Taylor Armstrong Says 'Real Housewives' May Have Saved Her Life
Shortly before he committed suicide, Taylor Armstrong's late husband Russell said the breakdown of his marriage was caused by the intolerable stresses of appearing on 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' -- "This show has literally pushed us to the limit."Now Taylor says quite the opposite. In fact, not only does she allege that her marriage was abusive long before the camera crew moved in, she believes that 'The Real Housewives' actually may have saved her life.
Yesterday Armstrong told KTLA-TV's morning show that "If the cameras were not in my life, there's a good chance I wouldn't be sitting here today because a lot of domestic violence situations end in murder-suicide versus just suicide."
She added: "I believe that, subconsciously, I may have signed up for the show to try and allow my problems to be in the public eye to some extent because, again, it was my saving grace."
Speaking about her daughter, she said "I'm thankful to be here. ... Imagine if she had two less parents instead of one."
Russell committed suicide at the family home in August, a few weeks after Taylor filed for divorce and just as 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' was gearing up to launch Season 2. The Armstrongs' deteriorating marriage had been documented in Season 1 of the reality TV show and was originally going to be a large part of Season 2.
After Russell's death Bravo attracted a lot of controversy for going ahead with Season 2 as planned -- albeit with some footage being re-edited -- and his mother blasted the network for not delaying the premiere.
Taylor told KTLA that she spent five weeks in the family home after Russell's suicide and that she now has a titanium implant in her right eye as a result of his alleged violence toward her.
'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' airs Mondays, 9PM ET on Bravo.
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