Erika Girardi says she is proud of her hardworking son.
One day after the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star shared a rare photo of her son, California police officer Tommy Zizzo, to Instagram, she explained why she did it in a radio interview with Bravo host Andy Cohen.
During a guest spot on Cohen’s show Radio Andy, Erika was asked what made her post a photo of Tommy — her son from her first marriage to Thomas Zizzo — after years of being so protective of him and his privacy for years. The longtime Bravo host noted that even he had never seen a photo of Erika’s only son with the exception of a pic when he was a young kid, so even he was surprised to see a photo of him in his police officer uniform on Erika’s social media page.
Erika joked that maybe she’s “quarantine crazy.”
“I am a proud mom of my essential worker son. He’s out there working like every other man and woman on the frontline.”
When Cohen asked Erika if she is even more protective and concerned about her son during these unprecedented times, the “Pretty Mess” singer said she thinks everyone is extra protective of their loved ones these days.
“I think we all are,” Erika said. “This is a crazy time. We’re all concerned for all of our families.”
Even though her son is in his late 20s, Erika did explain why she rarely posts photos of him on social media or talks about him on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
“He didn’t choose this life, I chose this life, and you try to protect them,” she said. “I don’t care if he is an adult and he carries a gun and a badge. At the end of the day, he’s still my boy.”
The actress and singer has long said she protects her son’s privacy due to his line of work. Still, she no regrets about boasting about her handsome and hardworking son as he continues to do his job amid the health pandemic.
“I posted it and I’m glad I did,” the Bravo star said of the photo. “He’s a very fine young man and I’m super proud.”
Erika also noted that while she hasn’t heard yet if Tommy saw her Instagram post, her fans have responded in a positive way with more than 235,000 likes on the photo.
“I put him on Instagram he’s my best-performing post,” she laughed.
Erika previously told Cohen that viewers would probably never see her son on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills because he’s in a totally different profession than she is, per Bravo TV.
“He’s a real police officer in the streets,” the reality star said on Watch What Happens Live in 2017.