‘Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Star Erika Jayne Files for Divorce From Husband Tom Girardi After 21 Years of Marriage

Today may be Election Day but Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne took it a step further and filed for divorce from husband Tom Girardi. The two have been married for 21 years and the news comes as a complete shock to fans considering the reality personality never discusses her marriage with her now-estranged husband. In documents obtained by The Blast, Jayne filed for dissolution of marriage in Los Angeles County Courts.

“After much consideration, I have decided to end my marriage to Tom Girardi,” she told E! News. “This is not a step taken lightly or easily. I have great love and respect for Tom and for our years and the lives we have built together. It is my absolute wish to proceed through this process with respect and with the privacy that both Tom and I deserved. I request others give us that privacy as well.”

The two do not have any children together, although Jayne does have one from a previous relationship, so there will not be any child support issues following their divorce. As for spousal support, that is still to be determined.

The couple got married in 1999 after meeting at Chasen’s in West Hollywood. Jayne was serving cocktails at the time and Girardi was a frequent customer. “After a year of working in the restaurant, one night I decided to slip Tom my telephone number,” she wrote in her 2018 memoir, Pretty Mess. “We were standing in front of the giant fireplace. ‘Did you hear I was single?’ I asked.” Just six months later, the two were engaged.

Despite being married for two decades, Jayne says throughout their entire relationship, she’s had to deal with onlookers questioning their 33-year age difference. Some speculated she was marrying for the wrong reasons. “I’ve dealt with this forever: the younger woman that married the wealthier, older man,” she said on the hit Bravo reality series. “I mean, I’m tired of having to justify my 20-year-marriage. Go get a 20-year marriage, then come f—ing talk to me.”

Outside of already having a large age difference, something else that raised eyebrows towards the couple was Girardi requesting not to wear a wedding ring. “Tom said, ‘Listen, I’ll buy you anything you want. I don’t care what it is. You name it. But I’m not wearing a wedding band. I never have, I never will. I don’t like it. It’s uncomfortable. Please don’t ask me to,’” she wrote in her book. “A wedding band does not have magical powers. It is not going to stop anyone from doing something,” she added in her defense for not requiring him to wear one.