Does Tom Girardi have Alzheimer's? 'The Housewife and the Hustler' reveals truth
At the peak of his career, Thomas Girardi was a celebrated lawyer, who was known to have handled high-profile cases that often made the headlines. However, between his losing his law license and his divorce with Erika Jayne, life has not been easy for him.
But looks like there is more to the situation than meets the eye, as his divorce proceedings from his wife and 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' star has revealed. Hulu's 'The Housewife and the Hustler' give fans an insight into what went wrong between the couple, after 21 years of marriage. You can also catch up with what Jayne's 'RHOB' castmates Kyle Richards, Lisa Rinna, Dorit Kemsley, Garcelle Beauvais, Sutton Stracke and Crystal Kung Minkoff have been up to.
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Who is Thomas Girardi?
Thomas 'Tom' Girardi is a former attorney and a founder of LA-based law firm, Girardi & Keese. Girardi has a JD. degree from Loyola Law School and an LLM from New York University. He is known for being the first attorney in the state of California to have won a $1 million-plus award for a medical malpractice case.
His firm was also the one that handled Pacific Gas & Electric case, where the utility company agreed to pay $460 million to 650 residents of the desert community of Hinkley, California after the residents blamed the company for contaminating their water, which led to cancer and other diseases among the population there. This particular case served as the inspiration for the 2000 hit film, 'Erin Brockovich'.
"That particular case revolutionized people’s thinking about all the toxic things they are exposed to," said Girardi, while speaking to Attorney At Law. "Before that, nobody really gave a hoot or even realized there was any issue whatsoever with chemicals in the water or in the air. Then all of a sudden, people started to understand it and that’s had far-reaching effects clear up through today."
His battle with Alzheimer's
A once celebrated lawyer, the now 82-year-old has been diagnosed with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. In the article by Page Six, Dr Nathan Lavid, a Long Beach forensic and clinical psychiatrist, mentioned in a sworn affidavit that the lawyer was unfit to attend the proceedings following his split from his now ex-wife, Jayne. "Dementia impairs his ability to understand the hearing," Lavid wrote in the said affidavit. "His emotional distress is directly related to his dementia and exacerbated by his confusion." He also added that Girardi suffers from "moderate" delusions.
The couple tied the knot back in 2000, with Jayne announcing her separation in 2020, after two decades. However, a month after her announcement, the couple were accused of allegedly embezzling funds meant for families of the victims of the fatal 2018 Lion Air plane crash. What followed was heavy speculation that their divorce was fake, in order to hide their assets. However, Jayne has maintained that the divorce has come on account of Girardi's infidelity and that the lawsuits against them have come as a shock.
As reported by Us Weekly, a source opened up about Jayne's current predicament -- “Tom always handled all of the finances and that was how they handled things." they said. "She is just reeling from all of this … but Erika is a tough cookie and she isn’t stupid. She will get through this." they added.
'The Housewife and the Hustler' which premieres on June 14, on Hulu sets out to explain what is currently going on with 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' cast member Erika Jayne amidst her divorce from husband Tom Girardi, which was announced on Election Day in November 2020. What this documentary does is cut through all the legalese and clearly explains just how horrific the allegations against Girardi truly are.