Spoilers are ahead. Are you Team Erika? Team Garcelle? Or Team This Is a Reality Show & We're Missing The Whole Story? In one of the latest conflicts on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, that last option is definitely worth considering. On last week’s RHOBH and continuing into the August 11 episode, Garcelle Beauvais and Erika Girardi get into a disagreement when Garcelle tells the rest of the women in the group that Erika said her estranged husband, Tom Girardi, still calls her in the midst of their divorce and complicated legal issues. Erika previously stated that she and Tom cut ties entirely after she moved out of their house.
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In the August 4 episode, Erika immediately makes clear that she is not okay with that information being divulged to the group, to Garcelle’s surprise. As far as Garcelle knew — and as she repeats many times while apologizing — she thought bringing up something Erika told her would also be okay to share with the rest of Erika’s friends, especially since many of the other women are closer with Erika and she is. In response, Erika gets mad at Garcelle and then cries in a bathroom. Meanwhile, Crystal Kung Minkoff — who was the only other person there when Erika spoke about Tom calling her — says that Erika asked her not to bring up what she told them, but that Garcelle wasn’t there when Erika made that request.
In this week’s episode, Erika and Garcelle are able to make up, with Garcelle getting through to Erika that she really didn’t mean to do anything wrong. That’s quite a jump from last week, when Erika told her, “I feel like you’re betraying my friendship right now, but please, have your moment.” It turns out, that could be because some vital information was lost in the edit.
The footage of Erika talking to Garcelle and Crystal was notably unusual.
Some viewers have theorized that the footage of Erika telling Garcelle and Crystal that Tom still calls her was not footage that Erika thought would be used. While the trio are filmed sitting down and facing the camera for the majority of the scene in which they talk about Erika’s situation, the part where Erika opens up to Garcelle and Crystal about Tom calling is filmed from far away as they are walking. It’s possible the women were still wearing microphones, but thought that their scene was over.
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Lisa Rinna claims Erika got in a tiff with a producer.
Following the August 4 episode, Lisa Rinna posted on her Instagram Story, “Dang it… I wish they had shown the screaming fight between the producer and Erika last night on the show in La Quinta. Now that would have been epic TV. Too bad. Bravo Bravo fucking Bravo.” She added, “I'll get in trouble for this in…. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.” As reported by People, Erika then reposted Rinna’s post on her own account.
A source told Page Six that Garcelle actually hadn’t been part of the Tom conversation at all, but was asked by production to bring it up, which is why Erika supposedly got into it with a producer. “They cut it and paste it in a way to make it look like she was upset, but she was actually mad that Garcelle was told what to say three times and she took the bait,” the source said. “What they didn’t show is that Erika and Crystal had a private conversation where no cameras were on, and producers heard it via their mics. When they got in the car, producers said they overheard it and asked Crystal to ask [Erika] on camera.”
As for Garcelle, she says in the new episode, “If someone would have said to me that’s the question that’s going to push her over, you better believe I wouldn’t have asked that question.”
Refinery29 has reached out to Bravo for comment on Lisa Rinna’s claims about the supposed confrontation and regarding rumors surrounding Garcelle, Erika, and Crystal conversations, but has not yet received a response.
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Crystal and Garcelle confirmed that Garcelle didn't hear Erika's request.
When Garcelle tells the group that Tom still calls Erika, Crystal says that Garcelle didn’t know Erika didn’t want them to talk about it, because when Erika told Crystal this, Garcelle wasn’t nearby. While the Page Six source said Garcelle wasn’t part of the conversation at all, in the RHOBH After Show, both Garcelle and Crystal say Erika opened up when they were walking back to their cars after filming on their hike, as shown in the episode.
Crystal and Garcelle explain that they drove in separate cars, so when Erika asked Crystal not to talk about Tom calling her, Garcelle was already getting into her own car, which was further away.
It seems like Garcelle and Erika came to an understanding regarding the situation on the latest episode, but as Kyle Richards tells Garcelle, “Next time she sees you, she’s not going to be a bitch. She’s not going to be screaming at you. She’s just not going to trust you.” We’ll have to see how that plays out, but keep in mind that Erika has a lot more going on outside of drama with Garcelle.