The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills will be starting production early on its upcoming 12th season, it has been claimed.
Typically the show has a longer break in between shooting seasons but TMZ reported on Friday that the gap has been shortened by months.
Allegedly the reason is that the producers hope to capture as much as possible of Erika Jayne’s ongoing legal drama involving her estranged husband Tom Girardi.
Candor: The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills is claimed to be starting production early on its upcoming 12th season – and the reason is said to be Erika Jayne
Filming on the show may be starting as early as next week, at least for some of the principal cast members.
At the moment the current 11th season is still airing on Bravo with the explosive four-part reunion beginning October 18.
In a sneak peek for the reunion, host and producer Andy Cohen is seen grilling Erika about her husband’s embezzlement scandal.
Ever since she announced her separation from Tom last November, ending a marriage of 20 years, their split has raised eyebrows.
The way they were: Allegedly the reason is that the producers hope to capture as much as possible of Erika Jayne’s ongoing legal drama involving her estranged husband Tom Girardi; seen in 2016
Tom, 82, is a high-profile lawyer currently facing allegations of embezzling millions from clients including families of the victims of the infamous Lion Air crash.
A bankruptcy trustee is investigating Tom’s assets amid allegations that he and Erika jointly embezzled the settlement money.
Over the summer People reported that Erika’s financial records have been court-ordered from her divorce lawyer, landlord and accountant.
Tom and Erika have been accused of using divorce as a means of shielding their joint assets, a claim she has staunchly denied.
Incoming: At the moment the current 11th season is still airing on Bravo with the explosive four-part reunion beginning October 18
During the reunion preview Andy resolved to put Erika ‘on a skewer’ and she declared that she ‘can’t control what Tom Girardi did.’
Erika has accused Tom of infidelity and suggested that this was the cause of their divorce rather than his legal battles.
Andy was skeptical of this claim saying: ”He’s having multiple affairs, yet as we know, he put $20million and more into your account,’ as Erika insisted: ‘No.’
‘Have you asked him if he did it?’ Andy asked her, to which the sneak peek shows her replying haltingly: ‘I asked him why, am I, why…’
Letting her have it: In a sneak peek for the reunion host and producer Andy Cohen is seen grilling Erika about her husband’s embezzlement scandal
She is seen looking up at the ceiling and then beginning to sob as the other Housewives look on perplexed.
Amid his ongoing crises Tom was stripped of his law license this March in a move confirmed by the State Bar Of California.
Complicating matters, he has been diagnosed with dementia and has been placed under a conservatorship as a result.
His travails include a bank fraud suit by Wells Fargo and another lawsuit filed in December by his law partner Robert Keese.
Defense: During the reunion preview Andy resolved to put Erika ‘on a skewer’ and she declared that she ‘can’t control what Tom Girardi did’
Also in December he was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging that the divorce is a ‘sham attempt to fraudulently protect Tom’s and Erika’s money from those that seek to collect on debts owed by Tom and his law firm.’
Specifically the suit – filed by Chicago law firm Edelson PC – claims Tom has not paid the settlement money he owes to families of victims from the 2018 Lion Air crash.
Tom was one of multiple attorneys who represented the families of the victims of the crash, which claimed the lives of 189 people when the Boeing plane plunged into the Java Sea less than 15 minutes into its flight.
The lawsuit accuses Tom of using funds that rightfully belong to the families for his and Erika’s ‘outrageous lifestyles,’ per court documents quoted by Reuters.
Duo: Ever since she announced her separation from Tom last November, ending a marriage of 20 years, their split has raised eyebrows
During an appearance on The Wendy Williams Show three years ago Erika confessed her bill for on clothes, hair and makeup could run to $40,000 a month.
Meanwhile Tom is also claimed to owe $11 million to a family he represented in a suit involving a gas line explosion – and earlier this year a court order obtained by E! News gave this family the right to sue Erika for the money.
Erika can been seen on the current season of The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills emotionally denying the divorce is a ‘sham’ and insisting that she has not even spoken to Tom since she announced their separation last year.
She shared that ‘you would be shocked at how quickly people turn on you, how quickly people distance themselves from you. Automatically they, you know, turn, because they don’t wanna be involved. They were there when it was good, though.’