'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' News: Erika Girardi Opens Up About Her Estranged Father
"The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" had an emotional turn this Tuesday, Dec. 26, when Erika Girardi opened up about meeting an important person for the first time. Girardi had an unsettling reunion with her estranged father when she was already 25.
It was a celebration of Dorit Kemsley's birthday, and all the "RHOBH" ladies were in full attendance, according to Us Magazine.
Lisa Vanderpump, Lisa Rinna, Erika Girardi, Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave, Kyle Richards, Camille Grammer, Adrienne Maloof, and of course, birthday girl Dorit were all dressed up for a night out in Las Vegas.
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Somewhere along the way, talk turned to fathers and father figures, perhaps starting from the time when Kemsley introduced Arroyave by mentioning that John Mellencamp was her dad. It was not an introduction that went over well, but one thing led to another and the girls were listening to Girardi open up about meeting her father for the first time.
"I don't know him," Girardi told her fellow housewives. "I didn't grow up with my father. We don't speak," the 46-year old performer added, as quoted by People.
She and her mother were basically abandoned by her dad, as she explained. Her mom, Renée Chahoy, gave birth to her when the latter was just 18 years old. Her estranged dad left them on their own when Girardi was just 9 months old, and it would be two and a half decades later when they would meet.
"The first time I met my father was when I was 25. I was visiting here in Los Angeles, I had not moved here yet. And he came down to meet me," Girardi explained.
"It wasn't emotional, it was like meeting a stranger," the housewife recalled, adding that it was a cordial meeting, all things considered. Even with that lukewarm first meeting, the pop star still wished he was there for her when she was growing up.
"I think a little girl always wants her dad," she mused.
"The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" returns on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EST on Bravo TV.
