'RHOBH' : Erika Girardi Is 'Ready to Have a Nervous Breakdown' Over Tom's Conservatorship Ruling

"I think he needs a caretaker, for sure. But I don't think that he needs to be in a home," Erika Girardi said

Discussions surrounding the well-being of Erika Girardi's estranged husband Tom Girardi took center stage in this week's episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

Wednesday's episode saw the ladies embark on a girls' trip to Del Mar, California, organized by Kathy Hilton. While at dinner on the group's first night, Erika, 50, admitted to being "fearful" of what's to come.

"I [have] got a lot going on," she said. "A lot's happening, even today. So, you know, yeah, I am anxious."

The next day, Erika skipped the group's sound bath meditation session while Kyle Richards, Lisa Rinna and Dorit Kemsley gathered separately thereafter to discuss the cause for Erika's absence.

Kyle, 52, said she texted Erika about joining the meditation session but was instructed to start without her. Lisa, 58, then explained the latest issue surrounding Tom, 82.

"Something, you know, came out about Tom," she said. "They put the brother in charge of his conservatorship. Remember she told us about it last night? Yeah, well, they have agreed to let Tom's brother [Robert Girardi] be his conservator, but it says that they want to put him in a mental facility for people that have dementia. It's on Page Six."

"So, that's a big turn of events, guys," Lisa added.

When Kyle and Lisa later visited Erika in her hotel suite, Erika filled them in on what's going on.

Leon Bennett/WireImage

"So yesterday was the hearing for Tom's conservatorship so that his brother could take over his affairs," she said. "So someone sent me an article about what was said in court, and there was just this one piece of it. That just really bothered me. It says, 'Tom's brother asked the court to give him the authority to place Tom in a facility that treats neurocognitive disorders such as dementia.' "

Asked how she felt about the ruling, Erika said, "I'm ready to have a nervous breakdown."

"Regardless of what is going on with him legally, this is someone I was married to for 22 years," she continued. "Of course, I knew this last night before we went to dinner, okay. I read this article. So, I sat there with this last night."

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Erika said that she doesn't agree with Tom being put into a care facility, noting that she has "a little bit of experience" in this department because of her grandmother who was diagnosed with "very bad dementia" and Alzheimer's, and placed into a home.

"I think he needs a caretaker, for sure. But I don't think that he needs to be in a home," Erika continued. "Like, I saw my grandmother and I know what they do to you in there. It's supposed to be great care, but if they lash out, then they medicate you. The only way is down, is what I'm saying."

Erika then questioned where Tom's family is during this time in his life. Referencing Tom's legal troubles, Lisa suggested that Tom's family likely doesn't "want to deal with the alleged things that are going on."

"They don't want the stain," Erika chimed in. "They don't want the public scrutiny. They don't want [the] being associated [with him]. It is tragic, all the way around."

Erika and Tom Girardi. Steve Eichner/AP

Recalling how she recently told them about Tom's burglary incident and subsequent hospitalization, Erika said her only update from that is he was out of surgery. She additionally explained how she still cares about his well-being, despite the fact that she filed for divorce in November 2020.

"I may be getting a divorce from this man, but that does not mean I have divorced myself from caring for another human being who clearly cannot care for themselves," she said.

"I can't be married to the man, but I certainly don't want him in some facility where he's not taken care of and discarded, you know? That is just something that I don't feel is okay," she said. "It's f----- up. Want to know who your friends are? Get old and go broke."

Amid his various legal controversies, Tom's diagnosis with dementia and late-onset Alzheimer's disease was revealed publicly in March. Tom's brother was named his temporary conservator in February after undergoing a mental assessment, but the conservatorship was later made official in July.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs Wednesdays (8 p.m. ET) on Bravo.