Former RHOBH Star Praises Erika Jayne’s ‘Growth’ After 9 Seasons on Bravo

Kathryn Edwards thinks Erika Jayne  has really grown after nine seasons on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”

The former RHOBH star shared her thoughts on the January 6, 2025, episode of the “Behind the Velvet Rope With David Yontef” podcast where she noted that Jayne has changed in a good way in the years since she worked with her on the Bravo reality show.

After Yontef told her that Jayne is now tied with Lisa Vanderpump as the second longest-running Beverly Hills Housewife of all time, Edwards admitted that her former co-star’s longstanding role was well-deserved.

“She’s brought it,” Edwards said of Jayne. “She’s given, she’s delivered every season. She’s been really a Housewife. She’s, I mean, even though she’s not a Housewife she’s given the franchise what they want. And I think hats off to her for that.”

Edwards noted that she wasn’t always Jayne’s “biggest fan,” but has really seen a new side of her amid her ongoing divorce from her husband Tom Girardi, a retired power lawyer.  “Not to say that I didn’t like her, I was just like, good for her,” Edwards said of watching the new side of Jayne on TV. “She seemed human.”

Edwards was a cast member on RHOBH in season 6, the same season that Jayne came on as a newcomer. The two women co-starred with Kyle Richards, Lisa Vanderpump, Lisa Rinna, Yolanda Hadid, and Eileen Davidson.

Kathryn Edwards Likes Erika Jayne Better Without All the Money

When viewers first met Jayne on RHOBH season 6, she lived in a lavish mansion in Pasadena, California. But four years after filing for divorce from her Girardi, and amid an ongoing fraud investigation into his now-defunct law firm Girardi Keese, Jayne has downsized to a much smaller bungalow-style home.

“The house is tiny,” she said on the RHOBH season 14 premiere titled “Grace Time Is Over.”  “There’s really a living room, a bedroom, and the two other bedrooms that are closets. I spent 20-plus years in what some people will refer to as a mansion. When I left Pasadena, I took what would fit in the house.”

Jayne noted that she was letting go of her past by getting rid of the furniture she brought from her marital home. In another episode, she admitted that she made many mistakes in her own marriage so couldn’t criticize anyone else.

Edwards and Yontef agreed that they liked this more “self-deprecating” and humbled side of Jayne. “It’s endearing,” Edwards said on the podcast.

“Honestly, I mean, I think that that’s what makes her human,” she added. “Because everyone can see all the flaws for God’s sake, we can see, like, everything that’s wrong with her. But when she at least acknowledges that those are the things that screwed up her life and maybe weren’t her best choices and etcetera etcetera, good for her. Maybe there’s some growth there.”

Edwards noted that she didn’t like Jayne’s behavior when she flaunted her wealth. “But I would say that seeing someone who’s evolved as she has in the little bit that I’ve seen and I hope that’s true to who she is now, I liked it,” she said. “I was like, ‘OK, you should never have money again.’”

Edwards noted that she thinks Jayne still brings in a very good salary and is still doing very well financially.

Kathryn Edwards Butted Heads With Erika Jayne on RHOBH

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Edwards and Jayne butted heads during their lone season together on RHOBH. In a Bravo blog posted in 2016, Jayne questioned Edwards’ behavior at a dinner party at her home. “Why, Kathyrn, did you come to my house and act that way?” Jayne wanted to know, before accusing her of trying to get a “reaction“ out of her by bringing up drama with Vanderpump.

On her own Bravo blog, Edwards explained, “When I said that I was also looking for a reaction, yes…sure, I was. Give us something to either like or dislike. I hadn’t had many conversations with Erika other than daily minutia.” She also admitted that she should have handled things differently.

In 2021, Edwards appeared on “Behind the Velvet Rope”  and recalled a moment in which things almost got physical between her and Jayne. She also predcited that Jayne’s changed lifestyle could eventually humble her. “I think maybe after all this, however, the cards fall, maybe she’ll get it,” she said.