>>>
life tragedy for a
reality tv show
. estranged husband of one of the "
real housewives
of
beverly hills
" was found dead at home on monday.
aditi
roy is in
beverly hills
with details on that.
aditi
, good morning to you.
>> reporter:
good morning, matt.
russell
armstrong
's death comes three weeks before the scheduled premier of the new season of "the
real housewives
of
beverly hills
." a season that was such a focus on the
armstrong
's crumbling marriage.
>>
just eat,
russell
.
>> reporter:
russell
and
taylor
armstrong
's frequent bickering enintensifies throughout the first season of "the
real housewives
of
beverly hills
" which airs on bravo, owned by
nbc universal
.
>>
we're working on things. we've been through so much psychotherapy i'm sick of myself.
>> reporter:
it's clear that season two was set to begin next month with
taylor
's efforts to save her deteriorating marriage.
>>
my husband is in therapy. i mean, i don't know. that hurt my feelings really bad. that wasn't nice. i don't care what they do in england because i'm trying to keep my family together werer the couple had a 5-year-old daughter frequently seen on the
tv show
. in june, tabloid photos show the couple out in public and seemingly happy. but last month 40-year-old
taylor
filed for divorce to end their six-year marriage and there was reportedly more bad news for
russell
, a venture capitalist who was reportedly swimming in debt.
>>
he was in financial trouble, like a lot of people are in l.a. they live beyond their means and they live month to month. and they try to keep up a lifestyle that is fictitious and imaginary.
>> reporter:
on monday night
los angeles police
were called out to this upscale home where
russell
had been staying with a friend. police say he was found hanged in the bedroom. a statement released on
taylor
's behalf reads,
taylor
armstrong
the is devastated by the tragic events that have unfolded. she requests privacy at this time so that she may comfort her young daughter. her thoughts and prayers are also with
russell
's 11- and 13-year-old sons.
>>
he was a nice person, you know, and i think that he was not ready for how evil hollywood can be on these
reality show
star railroads sadly this is just the most recent suicide involving a
reality tv
star. there is
julianne hough
, matt from "
storm chasers
," "kitchen nightmare"'s cook and ryan jenkins, contestant on a vh-1 show killed himself after being accuse of killing his wife. it's still unclear how the producers of the "
real housewives
of
beverly hills
" will deal with this
real life
tragedy.
>>
this is something they haven't encountered before. will they re-edit, will they postpone it, will they actually acknowledge his death in the season premier?
>> reporter:
for its part, bravo issued a statement which says, all of us at bravo are deeply saddened by this tragic news. our sympathy and thoughts are with the
armstrong
family at this difficult time. the coroner is expected to confirm the
cause of death
later today. no
suicide note
has been found.
>>
aditi
roy, thank you very much.
>>>
ronald
richards was
russell
armstrong
's attorney,
debra
is editor and chief of ""
tv guide
" guide"." good morning to both of you.
ronald
, let me starts with you. the easiest headline is that this guy took his life because of pressures of
reality tv
. that was an easy headline. was there something more going on here?
>>
there was a combination of things. i think he spent his entire marriage building up his wife to this sort of creshendo of success and then all of a sudden as the apex of this all, she filed for divorce and he sort of left out. financing the show through her, but not getting any of the future benefits. and i think it hurt him.
>>
how much financial pressure was he under?
>>
he was under a lot of financial pressure because he spent so much time getting distracted from reports about what was going to be coming on the show that he ended up spending a lot more than he made every month and didn't have any savings left. and it became a very big burden on him to keep this august going.
>>
this collapse of a marriage, the financial pressures all playing out in front of the cameras. he said to "people" magazine in july, quote, this show has literally pushed us to the limit. what did he tell you about the show itself?
>>
well, he was very concerned about what the other housewives were going to say about him and possible domestic abuse and taking normal marital disagreements out of context. and he did not have the stomach or the skin to deal with some of the vicious comments that people make about
reality tv
stars and their spouses.
>>
debra
, i mean, let's be clear here. no producer can force anybody to participate in one of these
reality shows
. these individuals sign their name on a dotted line. but do you think this is a case, and there have been many others as were mentioned in
aditi
's piece, where people don't understand how their lives will change once they allow cameras in?
>>
i think so. and i think they see themselves on tv and put the spotlight on flaws in a way they didn't expect. but i also think that people who watch the shows before they sign up for them to get a full understanding of what they're going to experience what it's going to be like.
>>
i'm not in any way trying to say i know anything about his mental stability or lack thereof prior to this situation. however, it does seem to me that when you watch these shows, it is the less stable people that get the most attention because they tend to do the things that are most awe-inspiring.
>>
true. but are they doing the most awe-inspiring things to get the most attention? the producers have shrinks on staff though that are monitoring these situations. they do counseling and they try to
keep an eye
out for people who look like they're going to be in trouble.
>>
ronald
, let me go back to you. and you're not a
television producer
. do you think, though, there needs to be a re-evaluation of the way these shows are cast? in other words, the types of people they approach to be on them?
>>
well, these are not professional actors. this show they couldn't have watched before. i mean, he was warned before this show started this was going to affect his marriage. but i mean, i think that they need to be more proactive in letting the non-professional potential actors know that this is going to be a very invasive exercise into their personal lives and they need to be prepared. i tried to prepare him before the show this was going to happen. unfortunately he really didn't accept all of my warnings from someone that's lived in this town his whole life.
>>
quickly,
debra
, how does bravo, part of
nbc universal
, deal with this?
>>
i think they've got a tough divisi division. there is precedent, one of the housewives' ex-fiance died and they kept the show intact but in this case it's a different situation, you've got children. i think they've got a hard decision ahead of them.
>>
i appreciate your time. thank you very much.
>>
thank you.
