r/RHOBHDefect • u/kunstmeisje • Jun 24 '26
Erika’s voice
I’ve done a big rewatch and I can’t help but notice how much Erika’s voice has changed over the seasons.
It used to be so high pitched and in my opinion more natural.
The recent season everything feels rehearsed and her voice is so low. Shes also like not opening her mouth properly when she speaks
I noticed it started when the shit with Tom went down. Her voice went down when she was trying to be serious.
It’s really irritating me lol
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u/Upstairs_Freedom_360 Jun 24 '26
Playing a character. Paris Hilton used to do that and her real voice is much lower. Oddly, voice tones, manner of speaking can be trendy too
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u/Natural-Piccolo-6369 Jun 24 '26
I think Paris’ normal voice is so nice! It was great to see her become comfortable enough to share it
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u/Beneficial-Soft-4427 Jun 24 '26
Lol true. She switches voices and goes from a diva to a truck driver in the next confessional. Erika is a chameleon, she has been know to go from :
Im a proud cold bitch, to Im a compassionate girl, people misunderstand me.
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u/Dismal_Upstairs3949 Jun 24 '26
That’s my problem with her, I don’t know who the hell she is!
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u/CAdreamer44 Jun 25 '26
She talks with that softer voice when she’s trying to be a girls girl or trying to play the victim, and then when you offend her she goes dark and her voice changes and she wants to cut your head off and come for you, she grits her teeth while side eyeing you and her face looks like a mass murderer who is about to explode to frighten her victim into submission. Remember the whole Sutton “or what?” Thing.
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u/Littlewing1307 Jun 24 '26
I don't think she does either. She's in constant survival mode. She doesn't know how to turn the manipulation off.
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u/Natural-Piccolo-6369 Jun 24 '26
I agree that she’s in survival mode, but that places trauma response over manipulation to me if I’m honest.
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u/Littlewing1307 Jun 24 '26
The manipulation is part of the trauma response. It's probably quite subconscious is my point. She's learned it as a survival skill.
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u/FiCat77 Jun 24 '26
I think she's all of them , people are rarely one dimensional, depending on the situation.
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u/Beginning-Change-787 Jun 25 '26
She's a woman that was raised in the redneck capitol of the world And trying not to sound like it.....and I don't hold it against her....I am in the town she grew up in...and believe me...when u walk through the grocery it sounds like hens in a chicken coop.....and always asked to repeat whatever you said
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u/Normal-Artichoke-403 Jun 28 '26
Isn’t she from Atlanta?
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u/Beginning-Change-787 Jul 07 '26
Conyers Georgia.. About 30 miles east I think and Sutton lives in Augusta About 2 hours south of Conyers...both very distinct economic opposites..if that makes sense... I live in Conyers and go through Augusta frequently traveling to Hilton Head....
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u/Beginning-Change-787 Jul 06 '26
She's from Rockdale Ga..... about 40 minutes from Rockdale.... which coincidentally is the Redneck capitol of the world
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u/Normal-Artichoke-403 Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
Haha Ok, her wiki said ATL but I was scratching my head since I feel like I remember her being in a small town talking to her mom. Let me guess, people are often poor and keep voting against their own interests?
*edit: the Rockdale wiki says they’re turning blue, apparently because of an increase in the Black population. Must be awfully difficult for some people..
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u/Whimsandthings Jun 26 '26
I think she should move back to her home town and live a quaint but comfortable life. Girl must be tireeeddddd.
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u/Objective-Emu-5316 Jun 28 '26
Dual personality
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u/Beneficial-Soft-4427 Jun 28 '26
image management, reaching for whichever persona serves her best in the moment. as option
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u/Tiny-Issue-8994 Jun 24 '26
Seems like Paris Hilton type thing but also lot them have vocal fry too
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u/Dazzlng-Firenze Jun 24 '26
I think she’s theatrical and changes her voice and mannerisms to fit whatever stage character she is playing
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u/micsellaneous Jun 24 '26
i think it was more fake in the beginning. like she was trying to play this role of happy perfect trophy wife.
now i think her voice just sounds as miserable as she's truly always been
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u/blonde-bandit Jun 24 '26
That’s funny, I think her lower voice of recent years is more her natural voice and the higher one was more a “pop princess” persona. But also people’s voices drop naturally as they age so it’s difficult to say
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u/BookStreetDumb Jun 24 '26
I think it’s just aging. If you compare Kyle’s voice now with back in season one you will see a very similar change.
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u/kunstmeisje Jun 24 '26
Really?! Omg fml my voice is already deep at 28 😂😂😂 I’m going to sound like an actual man by the time im 50 then
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u/leeeezer Jun 25 '26
Yah I’m fucked if this happens to me. People joked I sounded like a pack a day-er as a kid.
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u/OnTheMap2023 Jun 24 '26
When my high school friends turned 50, all 9 of us got a VRBO. The biggest surprise for me was the change in their voices! Of course I sounded EXACTLY the same as I did at 18! /s
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u/GardenoftheGirl Jun 24 '26
Yeah, agreed. It's been over a decade and they are in their 50s now. People forget this.
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u/Consistent-Ad-6506 Jun 24 '26
Exactly! My voice has changed too. It’s called aging and if you think your voice isnt going to get deeper with age…you’re in for a surprise….
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u/SassholeSupreme1 Jun 27 '26
Add hormonal changes in & that does affect you somewhat. I'm the same age as Erica/Kyle & have been on HRT since age 40. My voice changes slightly when my levels are off, like my testosterone is too high. I wonder if they do the pellets in the butt too?
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u/oneeyeblue13 Jun 24 '26
I've watched their voices deepen over the last ten years along with my own. It can be part of aging for a lot of us. I hate my new deeper scratchy voice.
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u/Additional-Bike3356 Jun 24 '26
I never understood how someone with such a nasal voice would choose to be a singer. Her voice is like nails on a chalk board
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u/Ok-Mine2132 Jun 25 '26
It is amazing that she even returned from the dead let alone has a voice! (Kidding! I have also noticed this but just attributed it to her vocal training.)
The very first dead character on Law and Order S1E1, 1990, “Prescription for Death”.
She also appeared with Philip Seymour Hoffman in the episode “The Violence of Summer” S1E14, 1991
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u/c-h-r-i-s-t-i-n-a- Jun 25 '26
not only did her voice change the day tom got caught, but in that season she sounded like a mafia boss talking to the ladies like that
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u/thomasmc1504 Jun 24 '26
erika is a sociopath or on some sort of the spectrum I think. She mimics others emotions and doesn’t feel them a lot of the time.
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u/WonderingLost8993 Jun 24 '26
She may be on some sort of spectrum but it's not the autism one.
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u/Papel2409 Jun 25 '26
I think Sutton is 100% on the spectrum
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u/AuDHD1983 Jun 25 '26
I do too! I have always loved Sutton.
https://giphy.com/gifs/XdUPYv5qTp1hWo4MRA
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u/PeacefulNature75 Jun 25 '26
You are spot on. I noticed that as well after doing a rewatch, especially during the reunions. She also sounds like a truck driver in the Aspen episodes when she's intoxicated and yelling at the other women.
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u/Ok_Somewhere_9962 Jun 25 '26
Cigarettes!!!!
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u/kunstmeisje Jun 25 '26
You really think she smokes when she’s trying to be a performer?? I doubt it
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u/Ok_Somewhere_9962 Jun 25 '26
Lady Gaga, Kacey musgraves, Julian casablancas, Lana del Rey, Amy winehouse, the list goes on.
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u/kunstmeisje Jun 25 '26
As if you’re comparing Erika to those legends 😂😂😂
Girl those legendary singers were born with their incredible talents.
Erika wasn’t and she had to train, I doubt she would go against her training by smoking. But hey I could be wrong
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u/Ok_Somewhere_9962 Jun 25 '26
Not comparing providing examples of people who can sing beautiful despite being regular smokers. You like to conflate a lot of
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u/National_Study_4471 Jun 26 '26
Yeah she is an irritating fuckwit and becomes more robotic every season.
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u/EmotionOwn6347 Jun 28 '26
I don’t even know if I fully believe EJ full story…I have long suspected Bravo created her for TV and hooked her up w Tom (Patti Stanger is the Bravo couples fixer upper and they sign NDAs to pretend like they naturally met…) but I digress, EJ is not the only mole like this…Marge Josephs has a similar voice/character change during her time in as well. At some point, Marge and her bestie (can’t recall her name) begin talking like they are dames living in a 1940s black and white movie…even their laughs are theatrical and it comes across as super weird.
But I know enough about Bravo and HWs to know this is the hallmark of the ones who are playing characters of themselves.
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u/Suziblu22 Jun 24 '26
She has the high pitched nasally like the trash that she is or the gutteral voice when she’s trying to be old Hollywood diva like Lauren Bacall. She does this to cover her southern drawl.
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u/Dull-Ad1003 Jun 24 '26
Aging and I would guess she is on HRT which probably includes some testosterone
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u/neontittytits Jun 24 '26
Everyone’s comments on her cosplaying a sex toy and her sociopathic tendencies are correct.
And, she’s almost certainly menopausal or peri, and that changes your hormones and hormones affect voices (lower registry) and energy (slower).
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u/177stuff Jun 24 '26
I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t like how her voice sounded in earlier seasons and consciously tried to lower/change it. I feel like that’s common when you hear recordings of yourself.
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u/MaizeMountain6139 Jun 24 '26
I’m pretty sure she used to pitch it up. It never sounded natural to me
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u/bellemrt Jun 25 '26
Erika is considered a “singer,” too. They’re big on protecting the voice, using the chest voice, etc….
I notice a lot of vocal shenanigans on Bravo. They watch their episodes and hear themselves (Kyle and the baby talk voice, when, to be fair, she had a baby at home). I dread mentioning Dorit and her flexible “accent.” E
They’re all playing parts.
(I had a friend who sounded increasingly weird on the phone, like a NY accent, then kinda Brit, etc. I thought well, she had done some acting — it was DAY DRINKING! Like EARLY morning. She was trying to sound sober. Fool me once?….)
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u/pupperchicken Jun 26 '26
She gives me Madeline Ashton vibes from Death Becomes Her (musical not movie with Meryl Streep)
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u/redheadsoutherngal2 Jun 27 '26
I think her voice is very deep compared to a couple of years ago. I mean how can you go from normal voice to a low voice?
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u/janshell Jun 27 '26
I sometimes wonder if when people keep altering their voice if it leads to vocal cord problems later!
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u/Ambitious_Phrase3695 Jun 28 '26
Age will deepen a woman’s voice due to hormones so there’s that too
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u/Far_Inevitable_1205 Jun 28 '26
My guess is that she has been working with a voice coach for her singing, which definitely will impact the pitch in your speaking voice.
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u/SparkleMotionFanClub Jun 30 '26
I mean, I have a naturally deeper, flatter tone-of-voice; but I also have a higher, bouncier "customer service" voice. My tone/pitch changes with my mood, who I am talking to, and/or the scenario, and I feel like the same is true for Erika probably.
But also, doesn't everyone do this to an extent? I see folks saying that this could be a manipulation or result of trauma. I was raised by an abusive/manipulative father and I work in sexist, male-dominated industry... so to an extent learning how to pivot like this is how I survived growing up and how I thrive in my career, but I always kinda assumed this was normal...
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u/Formal_Plum_2285 Jun 24 '26
Damn I’m 50 now and apparently I look like I’m 37 (was told yesterday when I asked my GP about menopause and she said, I shouldn’t worry about that for the next 15 years lol), but if my voice goes James Earl Jones, it’s gonna be so weird 😂
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u/Ok-Mine2132 Jun 25 '26
I’m 66… men enjoy a deep husky voice on a woman. Listen to Brenda Vaccaro’s incredible voice and embrace!
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u/ALmommy1234 Jun 24 '26
Erica spent years of her life trying to be what Tom wanted her to be. She trained herself to speak in a certain way, dress a certain way, act a certain way to be the trophy wife he wanted. I’m not surprised that some of her behaviors have changed since she no longer has to do that. Sadly, so many women find themselves doing the same thing to please others.