Erika Girardi Shocked by Tom’s Guilty Verdict: “This Isn’t the Conclusion I Expected!”

Erika Girardi is responding to Tom Girardi’s criminal conviction.

Cameras resumed capturing moments following the conclusion of season 14 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, documenting Erika’s reaction to a federal jury finding her former spouse guilty on four charges of wire fraud in August. The reality television personality, 53, has been reluctant to address the legal matters previously, but confessed in the March 25 finale that she “never anticipated this.”

“Tom was cherished, he was respected, he was successful,” she remarked. “And this is how his narrative concluded. I don’t know if I will ever move past that.”

On that occasion, Kyle Richards visited to check on how Erika was coping with the information, and she confessed that she felt “terrible.”

“Just before this verdict, I was doing wonderfully, I was feeling fantastic, I was enthusiastic,” she elaborated. “Then the following day, I became exhausted. I started wanting to sleep a lot. I just didn’t want to regress into that dreadful place.”

Erika sought a divorce from the 85-year-old personal injury lawyer in 2020 after 22 years of matrimony. Less than a year afterward, reports of his legal issues began surfacing, prompting speculations among fans regarding Erika’s involvement, despite her assertions that she had no knowledge of the crimes and has not faced any charges.

“When I learned about the verdict, the walls began to constrict — it instantly transported me back a couple of years when everything was spiraling out of control,” she shared with Kyle. “My drinking, my medication, it was just all this strain. And I felt, ‘Oh, my God. It’s occurring again. It’s happening again.’ I genuinely felt like I was being pulled down, as if I was being dragged beneath the earth.”

Indicating that his charges could imply a potential 80 years in prison, Erika humorously noted that Tom, who was diagnosed with dementia and late-onset Alzheimer’s in 2021, “ain’t got 80 days in him.”

“It’s tremendously challenging because you think, ‘Well, I perceive this individual differently,’” she expressed. “It f—– me up internally. This was not what I anticipated to transpire.”

“It’s not concluded for me,” Erika proceeded. “I still have matters to confront. And he subjected me to a lot. This journey with this man, though it was wonderful, this conclusion is unacceptable. Unacceptable for numerous reasons. And my feelings of melancholy, my feelings of being overwhelmed, my feelings of loss and all of it, are all very authentic. Moreover, I don’t have to apologize for my feelings. Because no one lived in that dwelling except the two of us.”

Since the authorities initiated their inquiry into Tom, Erika has faced backlash from the public and her RHOBH co-stars for her perceived lack of compassion towards his victims, from whom he misappropriated over $15 million.

“It’s not as simple as everyone assumes,” Erika clarified. “I loved Tom immensely. There’s a part of me that still loves Tom very much. I have extraordinary memories, I have dreadful memories, and I wish things were not this way.”

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ three-part season 14 reunion starts Tuesday, April 1, at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.