Newest RHONY Cast Member Erika Hammond

On this episode of Weddings-ish with Jove, Jove sits down with the wildly impressive Erika Hammond, who has officially joined the cast of The Real Housewives of New York City. Long before the Bravo cameras started rolling, Erika had already built an incredible career. She is the co-creator of Rumble Boxing, a former WWE diva, and the creator of Equinox’s Knockout class. Erika shares her path from growing up in Waco, Texas to chasing opportunities in Los Angeles, landing in WWE as Veronica Lane, and eventually finding her passion in boxing fitness. That journey led her to New York and the creation of Rumble, which quickly became a global fitness brand. Along the way she met her now-husband Ankur Jain, who first noticed her while taking her class. After years of friendship, timing, and a pandemic-era FaceTime love story, they fell deeply in love. The proposal matched the romance. Ankur surprised Erika inside Summit One Vanderbilt with actors posing as guests, their signature filthy martinis waiting, their dog Jack in a bow tie, and friends and family secretly watching it all unfold.

Then came the wedding, which honestly feels like something out of a movie. Inspired by a trip to Egypt, the couple pulled off a ceremony in front of the Sphinx at the Great Pyramids with 130 guests who traveled from around the world. The celebration stretched across four unforgettable days, including a circular ceremony design symbolizing eternity and a reception at the base of the pyramids with cocktails, dinner, dancing, and dramatic reveal moments throughout the night. Erika also shares how she wore gold throughout the celebration as a nod to ancient Egyptian culture, including a custom ivory and gold gown designed with a designer in India that she did not see in person until the week before the wedding.

The behind-the-scenes story is just as wild. After hosting a pre-wedding safari in South Africa with 75 guests, Erika and Ankur discovered their charter flight to Egypt was missing a landing permit, forcing the plane to turn around mid-journey and throwing their schedule into chaos. After hours of calls and waiting, they finally made it to Cairo at 2:30 a.m., where friends and family were still awake and cheering them on at the palace welcome party. The celebration continued with private pyramid tours, a takeover of the Grand Egyptian Museum, and a Nile brunch inspired by Erika’s St. Barts bachelorette. Erika’s biggest takeaway is simple. Stay true to who you are as a couple, take a breath during the stressful moments, and soak it all in because even a multi-day wedding at the pyramids goes by faster than you think.

We’re so excited to watch Erika step into her new role on The Real Housewives of New York City, and honestly we couldn’t think of a better time to relive this truly iconic wedding story.

Wedding Photos from PHOTO BOTTEGA 53

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