RHOBH’s Erika Jayne Holds Hands With Rumored Boyfriend John “Shrek” McPhee, Meet the Retired U.S. Army Vet

Erika Jayne has a new man in her life.

Amid her ongoing divorce from the now-incarcerated Thomas Girardi, 86, the 53-year-old Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star has been spotted out in Los Angeles holding hands with John “Shrek” McPhee, 54, a retired U.S. Army Special Operations Sergeant Major who served the country in Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to a July 8 report from The U.S. Sun, Erika and John stepped out with one another on Monday and made no attempt to hide their relationship.

In photos, Erika sported a pink baseball cap, an ADA T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers, while her potential new boyfriend also kept it casual with a “Slaughter Things” T-shirt, cargo shorts, and Crocs.

As The U.S. Sun revealed, John was a Delta Force Operator with decades of experience in the military and is known as the “Sheriff of Baghdad.”

#ErikaJayne spotted out with #JohnMcPhee (also known as Shrek), who is a retired U.S Army Special Operations Sergeant Major, VIA TheSun. 💎 #RHOBH pic.twitter.com/EoqUKa86u7

— jay (@JaysRealityBlog) July 8, 2025

While John does not appear to have children, he has been married a number of times.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by John ‘Shrek’ McPhee (@sobtactical)

During an interview with Megyn Kelly, 54, earlier this year, he opened up about how his career impacted his relationships.

“I’ve been divorced several times. It’s a hard life. I think it’s a hard life because nobody understands your level of commitment. And I say that in a way that you’re choosing something that might cause your death over and over, people don’t see that as rational,” he explained. “They don’t understand. So I always say being married was like being in prison. You could call home, but you ain’t going there anytime soon. That’s how marriage works in the army. When you deploy to war, you can call home, you get your one call, can [call] once a week, you ain’t going home. And that’s tough on everybody. Only guys who have perfect relationships, their marriages survive the war. And I’d say the bulk of guys end up divorced.”

According to the report, Erika and John are believed to have met through jujitsu, a Japanese martial art. As RHOBH fans may recall, Erika, who is mom to one son, Tommy Zizzo, 32, started taking classes in 2021 because she was “worried about her safety” amid Thomas’ legal issues.

Although Erika filed for divorce in November 2020, her split from Thomas has yet to be finalized. And attorney Ronald Richards shared earlier this week on X that the case was in jeopardy of being dismissed.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 15 is currently in production.