Kathy Boos/Bravo
Pictured: (l-r) Erika Girardi, Lisa Rinna
The premiere of Bravo’s Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is tonight, April 15 at 8 p.m./7 p.m central. Erika Jayne, one of the show’s stars, has a son named Tommy who preferred to stay out of the spotlight.
Being on a reality show often comes with giving up a lot of the privacy that most people enjoy in their daily lives. When it comes to mothers signing up to be on the show, sometimes that means giving up some of the privacy of their families as well.
Erika Girardi, who goes by Erika Jayne, has experienced this in her life. She respects the wishes of her son, Tommy, who prefers to stay out of the spotlight, though.
“I’m a good mom,” she told The Daily Dish in 2018. “I hate saying I’m a cool mom because it sounds like Mean Girls, but I am a laidback mom and a very accepting one.”
She went on to say Tommy has great taste in women and would “never bring someone home that was insane. I mean, or else we’d have to talk about it.”
Tommy Is a Police Officer
Girardi has stressed that she’s always known her son was destined to be a police officer, but she also acknowledges that it’s a dangerous profession to be in.
“It’s a dangerous profession. I’ve known my son was going to be in law enforcement from the time he could walk and talk,” she said. “That’s all he’s ever wanted and that’s kind of your role as parent is to honor who your children really are.”
Tommy graduated from the Los Angeles Police Academy and previously worked at the Jersey City Police Activity League.
Girardi Said Her Son Lives at Home
She told Andy Cohen in 2017 that Tommy still lived at home with her, saying “That’s my baby,” when asked about how many times a week they speak.
“I actually love having my son there,” she said. “He’s free security, okay? Free security and he never lets me forget it. But, you know, Tom’s very busy and travels all the time. I travel all the time, and my son is super busy. So it’s nice. We have a really big house, so it’s nice to have him there.”
She continued, saying, “And it’s nice; listen, let me be very honest, I worry about my boy as I’m sure everyone whose family member is in law enforcement or in the military [is], okay? It’s nice to hear him come home. It’s nice to hear him come off duty and I can see his car in the driveway or I hear him walk up the steps. To me, I sleep a little better at night just knowing that I know where he is.”
In 2018, Girardi told Megyn Kelly that Tommy doesn’t want to be on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, saying, “Not everybody wants to be on TV, believe it or not.”
“I know that sounds crazy,” she continued. “But, he’s in a dangerous line of work and he prefers his anonymity as much as possible and I agree with that.”
Girardi was 20 years old when she gave birth to Tommy Zizzo with her now ex-husband Thomas Zizzo. The couple split when Tommy was a few years old, and Girardi remarried to Thomas Girardi in 1999.
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