Lawyers have the most appeal?
That’s apparently what Erika Jayne thinks, at least! The 51-year-old Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star was just spotted out with ANOTHER controversial lawyer in Vegas. Yes, even while her scandalous divorce from disgraced legal eagle Tom Girardi continues to wind its controversial course, the reality TV vet has moved on to potentially finding love with… yet another litigator!
Related: Erika Jayne CLAPS BACK At Jennifer Lawrence For Calling Her ‘Evil’! Damn!!!
On Sunday, a Twitter user posted a picture of the controversial Bravo-lebrity walking through Caesars Palace in Sin City. The snap was taken over the Memorial Day weekend. In it, Jayne was dressed in skin-tight red leather leggings with matching pumps, with an oversized shirt on top.
As for being in Vegas, well, Erika is no doubt busy preparing for her forthcoming residency at the House of Blues over at Mandalay Bay. So she’s gotta be in town readying for that! But it was who she was with that is drawing the real attention!
Per Page Six, Jayne was “on what appeared to be a date” with 72-year-old Jim Wilkes II. Wilkes — who the outlet notes is “a longtime associate” of Girardi — was walking along next to Jayne while rocking dark jeans and a leather jacket. Both of them wore sunglasses (natch) to play down their public outing. You can see the snap for yourself (below):
erika jayne spotted on a date #rhobh pic.twitter.com/Vik4m0F1YO
— blonde hair ???? black heart (@blndhairblckhrt) May 28, 2023
Whoa!
Wilkes’ presence alongside Jayne is notable. As Perezcious readers may recall, he’s been helping the RHOBH star out with cash in recent months to help Erika through her ongoing legal battles and major financial woes amid the dramatic Girardi divorce.
In court docs previously obtained by the US Sun, Wilkes was specifically named as having sent Erika nearly half a million dollars in cash to help with legal fees:
“Erika filed a summary judgment motion to get herself out of the case, and in response, the law firm noted that Erika was receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars for her legal fees from an attorney named James Lewis Wilkes, II, via Wilkes’ law firm.”
And it turns out Wilkes’ dealings in the recent past aren’t vanilla. Far from it…
For one, the attorney — who is known for suing nursing homes on behalf of residents who were abused or mistreated — filed for divorce from wife Jessica Collins back in 2021. As Page Six notes, it’s not clear where that case currently stands. But — at least legally — he may be in a similar relationship position as Jayne.
Related: Erika Jayne Claims Kathy Hilton Said WHAT About A DJ During A Night Out?!
There’s far more to Wilkes’ story, though. Early last month, he was arrested by cops at his Tampa Bay area home after allegedly firing two gunshots during a domestic dispute with an unnamed woman. According to the Tampa Bay Times, Wilkes claimed the woman had been striking him in the head, and he grabbed a handgun in the home to prevent her from taking it. Then he told cops he fired one round from the gun to “scare the woman” but did not aim it at her. She told police a different story, though. Her claim was that Wilkes fired two rounds in the air before holding the gun “to her head and torso” and threatening to kill her.
The lawyer was arrested for felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and misdemeanor battery. At the time of his arrest back in April, Wilkes’ attorney Ronald Kurpiers told the newspaper:
“He was attacked, and he was defending himself. That’s the extent of it.”
Per the newspaper, authorities in Tampa Bay have since said they are considering charges for the woman involved in the incident, too. Obviously, Wilkes’ story is a little different than what Jayne has been going through with Girardi.
Still, it’s shocking and salacious all the same. Was Erika really on an actual date with this guy? Is she not worried about becoming the woman in the next scary incident like that? Hmm…
Reactions, Perezcious readers??
To learn more about the impact of gun violence, visit https://www.apha.org/topics-and-issues/gun-violence.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Consider calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788, or go to https://www.thehotline.org/.
[Image via MEGA/WENN]