Erika Jayne Says She Has No Regrets, Talks Las Vegas Residency

From ostracized antagonist to adored underdog, Erika Jayne’s redemption arc is a testomony to the truth TV flip tables. And he or she’s simply getting began.

Erika Jayne takes umbrage with the “villain” label. However after turning into probably the most notorious names within the historical past of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (RHOBH), it’s unimaginable to disclaim her characterization as such. Apart from, at this level, is it even solely an insult?

You see, a Actual Housewives villain isn’t merely an annoyance who stirs up drama. In a franchise predicated on messiness, flamboyant fights, and the customarily out-of-touch opinions of America’s elite, the dangerous man is arguably crucial member. Overlook being “good” — in case you can assure glamour and a gripping storyline, you’re Housewives gold. Erika Jayne, it appears, will get this.

“Are we enjoying to get alongside? Or are we enjoying for the way we actually really feel?” she asks me rhetorically over Zoom. “As a result of in case you’re enjoying for viewers acceptance, or in case you’re enjoying to be preferred, then you definitely’re not being genuine.” In spite of everything, she’s been round lengthy sufficient to know.

Credited for elevating the bar on Housewives glam, Jayne entered the Bravoverse in 2015 with an over-the-top look and a brand new cash playbook. Then married to outstanding Beverly Hills lawyer Tom Girardi (who’s 33 years her senior), she had a biting bombshell picture, a personal jet at her disposal and her very personal pop anthem — “XXpen$ive” — which additional broadcasted her tax bracket.

When Girardi, now 84 years previous, was accused of stealing millions from shoppers in 2019 and subsequently disbarred, issues took a flip. All through his illustrious profession, the litigator had allegedly defrauded burn victims, plane crash survivors and orphans — and Jayne’s loud luxurious life-style, funded by her now ex-husband, was all of a sudden shrouded with a sinister shadow.

On the present, she was jarringly unapologetic about the entire thing, claiming she, too, was a sufferer of Girardi’s deception — even when she benefitted from it. “I don’t give a f*ck about anyone else however me,” she stated in a now-viral clip in season 12, in response to cast-mates asking her concerning the victims. “We’re not even positive that there have been those who weren’t paid,” she commented in another jaw-dropping moment, questioning the validity of the case’s claims.

Within the Bravo enhancing suite, her cruelty was nearly cartoonish. (Jennifer Lawrence went so far as to name her “evil” in 2022.) However Jayne, who maintains her innocence in Girardi’s wrongdoings, doesn’t view it that means.

“I didn’t see myself as a villain. I noticed myself as someone who was combating for his or her very life and being mischaracterized and accused of issues that I didn’t do,” she tells me. “Having your whole life upended and brought away could be very robust for anybody going by means of simply divorce.” And in her case, she notes, all of it occurred on a public scale, together with her being “scrutinized and picked aside each day” whereas coping with the fallout of her marriage. “I used to be sticking up for myself.”

Her reactions didn’t precisely paint her in a constructive mild, however within the reality TV realm, perhaps each participant must expertise a damning downfall to then thrive. “I really feel that persons are advanced, and the extra advanced you’re, the extra fascinating of a tv character you’d be,” she displays. To get on Actual Housewives, the apparent prerequisite could be mountains of cash and a wide-ranging wardrobe, however the true must-have is outspokenness.

“You’ll be able to have the husband, the children and every part, however in case you wouldn’t have a singular perspective — and in case you’re not prepared to share that — then you aren’t good on the present,” says Jayne, who’s now single and residing in a “little” bungalow as a substitute of a lavish mansion. “For those who really feel a sure means about one thing, it’s important to have the balls to say that and stand by it, even when it’s out of favour with the bulk.” To not point out, getting forged because the villain means you might have a shot at one thing really priceless: a redemption arc.

Season 13 of RHOBH has been colloquially known as “Erika’s Season.” Her tagline is: “The very best half about shedding every part is getting all of it again.” She’s taken on a level-headed outlook, delivering fan-favourite quippy commentary in her confessionals. Most memorably, throughout a forged journey to Spain, a tipsy Erika Jayne impresses her friends greater than ever with an unexpected wealth of history knowledge. On a complete, the season is a testomony to the perks of rebuilding your self from the bottom up. As she tells me, being routinely underestimated is “an excellent place to be” since you get to shock folks. “You by no means should overcompensate.”

Now, she’s been granted the best rebranding reward of all: her personal present. Bet It All On Blonde is a two-hour documentary particular that started streaming on Hayu on March 6, chronicling the lead-up to the Erika Jayne Las Vegas residency. For the 52-year-old star, this was extra than simply one other reality TV filming expertise.

“I used to be not put into conditions the place I used to be reacting with others or anticipated to speak about subjects that I used to be not current for — which is what occurs in Housewives. On this case, this was my actual life, speaking about placing a present collectively — 80 minutes, 20 songs — and the run-up to Las Vegas in a compressed period of time,” Erika Jayne explains. “It was a totally private factor for me.”

The thrill of her rekindled music profession and up to date Las Vegas residency apart, Erika Jayne is on the up and up in different methods. Does she nonetheless consider in love? “Positive,” she says coolly. “I believe one of many biggest presents that I walked out from my divorce with is that I’m not bitter. I don’t hate males… I’m simply somebody that went by means of a really dangerous expertise, and [I’m] shifting on from that.”

When requested if she needs she’d performed something in another way lately, Jayne is simply as agency. “I don’t have any regrets,” she says. “I want that I wasn’t as reactive as I turned. And I believe that had I been in a position to simply have just a little bit extra latitude, I wouldn’t have been as offended as I used to be.” Beginning to sound barely wistful, she refocuses.

“However on the similar time, I used to be very offended… I’m a human being. So, you bought to see a really private a part of my life play out on the present. Numerous folks don’t permit that to occur.”

That sort of publicity is strictly why she’s nonetheless right here. Good or dangerous, actuality TV is an advanced recreation — and Erika Jayne is a star participant.