Bethenny Frankel Claims She Knew About Tom Girardi’s Troubles 4 Years Ago

Bravo/YouTube Erika Girardi and Bethenny Frankel

Bethenny Frankel may know it all after all!

“The Real Housewives of New York City” alum took to her podcast “Just B” to discuss “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne and her estranged husband Tom Girardi’s legal issues. Frankel admitted to watching the season, but she did claim that she has a “specific perspective” on the drama because her late ex-fiancé Dennis Shields knew Girardi from the legal scene.

Years ago, Frankel learned that Jayne was “spending a crazy amount of money,” and she felt it was “hard to sustain,” so she asked Shields about the situation.

She explained on the September 16, 2021 episode, “Dennis said to me, ‘He doesn’t have it like that. He owes me money. He owes me half a million dollars. I know this other guy he owes a million and a half dollars. He doesn’t have money. He owes everybody money.'” And I go, ‘What are you talking about? How is she flying around on [private planes]?’ And he said, ‘It’s because he’s using people’s money to support her lifestyle. He’s using the company’s money to support her lifestyle.’ Dennis said this. And I said, ‘What are you talking about?'”

Frankel continued saying, “And Dennis was like, ‘Yeah, no, he owes me money and it aggravates everybody.’ I said, ‘Why would he do that?’ He goes, ‘He can’t say no to her.'” The former RHONY star has met Jayne during an RHOBH episode due to her friendship with Kyle Richards.

Frankel Asked Shields About Jayne’s Infamous Glam Budget

Prior to her legal problems, RHOBH fans knew Jayne as a hefty spender, often due to her glam team. Jayne even went on record saying she spends around $40,000 per month on all things glam.

Frankel claimed that Girardi’s financial troubles were a “widely known best-kept secret” in the legal world. She then discussed a conversation she remembered Shields having with an unnamed “billionaire lawyer.”

She told her listeners, “When Dennis [told the lawyer] … ‘Do you know Erica Jayne spends $50,000 a month on her hair and her makeup?’ The guy was like, ‘What? He owes everybody money. He’s being sued by everybody.’ So it was a thing. So I knew about it.”

Frankel Admitted to Telling Andy Cohen, Kyle Richards, & Lisa Rinna About the Girardi’s Financial Woes

Not only did Frankel hear about the Girardi’s troubles, but she also told Andy Cohen, Lisa Rinna, and Kyle Richards.

“That’s just what happens,” she continued saying on “Just B.” “Things take a long time to come out — but everybody in that industry knew about it. All these major lawyers that I’m talking about around the country that are in this industry, they all knew about it. And I told [Erika’s makeup artist] Kristofer Buckle about it. I told Andy Cohen about it, just to say, ‘It’s not what you think.'”

She remembered telling Jayne’s close friends Rinna and Richards that Erika and Tom Girardi, “don’t got it like that.”

Frankel added, “So when this came out … Andy [Cohen] called me. He goes, ‘Holy s—. You really do know it all. You told me about this years ago.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, I told you. You know, #IKnowItAll. So I knew about this whole thing. I knew since, yeah, probably 2017 and 2018, I knew about this.”

Jayne filed for divorce from her now estranged husband Tom Girardi in November 2020. One month later, Girardi and his law firm, Girardi Keese, were forced into involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy in December 2020, per The Los Angeles Times. Prior to that, a federal lawsuit accused Girardi of embezzling “millions” of dollars owed to his past clients, including “orphans and widows.”

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