On this season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Erika Jayne has said a lot about her case and about her life.
Considering how badly she needs those hefty Bravo paychecks just to keep the lights on, that’s not going to change.
The new season is already filming and Erika is expected to continue to share and overshare for the cameras.
But anything that she says could be used against her in court. That knowledge haunts her even now.
An inside source spoke to Us Weekly about how the embattled reality star is feeling.
“Erika is nervous,” the insider shared.
The source explained that she fears “that her own words will be used against her in court.”
There are two major subjects that Erika fears could blow up in her face.
The first, the insider illuminated, is “her talking about anything related to money.”
“And,” the source continued, “how much she knew about Tom’s [alleged] shady dealings.”
Having legal counsel to advise her through this wasn’t as helpful as someone might imagine.
“Erika’s lawyers instructed her to say as little as possible,” the insider of course confirmed.
“But,” the source explained, “that wasn’t realistic for Erika.”
The insider detailed that Erika could not realistically keep quiet “because she’s filming a reality show.”
Because the show is “about her life,” there was no chance that she could pretend that it wasn’t happening.
The source added: “She knew she had to open up.”
Reality stars who hide parts of their lives from the cameras do not get invited back for another season.
In some cases, they could even be found to be violating their contracts.
Erika needs the money that Bravo pays her … but there’s more to it than that.
It wasn’t so long ago that Denise Richards’ world was rocked by a storyline that she did not want to see on camera.
She tried to sabotage filming and raised a stink, but to no avail.
All of her protests just saw her castmates talk about it more, and saw Bravo bend the rules to make sure that Denise’s story was told.
That would have been the last thing that Erika wanted.
Her talking about it on screen is painful and risky.
Having her castmates digging into it and talking about it behind her back — more than they already were — would be worse.
At least, worse when it comes to public opinion.
But whatever her castmates think about her can’t be used against her in court — not if it’s speculation and hearsay.
In contrast, Erika’s own statements could be used. Depending upon a judge’s rulings, they could be played for a jury one day.
In fact, Erika’s on-screen behavior from long, long before this scandal broke could haunt her in court.
Her glam squad, her lifestyle, everything that she shared during her marriage to Tom Girardi could be used against her.
Erika even has a song, “It’s Expensive To Be Me.”
Unlike Erika, none of this has aged well in the court of public opinion.
Still, it’s all worth it.
She reportedly makes $600,000 a season for doing this show. She can’t turn her nose at that now.
“Erika is worried about her finances,” the insider shared.
“She doesn’t have access to large sums of money anymore,” the source added.
“And,” the insider detailed, “her main income is RHOBH, which is far less than she’s used to having.”
“Erika is worried about her words coming back to haunt her,” the source confirmed.
“But,” the insider emphasized, “she has no choice.”
The source explained that her hands are tied “since she needs the income from the show.”