They’re from different worlds, so how did Erika Jayne and her boyfriend John McPhee meet?
Apparently, he's never seen RHOBH
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Erika Jayne is the epitomé of glam. She’s selling out shows, donning head-turning outfits, and doing what she does best, being the Pretty Mess!
After her marriage to Tom Girardi went down the pan, Erika entered a new era. RHOBH lovers saw her almost reinvent herself. She had to downsize her life – although we still saw her washing a Porsche on the driveway – so it’s all still very Erika.
Though it’s unlikely she’d ever be a plain Jane, Erika has surprised a lot of people by announcing her new romance. Her new boyfriend appears to be a total breath of fresh air for her as he’s from a totally different world and hasn’t ever seen the Bravo show!
Erika explains how she and John ‘Shrek’ McPhee met
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Speaking on her Diamonds in the Rough podcast with Teddi Mellencamp in July 2025, Erika spilled the relationship tea.
She said: “I met someone and we went on two dates. Then, we went to get a manicure-pedicure.”
“It was really nice, I feel comfortable holding this person’s hand, and he’s a nice man. I haven’t been seen with anybody for five years…” she added.
Erika also dished that John “doesn’t live here,” and that she first saw him on a “friend’s podcast.”
“I saw him on a friend of mine’s podcast, and I thought, ‘wow, that’s an interesting interview’. Then I saw him again on another one and thought he was interesting,” she continued.
The RHOBH star then said she saw John backstage with Heidi Montag in London at The Mighty Hoopla.
“Just randomly, because she went on, and then I went on. And, I thought ‘that’s the guy from the podcast, I’m gonna walk up and say hello’.”
Erika then walked up and introduced herself to John and told him that she was a “fan.”
Wait, John and Spencer Pratt are best friends?!
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More recently, Erika caught up with Us Weekly and divulged more of the story to them.
She explained that the two met when she “was in London performing at the Mighty Hoopla, and he was there with his friend Spencer Pratt, and I’d seen John on these two podcasts…”
Erika added: “He’s a normal, regular person, and does not live in Los Angeles, I like people who are confident and intelligent. I was married to somebody who was really good at their job for a long time, and then obviously ended in a really bad way. … I need to feel comfortable. I need to feel calm. This person is calm and this person is centered.”
It turns out that John and Spencer are more than just friends, too. He’s worked as Heidi Montag’s private security for some time, and the retired US Army Special Operations Sergeant Major is also the godfather of her and Spencer’s son Gunner, per People.
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