Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, and bear witness to the rarest of Real Housewives sightings: A heartfelt and sincere apology!
On tonight's new episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, following last week's electrifying Hong Kong fireworks display courtesy of the usually unflappable Erika Girardi, the new fan-fave did what we knew she would and, for lack of a better phrase, owned it. (Your residual check is in the mail, Lisa Rinna.)
While she her apology to Eileen Davidson for her misdirected meltdown over the soap star's poor choice of words didn't come immediately, casting a bit of a pall over the group's last day in Hong Kong, it was clear she knew she needed to make things right. And unlike those who've come before her, she didn't need any prompting or persuading.
That's not to say it wasn't without its awkward moments. As Kyle Richards joined Erika and Eileen for lunch, with the two carrying on as if nothing had happened, Erika's nerves were palpable. Finally, she just turned to her friend and got on with it.
"I'm sorry I had a meltdown on you at the table. I apologize. It had nothing to do with you," Erika began. "I was stressed out and those words are very sensitive to me, so I had a meltdown."
"I got it," Eileen assured. "I get it."
Clutching her friend's hand, Erika continued. "And I appreciate that," she said. "And you know I would never, ever, because you have been so good to me and I appreciate our friendship and I would never say anything like that to you."
Of course, Erika explosion was really the delayed result from round two of her sparring with Dorit Kemsley. Erika knew it. Eileen knew it. And we knew it. "I was exhausted. Exhausted from that fight, exhausted from trying to protect myself, advocate for myself, trying to chill out and just take the high road," she explained. "Trying to take the high road, trying to take the high road and then I took the real low road."
"The cool thing about Erika and me and our friendship is that we kind of get each other," Eileen admitted in her confessional. "Even though that happened and it was a big moment, things are just pretty much back to normal."
And that, friends, is how you handle both giving and receiving an apology.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Bravo.
(E! and Bravo are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)