Erika Girardi Reveals the Best Advice She Got Going into the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Is there anything more frightening than the prospect of joining The Real Housewives? Not only are you the new girl in a large group, but there's a very big possibility that you'll be picked apart by said group. Before coming on to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills for Season 6, newcomer Erika Girardi says Yolanda Hadid had some words of wisdom. 

"The best advice was from Yolanda when she said to me, 'I’m not going to tell you anything. Get in there and figure it out yourself. You’re smart. It will all become very clear to you very quickly,'" Erika told The Daily Dish. While it sounds like tough love, it kept Erika from going in with preconceived notions about the other 'Wives. 

Still, the larger group had another valuable tip for her. "They said, 'Erika, it’s one thing to shoot the show, it’s another thing when you start watching the show,' because it really is two different things." Erika went on to explain exactly what that difference is. "What I think is most interesting is that a lot of things that I was kept away from or just didn’t know were revealed to me [during the reunion], because so much happens outside of your presence," she said. "You know, we only know what we know. The rest of it...you’re in the dark, so seeing some of those things that were said at the reunion were really and truly for the first time, and I was shocked as well. I was just as shocked as the audience will be."

So what did Erika think about her debut season? "I thought I had a very successful first season, so my goal for a second season, if I were to ever return, would to be the same person, because I think people like that, so I had no intention on trying to play the game or outsmarting anyone. That’s just not going to work," she explained. "I think you know your job, because it is a job for us to show up and be as authentic as possible."