Tom Girardi, the estranged husband of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Girardi, has been diagnosed with late-onset Alzheimer’s and dementia after it was reported that the 81-year-old lost his law license amid divorce and ongoing legal drama.
According to Us Weekly, clinical psychiatrist Dr. Nathan Lavid wrote in an affidavit filed on Wednesday, March 10, that the 81-year-old suffers from “moderate” delusions and impairment and is unable to attend any court hearings amid his divorce and various legal issues “for the foreseeable future.”
“Dementia impairs his ability to understand the hearing,” Lavid wrote. “His emotional distress is directly related to his dementia and exacerbated by his confusion.”
In November 2020, Erika filed for divorce after more than two decades of marriage. In the filing, Erika sought spousal support and requested the court terminate its ability to award spousal support to Tom. Tom responded by asking the court to terminate its ability to award spousal support and to request that Erika star pay attorney fees and costs.
She then accused the 81-lawyer of having an affair with a California judge in a now-deleted Instagram post. “This is Justice Tricia A. Bigelow. She was f–king my husband Tom Girardi and he was paying her Saks bill and paying for her plastic surgery,” Erika wrote alongside a series of alleged text messages between her estranged husband and Bigelow.
After Erika deleted the post, Bigelow’s attorney released a statement to the Los Angeles Times on December 22, saying Erika’s “actions in maliciously doxxing the Justice were nothing short of criminal. We are considering our options to protect Justice Bigelow from further harassment.”
During another hearing, Keith Griffin, an attorney at Tom’s firm, revealed that the estranged husband of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star was secretly hospitalized in 2020. Griffin said his boss was “unavailable in recent weeks due to a serious illness that caused him to be hospitalized for which he sought treatment.”
Tom previously failed to hire a lawyer to represent him in the case. One of his recently hired attorneys, Evan Jenness, told the judge during a December 14 hearing that he wanted Tom to go through a mental examination. “I’m unsure that he understands either the nature or the gravity of the current situation,” Jenness told the judge.
Tom is currently under fire as he is facing multiple lawsuits, including a class-action case filed by Edelson PC against both him and Erika. According to court documents obtained by the publication, the spouses have been accused of embezzling settlement money for families of the victims of Lion Air Flight 610, a 2018 crash that killed 189 people.
A judge has subsequently frozen Tom’s assets and Erika has been asked to stop selling her used clothes through the French company Vestiaire.
“There’s an asset freeze,” the judge told Erika’s lawyer in court on December 22. “His assets are frozen. I think you need to convey that to your client. … If she is selling assets that are property of Tom Girardi, you need to inform her of the danger that puts her in [of being in contempt in court].”
Erika’s attorney, Matt Wasserman, went on to question her role in the case. “Erika was completely unaware of the very serious allegations that were being made against Tom in court. Tom always handled all of the finances and that was how they handled things,” one source said. “She is just reeling from all of this but, make no mistake, Erika is a tough cookie and she isn’t stupid. She will get through this.”
In January, Erika moved into a $2.4 million home in Los Angeles as Girardi’s brother, Robert, was named his temporary conservator amid unknown health issues. Robert will remain in control over his brother’s finances until March 30. He has already filed a request to put eviction notices on pause as he works to fully understand Tom’s legal troubles.
Photo Credit: Damian Dovarganes/AP/Shutterstock; Gregory Pace/Shutterstock
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