Taylor Armstrong says Wendy Williams – not Camille Grammer – was “the first person” to “publicly” disclose the alleged physical abuse of her late husband.
The former “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star admitted in a new interview that she had no idea how to deal with Williams who called then-husband Russell Armstrong a “disgusting man” and noted it was “like abuse” during an interview in 2011 about her talk show of the same name.
“It was like, ‘What?!’ Like, I’m on national television – of course I’m going to [deny it]Taylor recalled on Monday’s episode of the podcast “Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef.” “I was like, ‘What? No!’ I don’t even remember what I said to her.”
But Williams “saw the dynamics” [their] relationship, even in season 1,” explained Taylor, who appeared on the Bravo series from 2010 to 2013.
“And that came out a lot on Twitter and in the tabloids and stuff, it’s clear these two have a messed up relationship,” she continued. “But [Williams] was the first to say it publicly. And…of course I denied it because that’s what people do.”
During their January 2011 interview, Williams told Taylor, “With all due respect, [Russell] is a disgusting man to you. It’s like abuse!”
Trying to keep the alleged abuse a secret, Taylor simply claimed to Williams that their marriage was going through a rough patch, telling her she didn’t feel “abused”.
“I feel like we haven’t connected for a while,” she insisted to the talk show host.
Taylor had the same reaction when Grammer was famous for the abuse in front of cameras during season 2 of the Bravo show.
“I was in shock and I don’t even know what my reaction was, if any, because I just remember sitting there completely stoic, like, I have no idea what to say now,” Taylor, 51, said. , to Yontef, who reminded her that she also denied it at the time.
“I remember looking at our field producer, who was standing in front of me along with the cameras, and I was in shock. I had no idea what to say,” she continued.
“But I knew as I stared at him – I remembered the moment so specifically – that I knew that something in my life was going to change drastically. And that could be that I could be killed, I could get divorced, or things could turn around and this could change my situation, but I knew that once I walk out this door, my life will never be the same.”
Taylor filed for divorce from Russell – a venture capitalist with a history of legal troubles and mounting financial difficulties – in July 2011 after nearly six years of marriage.
The following month, he hanged himself at his Los Angeles home.
Taylor was subsequently hit by a number of lawsuits related to Russell’s unfinished financial dealings, so she sought legal advice from attorney John H. Bluher, whom she married in 2014.
Taylor and Russell had only one child, daughter Kennedy Armstrong, now 16.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues discussed in this story, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.