Erika Jayne seemed to know that her now-estranged husband, Tom Girardi, wasn't being faithful to her, but she didn't know how much her ex was financially supporting one particular mistress.
On Wednesday, Aug. 31, The Los Angeles Times published a bombshell that claimed Tom wired $300,000 to Tricia Bigelow, a former judge, so that she could purchase an oceanfront condo in Santa Monica, Calif., in 2015. At the time, Tom and Erika were married.
"Wow. I knew about jewelry, shopping sprees, and plastic surgery but this really threw me for a loop," the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star said on Instagram on Wednesday about the report.
The Times claimed the money that Tom's alleged mistress received was actually owed to cancer victims and other residents of a polluted California community. The $300,000 allegedly came a trust containing settlement money for clients of Tom's law firm, Girardi Keese. It did not come from Tom's personal bank account, the report said.
Tricia's lawyer said the ex-judge did not know the wired money was intended for law firm clients and victims.
Erika's fans have been aware of Tom's alleged affair for several years. Back in late 2020, the reality TV star posted screenshots of alleged conversations Tom and Tricia were having.
"This is Justice Tricia A. Bigelow. She was f****** my husband Tom Girardi and he was paying her Saks bill and paying for her plastic surgery," she claimed in the since-deleted social media post.
The Times report came the same day that Page Six said Erika scored a win in her $5 million fraud lawsuit. Two of Tom's former colleagues had claimed the "Housewives" star knew that her husband was using settlement money to fund her lavish lifestyle. However, a Los Angeles ruled in her favor, saying there was no evidence of "any wrongdoing" on Erika's part, adding that she didn't have any "actual knowledge" of her then-husband's alleged crimes.