Tom Girardi consistently lied to this poor woman, and she had no idea. She had no visibility into finances.”*** ***“I heard he forbade her wearing blue jeans. That's called either a control freak or an asshole, however you wanna put it,”*** he added. According to Borges, Jim Wilkes provided Erika with $150,000 to obtain a lawyer. He also opened up a bank account for the *Real Housewives of Beverly Hills *star and paid for the deposit on her rental home. ![Former RHOBH couple Erika Jayne and Tom Girardi.](https://allabouttrh.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Erika-Tom.jpg)Former RHOBH couple Erika Jayne and Tom Girardi. ***“She left that marriage. The only reason Erika was really able to do that was because of help from a longtime friend she had, meaning you. I think you gave her $150,000 to pay for a lawyer and to move out,” ***Borges reveals to the cameras alongside Wilkes. Since 2020, Wilkes has subsidized Erika’s lifestyle and has given her a ***“significant amount of money”*** to help live and pay her legal bills. ***“Jim opened up a bank account with her and provided her with, over time, a significant amount of money to pay for lawyers, to make a down payment on a rental. I mean, if she didn't have the help of a friend who had a lot of money, she was lost. I mean, it was it was bad,” ***Borges notes before asking Wilkes, ***“How much have you spent on this?”*** Wilkes replies, ***“I have no idea, a couple of million,”*** but reveals it has cost him this legal practice. However, he notes that he can’t ***“concede.”*** Wilkes goes on to explain that he is a longtime friend of Tom Girardi and spent a lot of time with Erika and Tom throughout their marriage. He notes that Tom Girardi changed significantly around 2019. ***“I’ve known Tom since about 2000. Erika Tom and I would spend time together hanging out. We probably did 4, 5, or 6 trips with. Tom knew a lot of fun people,”*** he details. ![Erika Jayne](https://allabouttrh.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/IMG_3532-2-764x1200.jpg)Jim Wilkes and Tom Girardi. ***“Around 2019, Tom changed. Tom came very angry. You could tell you there was a little hustle in him, but he was always cordial. And he stopped being cordial. That scared me,”*** Wilkes continued. He concluded: ***“Erika has been the victim of a great injustice. Her crime was having a husband who wasn't trustworthy that she stayed with for twenty years.”*** *[The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills](https://allabouttrh.com/category/the-real-housewives-of-beverly-hills/)* airs on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.  ## Thoughts on this all? Sound off in the comments!