Erika Jayne is opening up about what led her to share one of the most personal parts of her life on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and why she almost didn’t.
Following a revealing scene with Sutton Stracke and Denise Richards, where Denise spoke about alleged abuse during her marriage to Aaron Phypers, Erika found herself doing something she rarely does on camera. She connected her own past experience to Denise’s story.
Now, she’s explaining why that moment happened, and why it easily could have stayed private.
“I spoke of having encountered something like that. A lot of time had passed, and me opening up that night, I wouldn’t have done it had it not been someone that I knew doing it as well,” Erika explained on an episode of the RHOBH: After Show.
The timing mattered. According to Erika, she wasn’t planning to revisit that part of her life publicly. But seeing Denise speak candidly about her own situation changed something.
Erika also clarified that two of her castmates already knew — just not in a public setting.
“Kyle knew about it and Dorit knew about it, and I think it’s important for everybody watching to understand that certain things are very delicate and you don’t necessarily can reveal them in the moment,” she continued.
She said she shared that information with Kyle Richards and Dorit Kemsley in confidence after everything was over. In other words, the women closest to her were aware, but it wasn’t something she felt comfortable bringing to camera right away.
As for Denise, Erika acknowledged how difficult that kind of disclosure can be.
According to Erika, it took “a lot of balls” for Denise to come forward and advocate for herself during such a messy and public split because “nobody wants to feel that way.”
Even though Erika described it as “the right moment” to open up, she admitted she was bracing herself for the reaction.
“I don’t know how it’s gonna be received,” she went on. “The reason I didn’t bring it up at all is because how much more can I take, and how much more sht is it gonna open up? ‘You deserved it.’ That’s gonna happen. There’s gonna be people that support you and people that go, ‘you fcking deserved it.’ ‘You’re lying.’”
Whether fans rally behind her or question her timing, Erika made it clear that the decision to speak wasn’t impulsive. It was layered. It was personal. And it came with risk.
And for Erika Jayne, that risk almost kept her silent.
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