Bravo Erika Girardi, left, Garcelle Beauvais, Crystal Kung Minkoff, Kyle Richards, Lisa Rinna, Sutton Stracke and Dorit Kemsley.
It’s no secret that this season of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” has been one of the most dramatic yet.
New full-time cast member Sutton Stracke revealed that she almost quit in the middle of the season. As fans know, the second dinner party from hell caused quite a commotion among the ladies. Stracke and Erika Jayne began to argue over Stracke’s questioning of Jayne’s legal issues and things quickly escalated. At one point, Jayne threatened to sue her ex-friend.
Stracke left the dinner and initially concluded that she would not return to the show at all. She appeared on the September 8 episode of the RHOBH: After Show where she said, “I sat there and I thought, ‘Alright, I’m going to take this one. I’m not going to cry.’ And I thought, ‘Nope, I’m leaving because I’m not going to sit here and have someone like that threaten me.’”
She added, “I’m not going to sugarcoat this. I’m not going to do it because I really am no longer afraid of this and I think it’s really important to understand those threats seemed really real and scary. I’m not being a baby about this. I was like, ‘I’m out. This is not worth it.'”
Stracke Told a Producer She Was ‘Leaving’ the Group for Good
Stracke left the dinner table and was immediately shaken up from her conversation with Jayne. A few of the ladies – including her close friend Garcelle Beauvais – encouraged her to stay and work things out. An emotional Stracke decided against it and left. A producer then asked her if she was planning on leaving the cast entirely.
“Oh yeah, I was leaving,” she continued saying on the After Show. “I’m not going to have somebody threaten me like that, threaten my family like that. No. Not worth it. This is serious stuff, which is why I brought it up in December. Look where we are today. It was serious stuff and I was right… about how serious this was, this is. And I don’t think I was in the wrong to start this conversation with the women.”
Stracke and Jayne have been at odds for most of the season. 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.”
The RHOBH ladies have had differing opinions on how they should handle the situation. Some of the women – such as Stracke – have questioned Jayne’s innocence and others – such as Lisa Rinna – have stuck by Jayne.
Beauvais Ultimately Convinced Stracke to Stay on the Show
“I didn’t want to leave being bullied out,” Stracke shared on the After Show. “That’s not okay and I don’t want to show that to my children. You have to keep your integrity, especially when you’re not in the wrong. It’s not like I’m making fun of something or throwing slander. That’s not what was happening. And I couldn’t go out like that.”
She concluded saying, “I can’t not do this. It was too important for my reputation so I stayed.”
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