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As you know, Taylor Armstrong has officially signed a book deal with Simon & Schuster to reveal details about the abuse she suffered at the hands of husband Russell Armstrong, who committed suicide in August. According to RadarOnline, she’ll also discuss another abusive relationship she had in the past. Suffice to say, it will be dramatic and juicy.
But Taylor’s appearance on last night’s Watch What Happens Live, after an episode where she drunkenly exploded at Camille Grammer about “betraying” her, wasn’t about the book but rather her slow deterioration on this season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. One might accuse Taylor of milking Russell’s suicide, but it’s really the producers who have; it’s clear that they’ve mapped out this narrative arc where the other Housewives slowly find out about the abuse.
I will say that last night’s double-Taylor appearances shed a lot of light on her situation and where she was at six months ago while they were filming. A few episodes prior, Camille had confronted Taylor at Lisa Vanderpump‘s tea party, yelling in frustration that “we have all protected you, what you have told us about your marriage. Because we don’t say he hit you! Because we don’t say that he broke your jaw or that he beat you up! We don’t say that, but now we’ve said it.”
From there on, Taylor seemed to deny that there were any problems with her marriage; we saw her and Russell be affectionate en route to Adrienne Maloof‘s party and later team up for daughter Kennedy‘s birthday. But at Brandi Glanville‘s party — which, surprise, ended badly — Taylor started to explain that she felt that Camille had put her in greater danger.
On Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Taylor freely admitted that she was drunk at the party and that “my biggest fears were unraveling. I was living in a dangerous situation, and having that exposed to the viewers and the nation were unraveling for me.” She had told Camille about the abuse in private back in January when there were no cameras rolling, so even though Camille was trying to help by forcing the confession out of Taylor in front of the other Housewives, Taylor was instead terrified that Russell would somehow find out and hurt her or Kennedy.
“The cycle of domestic violence is so hard to understand,” Taylor explained of why she decided to write the book. “I wanted people to see me for who I really am. To understand that this started at a very young age for me and I ended up in this situation because of my own flaws and insecurities and not because someone did this to me… I’m hoping that for someone this breaks the cycle. If I keep this behind-the-scenes, how can I expect to talk about it?”
However, her fans seem to be supportive of Taylor’s book; one wrote in to the show saying, “Voices like yours help us all to heal and move forward.”
Taylor said that she’s been trying to help Kennedy understand what happens, but all her daughter says is, “Did Daddy do something stupid?” Well, once the book’s out, Kennedy will have a lot clearer idea of what went on between her parents.
