Erika Girardi joined The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in season 6 and quickly became a fan favorite on the show with her diva-like sassy attitude and lavish life. In one of the most odd pairings we’ve ever seen on Real Housewives, Girardi is married to one of the most high profile lawyers in Los Angeles, who is most famous for his work on the case that inspired the film, Erin Brockovich. The couple have appeared together on the show a few times, but because of Tom’s demanding career, their relationship is still quite the mystery! We did some digging around and found 9 things you might not have known about their relationship!
9. How They Met
Erika has briefly shared the story of how she met Tom on RHOBH and basically the two met while she was working as a cocktail waitress at a Los Angeles restaurant. Tom was a regular customer at the restaurant she worked at and took an interest in her. According to her, he pursued her for a while until she eventually caved and went on a date with him. The two got married in 1999 and have been together ever since!
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8. No Prenuptial Agreement
It’s not uncommon for a marriage in Beverly Hills to include a prenup, especially when one of the individuals is extremely wealthy. In this case, that person is Tom Girardi, who currently boasts an $11 million dollar fortune and is 32 years her senior. Surprisingly, Erika revealed she did not sign a prenup when she married Tom. When asked about it she replied: “No and we’ll be together 18 years this November. Married 17 in January, so no, I don’t have a prenup. We have a great relationship and it’s lasted.”
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7. What Erika has to say about her “Subservient Relationship”
Last season viewers saw Erika and Tom go on a double date with fellow Housewife Lisa Vanderpump and her husband Ken. At one point in the dinner, Erika interrupted Tom while he was speaking and his reaction didn’t sit well with a lot of people. When Andy Cohen confronted her on his shortness with her, she replied: “You have to understand something, lawyers think they are the most important people on the planet, so I chalk that up to being, like, a lawyer for a million years. Whatever they say, that’s it. Stop talking.” He then asked if she is “subservient” to her husband. “I don’t know if it’s subservient as much as it is mostly respectful, I guess. His time is precious, and I just try to make the most of it,” she said.
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6. Supportive of One Another
Right now it seems like Erika and Tom live very separate lives, but in the beginning of their relationship, she was his biggest supporter. “I lived Tom Girardi’s legal life with him first 10 years of our relationship. I went to every legal organization, every event — all of those groups he belonged to and those speeches he gave,” she said. When it came time for her to branch off and focus on her career, Tom returned the support and encouraged her to start a music career. “He said, ‘I think that would be wonderful — go.’ I think that’s what makes marriage work — when you allow each other to be strong in their chosen profession; when you support each other and love each other.”
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5. Don’t Bother Judging
There are a lot of people who pass judgement on the fact that Erika is 32 years younger than her husband, but she’s made it very clear she doesn’t care whether people agree with their relationship or not. In an interview with Bravo, she said: “I don’t know if people still doubt my marriage or not, but it’s interesting. I’m not really worried about other people’s marriages, I don’t know why they should be worried about mine. They’re not paying my bills, so why would I give a f— what they think?” Erika and Tom have now been married for 17 years which is more than most people can say, so obviously these two are doing something right!
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4. Busy Schedules
In her first season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Erika let all the negative comments or judgments about her relationship roll off her back, but lately she seems more adamant about letting people know her relationship is the real deal, especially when people assume the two live two separate lives. During an episode of season 7, Erika said to Kyle: “People are always like, ‘Oh you guys don’t see each other a lot,’ but when we do see each other, it’s 100% full-on attention. This is what people don’t understand: It’s not a detriment to the relationship, it’s actually helpful. It’s better than someone being in your face all the time and you’re not even present.”
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3. Bedroom Antics
Leave it to Jenny McCarthy to ask the uncomfortable questions. During an interview on her Dirty, Sexy, Funny SiriusXM show, McCarthy asked Erika what’s it’s like to be married to an older man when she joked, “I was just wondering if you wear like the patent leather high boots in bed.” McCarthy seemed adamant that the two must be “get kinky.” Erika brushed it off and said she “ain’t got time for that,” but assured McCarthy that her 77-year-old husband is a “weird unicorn dude” who doesn’t need the help of Viagra. “I think when you connect on other levels as well, those things kind of fall into place. You can’t just connect physically in a relationship,” she said. But then added, “I mean, I’m really good in bed. I just don’t need all the extra stuff.”
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2. Why Didn’t See Have Children with Tom
Erika told Jenny McCarthy in the same interview that she never had any desire to have children with her husband Tom because she already has a son from a previous relationship. “I had a child. I had a son. That was my loyalty. Period, end of story,” she said. When McCarthy asked if Tom ever wanted children she replied: “No, no, no, I had a boy to raise, period. And I did an incredible job. He’s an incredible kid.”
Source: dailyentertainmentnews.com
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1. Secret to Their Long Lasting Marriage
In a town and industry where divorce rates are high, Erika and Tom have somehow made their marriage work for an incredible 17 years, despite all the odds working against them. So what’s their secret? According to Erika, the best thing about their relationship is that they are friends first. “You have to be friends. You have to be friends and you have to have a common ground. You have to like the same things. You have to see the world the same way. You have to have the same interests. And when you are genuinely rooting for the other guy — you know Tom is very supportive of me and I am very supportive of him — and I think that’s what makes it work,” she said.
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