When TMZ first broke the news that “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Taylor Armstrong’s husband, Russell Armstrong, committed suicide Monday evening, cast members and Bravo executives had no idea and were filled with shock and sadness. On season one of the Bravo
series, viewers were first introduced to Russell and Taylor’s stressed marriage. Taylor wanted Russell to have more fun at social gatherings and the couple lacked communication including when Russell bought a puppy against Taylor’s previous wishes. Recently, Taylor told People Magazine that, “being on the show opened up my eyes to the fact that I wasn’t living in a healthy marriage.”
Besides a very public divorce, Russell also had financial troubles. According to TMZ, Russell filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2005 claiming he had less than $50,000 in assets and debt somewhere between $1 and $10 million. Would things have been different if the couple never signed up for the reality series? As season two begins next month, Russell’s suicide will have a great impact on how viewers will watch the tragic end of a marriage. Real Housewives of Beverly HillsAs anticipation has been building for season two of
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Russell Armstrong, ex-husband of Taylor Armstrong, took his own life Monday night. Even Taylor's recent revelation that
Russell had abused her, seemed timed to promote the couple's discord accordingly. Just last week Camille Grammer and Kelsey Grammer discussed the couple's rocky relationship and how it would be featured on season two.
Bravo has now banned the Housewives from talking about the suicide
really looking forward to this season -- this may be a case in which the show just shouldn't go on.
Do you think Bravo should cancel season two of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills?
On Bravo's "Real Housewives" franchise, a main character is affluence. Last season, Taylor threw a $60,000 party for their then-4-year-old daughter, frequently conferred with a private stylist and devoted much of her free time to philanthropy.
Photos: Television's troubled reality stars
" 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,' I think, was [Russell's] downfall. In July, Taylor Armstrong, 40, filed for divorce from her husband (the difficulties in the couple's marriage were evident in the show's first season). On Monday night, the friend discovered Russell Armstrong's body: He had hanged himself and left no suicide note behind, according to authorities.
A statement released by Taylor Armstrong's publicist said she was "devastated by the tragic events that have unfolded. The second season of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" is scheduled to premiere Sept. 5, according to Bravo, the cable network that airs the program. At press time, a Bravo representative said a decision had not yet been made on whether the season will be postponed or episodes re-edited.
Though many of the women on the shows boast about their rich and seemingly picture-perfect lives, in the tabloids, another reality has often been revealed: At least half a dozen "Housewives" have begun divorce proceedings and roughly the same number have filed for bankruptcy since signing on to the show.
Taylor, at one point, referred to their marriage as a "business partnership."
In the upcoming season premiere, which already has been made available to the television media, Taylor is shown buying lingerie in an attempt to spice up their love life and discussing their attempt at couples therapy; Russell is the only husband not shown in the episode.
A network statement expressed sympathy for the Armstrong family "at this difficult time."
But Ronald Richards, the attorney who is representing Russell Armstrong in the divorce and in previous litigation, agreed that his client's behavior changed once he became a part of a show — something he did in an effort to help build his wife's "brand."
"When you join these shows, you end up trying to support an imaginary lifestyle that's on the show. In a July interview with People magazine, Taylor Armstrong said that Russell was verbally and physically abusive, sometimes "grabbing her, throwing objects, shoving her and pulling her hair." "This show has literally pushed us to the limit."
However, in March 1998, Russell Armstrong pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery involving his first wife. Armstrong had struggled financially in the years before he and his wife signed on to the reality show. The show portrayed the Armstrongs as living the high life, but court documents suggest Russell Armstrong was still paying off his debts to the
IRS, American Express and other creditors in installments when filming on the reality show began airing in 2010. How the couple afforded their Beverly Hills lifestyle is the subject of pending litigation. Joan Borsten, who came to know Armstrong through his support of the Malibu Beach Recovery Center — where Armstrong sponsored patients, including his own sister — said Armstrong was concerned about how the program would affect his reputation.