Russell Armstrong was found dead, apparently by suicide in California. Did his participation in 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' contribute to his death? 
 
 Successful venture capitalist Russell Armstrong was found dead in his Los Angeles home Monday night, apparently by his own hand. 
 
 No official cause of death has yet been declared. The coroner is still conducting an investigation. 
 
 But that hasn't stopped the speculation that Armstrong's involvement in a reality TV show – ‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,’ starring his estranged wife, Taylor Armstrong – may have somehow led to his death. 
 
 “He was down in the dumps over the latest allegations that he had abused Taylor. I told him people don’t believe everything they read and he told me, ‘It’s funny how a reality show can ruin your entire life,’” Armstrong’s friend Tom Vickers told RadarOnline. 
 
 The couple’s relationship has often been rocky, and, through it all, the cameras have been rollilng. Responding to Taylor’s claims that he had been an abusive husband while she was filing for divorce on July 15, Armstrong told People Magazine, “Did I push her? Yes, maybe things happened in the heat of the moment, but it was during a time in our lives that was not characteristic of who we were. This show has literally pushed us to the limit.” 
 
 Russell and Taylor are not the first reality TV couple whose marriage faltered on screen. Jon and Kate Gosselin, who starred together with their eight children in ‘Jon and Kate Plus 8’, ended their 10-year marriage in 2009. From then on, the show was called ‘Kate Plus 8.' It was just canceled. 
 
 Industry insiders say that "reality" TV is often far from an accurate presentation of events. Small slights are exaggerated, peacemaking is ignored or left on the cutting room floor in the pursuit of a dramatic narrative. So, it's not clear that what the audiences saw – or even what the "actors" said about the show – bears much resemblance to the truth. 
 
 Still, Mark Andrejevic, University of Iowa associate professor of communications studies, has said that keeping people on the threshold of mental breakdown is a tactic that has been used on some reality television shows. In a United Press International article on Aug. 2, 2009, Prof. Andrejevic said that “The bread and butter of reality television is to get people into a state where they are tired, stressed and emotionally vulnerable.” 
 
 He wasn't talking about ‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,’ which only debuted in 2010. But one doesn't have to go far to find the destructive effects of living in a celebrity culture. Rabbi Schmuley Boteach, who once counseled Michael Jackson, told the Monitor last summer: 
 
 "... [the] essentials for surviving celebrity are the same as for everyone else, he says: “You need a life to keep you grounded … someone to make you take out the garbage.” Next, he says is spiritual values. He points to musician Bono, who he he says has been married for 27 years and is a devout Roman Catholic, as the “perfect” celebrity. The Irish rocker also has a cause that is much higher than himself – Africa – and longtime friends, his band mates who will tell him when he’s being stupid – the last two tools for navigating fame. “If you have these in place, as Bono does,” adds Boteach, “you have a chance at a real, meaningful life.” 
 
 Armstrong leaves behind a daughter, Kennedy, and two sons from previous relationships. ||||| Obituary 
 
 Russell Armstrong, estranged husband of Taylor Armstrong of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” was found dead last night, an apparent suicide. The couple’s relationship fell apart on camera. 
 
 Russell Armstrong, the 47-year-old husband of Taylor Armstrong of Bravo’s hit show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, was found dead Monday night, an apparent suicide. The news was first reported by TMZ. The couple had been married for six years and had one daughter, Kennedy, age 5. Russell also had two sons from a previous marriage. 
 
 A spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner’s office told The Daily Beast Tuesday afternoon that Armstrong’s death does appear to be a suicide. But an autopsy will be done within two days. 
 
 
 
 Armstrong had been staying with a friend in West Los Angeles on Mulholland Drive. According to a detective from the Los Angeles Police Department speaking with The Daily Beast, the friend discovered Armstrong hanged in his bedroom. Paramedics found him dead at the scene, a police spokesman said. 
 
 
 
 Taylor Armstrong, 40, had filed for divorce in July, citing irreconcilable differences. But in an interview with People magazine around the same time, she said that her husband had physically abused her. Russell Armstrong told People: “Did I push her? Yes, maybe things happened in the heat of the moment, but it was during a time in our lives that was not characteristic of who we were. This show has literally pushed us to the limit.” 
 
 The divorce petition filed by Taylor Armstrong on July 15 in downtown Los Angeles Superior Court makes no mention of abuse or domestic violence. 
 
 
 
 On the show’s first season, Russell had been seen as a grumpy-at-best partner, with Taylor often lamenting the sadness in their marriage to other cast members. “My marriage is the worst it’s ever been,” she said to the cameras. “I just feel that something has to change.” 
 
 In January, Russell Armstrong talked to The Daily Beast for a story about the husbands of Real Housewives, “I didn’t really understand what we were getting into.” He said that times when he was shown leaving parties, disappointing his wife, were in fact late at night. 
 
 He agreed that his decision to stay in the background of the show “backfired.” 
 
 “I’m going to be more engaging next season,” Armstrong said. In person, he appeared more at ease than he had on camera and seemed eager to show reporters speaking with him at a party that he was kinder than audiences had seen him being. 
 
 During the same interview with The Daily Beast, he cited financial pressures and working all the time as things that added to his stress. Armstrong had filed for bankruptcy in 2005, and recent reports indicated that he was again in financial trouble. 
 
 In a reunion special for the show, broadcast in early February, Armstrong responded to questions about what it was like watching his marital troubles on television. “It was difficult,” he said. “The last three years have been very challenging for the entire country. I, candidly, have been working 80-hour weeks. It’s very easy to get preoccupied with kids and business and the day-to-day grind.” 
 
 The show’s first season ended with Russell and Taylor Armstrong trying to reconcile. “We definitely agreed that we wanted to keep our family together,” she said during the reunion, which had been filmed in early January. On the Beverly Hills reunion, Taylor’s cast mate Lisa Vanderpump said of Russell, “I have been quite honest that I don’t connect to him on any level at all. He seems quite cut off. And I think that must be very difficult to be married to.” 
 
 On Tuesday, Russell Armstrong’s attorney Ronald Richards said the marriage suffered damage at the hands of the TV production. Richards represented him in the divorce and in a $1.5-million lawsuit filed against the couple last month alleging they had bilked people in an Internet medical scam. “People start making financial decisions based upon what’s best for the TV show instead of what’s best for them,” Richards told The Daily Beast. “So it creates a horrible cycle of bad decisions that start to pile upon one another. At this point, they were set on getting divorced.” Richards recalled Russell Armstrong as “a very nice guy who was very compassionate about the support of Taylor’s career. He was instrumental in getting her a lot of the brand licensing deals that she’s currently dealing with.” Richards talked to Russell Armstrong regularly and said that when he spoke to him two days ago he seemed depressed about his divorce and the pending lawsuit, but not at a level that worried Richards. “He had the normal depression that you would expect based on being in a lawsuit and a divorce but nothing beyond the ordinary,” Richards said. “I was not concerned. This is very tough on all levels. He had a very good relationship with all of his kids.” 
 
 After the news of Armstrong’s death broke on Tuesday, Andy Cohen, Bravo’s executive vice president of original programming and development, who also hosts the channel’s talk show Watch What Happens: Live, tweeted, “I am so very sad about today’s news. My prayers and thoughts are with Taylor Armstrong and her family.” The network issued a similar statement. 
 
 Through her manager, Robert Thorne, Taylor Armstrong issued this statement: “Taylor Armstrong 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.” 
 
 
 
 Bravo launched the successful Real Housewives franchise in 2006 with The Real Housewives of Orange County. In subsequent years, the show expanded to New York City, Atlanta, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., Miami, and Beverly Hills. Before cameras, women in the casts have experienced divorce, problems with their children, foreclosure, and bankruptcy. 
 
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 Off camera there have been two deaths as well: the fiancé of Gretchen Rossi and the ex-husband of Tammy Knickerbocker, both of Orange County, died of natural causes. 
 
 Thom Beers, executive producer of several testosterone-fueled documentary-style programs that follow men whose livelihoods force them to confront death on a regular basis, has dealt with the passing of three cast members over the course of his career. The death that garnered the most attention was the sudden passing of Capt. Phil Harris on Discovery’s Deadliest Catch in 2010, who appeared to be recovering from a stroke he suffered while filming. Harris asked for production to continue, which allowed the cameras to capture his unexpected death and earned the series an Emmy nomination. 
 
 “What happened on Housewives is a tragedy,” Beers said Tuesday. “The challenge is that when it happens, the shows are already in the can. It casts a pall over the whole production because the shows start airing, and there’s nothing you can do. This thing has happened that you’re not addressing because the show was in the can already, and it just becomes very weird. It really affects the spirit of the entire production.” 
 
 Season 2 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills was scheduled to premiere on Sept. 5. In a trailer for the upcoming episodes, Taylor Armstrong appears several times, at one point tearfully saying to cast mate Adrienne Maloof, “I feel like I’m breaking.” Maloof responds: “You are. You’re having a nervous breakdown.” 
 
 The Daily Beast emailed Bravo for a response to Russell Armstrong’s attorney’s accusation that being on the show created undue financial pressure on the couple, and to ask whether the season premiere will air as planned, how much the dissolution of the Armstrong marriage would be featured during the season, and whether the show would be changed or reedited at all because of the news. A network spokesperson said no decisions have been made as of yet. ||||| Unscripted 
 
 Two weeks before the season-two premiere of 'Beverly Hills,’ Taylor Armstrong’s estranged husband, Russell, is dead in a suicide. Kate Aurthur and Maria Elena Fernandez on the couple’s money woes and on-camera unraveling—and Bravo’s plans for the show. 
 
 Update: On Wednesday afternoon, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Coroner's office confirmed the police department's early findings that Armstrong hanged himself. Toxicology results are pending, the spokesman said. 
 
 
 
 The women of Bravo’s phenomenally successful Real Housewives reality TV franchise have experienced—on camera—divorce, problems with their children, foreclosure, and bankruptcy. Off camera there have been three deaths as well: the fiancé of Gretchen Rossi and the ex-husband of Tammy Knickerbocker, both of Orange County, died of natural causes; and the ex-fiancé of Atlanta’s Kandi Burruss was beaten to death in a fight at a club. 
 
 And now there has been an apparent suicide. Russell Armstrong, the 47-year-old husband of Taylor Armstrong, 40, of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, was found dead Monday night, two weeks before the premiere of the show’s second season. He had been staying in West Los Angeles on Mulholland Drive with a friend, who discovered Armstrong hanged in his bedroom, according to a detective from the Los Angeles Police Department who spoke with The Daily Beast. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene, a police spokesman said. A representative from the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said Armstrong’s death does appear to be a suicide but that an autopsy will be conducted within two days. The news was first reported by TMZ. 
 
 During the first season of Beverly Hills, Russell was portrayed as a grumpy-at-best partner, leaving parties in a sulk, buying his daughter a dog she was allergic to without seeming to care, and coming across as cold and uncomfortable. Taylor often talked about the sadness in her marriage to other cast members. “My marriage is the worst it’s ever been,” she told the cameras. “I just feel that something has to change.” The season ended with the couple trying to work out their problems. “We definitely agreed that we wanted to keep our family together,” Taylor said during a reunion of the cast, filmed in early January. The couple had been married for six years and had a 5-year-old daughter, Kennedy. 
 
 But the reconciliation did not last. Taylor filed for divorce on July 15, citing irreconcilable differences. In an interview with People magazine around the same time, she said that her husband had physically abused her. Russell told People: “Did I push her? Yes, maybe things happened in the heat of the moment, but it was during a time in our lives that was not characteristic of who we were. This show has literally pushed us to the limit.” (The divorce petition filed in downtown Los Angeles Superior Court, viewed by The Daily Beast on Tuesday, makes no mention of abuse or domestic violence.) 
 
 Season two of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills—part of a franchise that has expanded since the 2006 launch of Orange County to New York City, Atlanta, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., and Miami—is scheduled to premiere on Sept. 5. Asked whether the show will air as planned, how much the dissolution of the Armstrong marriage will be featured during the season, and whether the show will be changed or reedited in the wake of Russell’s death, a network spokesperson said no decisions have been made. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the channel’s executives plan to wait “at least 24 hours to make a decision about whether they’ll postpone the show.” 
 
 Russell does not appear in the premiere, which has already been sent out to the press. “He was not happy about how he thought the show would portray him,” Russell Armstrong’s attorney, Ronald Richards, reached on Tuesday, told The Daily Beast. But the couple’s marital problems are front and center, plot-wise. In her first scene, Taylor goes shopping for lingerie with friends in order to “spice up my love life” with Russell. She says they are in couple's therapy. 
 
 The therapy comes up again later in the episode under more fraught circumstances. At a dinner party with the whole cast and their spouses—except for Russell—Taylor feels that Ken Todd, the husband of Lisa Vanderpump, is judging her for needing professional help to save her marriage. She breaks down in tears and leaves the table. 
 
 When she returns, the confrontation continues. “We were at the end of our rope,” she tells Todd. “I’m really fragile right now. I’m going through so much—it’s a lot.” 
 
 In confessional interviews to the camera, fan favorites Ken and Lisa do not appear to be sympathetic to Taylor. Ken says, “It seems to me that Taylor can turn on the waterworks whenever she wants to.” 
 
 “Taylor’s very manipulative,” Lisa says. She later adds, “Her mood goes up and down like the whore’s drawers.” 
 
 In a trailer for the upcoming season, Taylor appears to be crying several times, at one point tearfully saying to cast mate Adrienne Maloof, “I feel like I’m breaking.” Adrienne responds: “You are. You’re having a nervous breakdown.” 
 
 Reality television has faced dilemmas over whether to air tragedies before. In 1994, MTV’s third season of The Real World cast the HIV-positive Pedro Zamora, and his death that same year was memorialized in a special tribute program. At the opposite end of the spectrum, when in 2009 Ryan Jenkins, a contestant on VH1’s dating show Megan Wants a Millionaire, murdered his wife and then committed suicide rather than be arrested, the network pulled the show off the air and scrapped it. 
 
 Thom Beers, executive producer of several testosterone-fueled documentary-style programs that follow men whose livelihoods force them to confront death on a regular basis, has dealt with the passing of three cast members. The sudden death, on camera, of Capt. Phil Harris of Discovery’s Deadliest Catch in 2010 garnered the most attention. Harris, who appeared to be recovering from a stroke he suffered while filming, asked for production to continue, allowing the cameras to capture his unexpected death. The series earned an Emmy nomination. 
 
 “What happened on Housewives is a tragedy,” Beers said Tuesday. “It casts a pall over the whole production because the shows start airing, and there’s nothing you can do … It really affects the spirit of the entire production.” 
 
 According to Richards, the venture capitalist was suffering from financial difficulties made worse by lavish spending he and his wife felt was required by the show. Richards was representing him in the divorce and in a $1.5 million lawsuit filed against the couple last month, alleging they had bilked people in an Internet medical scam. “People start making financial decisions based upon what’s best for the TV show instead of what’s best for them,” Richards told The Daily Beast. “So it creates a horrible cycle of bad decisions that start to pile upon one another.” 
 
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 A Bravo spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on this assertion. 
 
 Richards talked to his client regularly and said that when he spoke to Russell two days ago he seemed depressed about his divorce and the pending lawsuit, but not at a level that worried Richards. 
 
 “He had the normal depression that you would expect based on being in a lawsuit and a divorce, but nothing beyond the ordinary,” he said. “I was not concerned. This is very tough on all levels.” 
 
 Armstrong is survived by his daughter with Taylor and two sons from previous relationships. Through her manager, Robert Thorne, Taylor Armstrong said in a statement that she 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.” 
 
 In January, Russell Armstrong talked to The Daily Beast for a story about the husbands of Real Housewives. “I didn’t really understand what we were getting into,” he said at the time. “I don’t really watch reality television.” ||||| On Bravo's "Real Housewives" franchise, a main character is affluence. It takes many forms: private planes, posh mansions, thousand-dollar shopping sprees. And it seemed Russell Armstrong and his wife, Taylor, who appeared on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," had been living up to the lifestyle. 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.On Monday night, Russell Armstrong, 47, was found dead in an apparent suicide, and facts began to emerge Tuesday that raise questions about how the program presented the couple and whether the resulting glare of publicity played any role in his death.For one, it appears the Armstrongs were far less wealthy than viewers might have surmised. Russell Armstrong, who described himself as a venture capitalist, was a struggling entrepreneur who racked up $12 million in debts in the tech bust and was recently sued with his wife for allegedly diverting investors' money to redecorate a Bel-Air mansion and hobnob with the truly wealthy." 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,' I think, was [Russell's] downfall. The TV show put a lot of pressure on him to produce financially. You're on a show with a couple like the Maloofs, who are verifiable billionaires, and you're not," said friend William Ratner, referring to "Housewives" personality Adrienne Maloof, whose family owns the Sacramento Kings and their home arena as well as Las Vegas' Palms casino resort.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). As a result, he had been staying with a friend at his home on the 1400 block of Mulholland Drive. 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. She requests privacy at this time so that she may comfort her young daughter."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.The "Real Housewives" franchise, which launched in 2006 and followed five women living in Orange County, has become one of Bravo's most lucrative brands, expanding into multiple locations including New Jersey, New York City and Atlanta. Much of its appeal centers on its protagonists' opulent lifestyles and the over-the-top drama surrounding them. 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.The first season of the "Beverly Hills" edition came to a close in January, when its finale episode drew an impressive 2.76 million viewers. In the series, Russell was portrayed as the strait-laced husband — he left parties early and his wife complained he was unaffectionate, which seemed to be at the core of the couple's struggles. Taylor, at one point, referred to their marriage as a "business partnership."Much of the second season was supposed to document her struggle to keep the marriage intact. 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.Ratner, a Los Angeles restaurant investor, said he last saw Armstrong in June and that his friend already knew a divorce was coming."I went in and talked with him, and he said, 'I don't know why she's doing this. Why can't she do this off the show?' He said there were still two weeks left of shooting and he didn't want to be in it," Ratner explained. "He said the producers at Bravo told Russell and Taylor that they picked them as the 'disaster couple,' and if they weren't going to have drama in the second season, they would cut them and replace them with someone else."Asked to respond to Ratner's assertions, a Bravo representative said "Production has assured us that there is no truth to these claims." 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.""He helped build the brand and the show, and it's unfortunate how things worked out because right when her brand became valuable and he thought he could get endorsements for different products, this happened," he said. "When you join these shows, you end up trying to support an imaginary lifestyle that's on the show. He was forced to do that because a character loses their brand value if they don't and diverts the segment on to other characters."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." (None of these allegations was included in her divorce filing.)"Did I push her? Yes, maybe things happened in the heat of the moment, but it was during a time in our lives that was not characteristic of who we were," Russell Armstrong responded in the article. "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. He was sentenced to three days in county jail, 50 hours community service and 36 months summary probation. ||||| By Radar Staff 
 
 Russell Armstrong broke down just days before he committed suicide and admitted to a friend that reality TV had destroyed his life. 
 
 In an exclusive interview with RadarOnline.com Tom Vickers reveals how in his final days Russell was ‘somber’ and ‘withdrawn’ and blamed Real Housewives for turning his life upside down. 
 
 “It’s terrible news,” said the photographer, who forged a friendship with Russell over recent months and last spoke to him on August 4. “But during our phone call he didn’t sound like the Russell that I knew. 
 
 PHOTOS: Russell Armstrong and Taylor Armstrong In Happier Times 
 
 “He was down in the dumps over the latest allegations that he had abused Taylor. I told him people don’t believe everything they read and he told me; ‘It’s funny how a reality show can ruin your entire life.'” 
 
 At the time of his death he was facing divorce drama with Taylor who accused him of physically abusing her. 
 
 PHOTOS: Celebs Who Died Young 
 
 But while he vehemently denied laying a finger on her, Vickers said he didn’t feel up to telling his side of the story. 
 
 “He told me the allegations were absolutely not true and that he wanted people to hear that from him. But he admitted he was too emotional and that there was too much to handle. 
 
 PHOTOS: Celebrities Who Died In Bizarre Circumstances 
 
 “He said: ‘I hope when I’m ready to speak people will be kind to me.’ 
 
 “I don’t know what has happened with him in the past, but I do know that he seemed like a really good man. He was always cheerful and he had a real Southern charm about him. 
 
 PHOTOS: The Real Houswives Of Beverly Hills In Hawaii 
 
 “It’s a really sad time and I’m sure there will be a lot of people who will miss him.” 
 
 Russell was found hanged in a house in Beverly Hills on Monday night. 
 
 RELATED STORIES: 
 
 Russell And Taylor Armstrong’s Marriage Counselor Reacts To Suicide 
 
 Russell Armstrong’s Ex-Wife Says ‘Taylor Drove Him’ To Suicide 
 
 ‘Real Housewives’ Taylor Armstrong ‘Hysterical’ After Estranged Husband’s Suicide 
 
 ‘Real Housewives’ Russell Armstrong Commits Suicide ||||| By Amber Goodhand – Radar Reporter 
 
 Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Russell Armstrong had secrets about his sexual preference that were about to be revealed, and RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned that some were already discovered by his estranged wife, Taylor Armstrong. 
 
 According to sources close to the 47-year-old, he was bisexual and worried that a tell-all book was going to out him, along with Taylor. 
 
 PHOTOS: Russell Armstrong and Taylor Armstrong In Happier Times 
 
 “About six months ago Taylor confided in a close friend that she’d found history for a gay website called Adam4Adam.com on Russell’s laptop,” the insider told RadarOnline.com. 
 
 “He was also spending a lot of time at the gym, but his body wasn’t changing, which she claims led her to believe he was meeting with men he’d met off the website and not spending time working out as he claimed.” 
 
 The insider also tells RadarOnline.com that when Russell was approached for comment about the impending tell-all book, it included great detail about what he liked in the bedroom. 
 
 PHOTOS: Celebrities Who Died In Bizarre Circumstances 
 
 “Not only was it going to come out that Russell was bisexual, but there were people on the record that were going to talk about the kind of sex he liked,” the source said. “He was into S&M type stuff; choking, rough-housing and slapping.” 
 
 Ronald Richards, Russell Armstrong’s attorney tells RadarOnline.com “As Russell Armstrong’s attorney engaged for these type of claims, I’m unaware of the existence of any book, and unaware of any information about any adultery. I believe any claim would be false.” 
 
 The businessman had a history of violence in his past, including allegations of abuse by Taylor and restraining orders filed against him by his ex-wife and an ex-girlfriend. 
 
 PHOTOS: The Real Houswives Of Beverly Hills In Hawaii 
 
 As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Russell’s ex-wife attributes his suicide to his relationship with Taylor and the pressures of being on the hit Bravo TV show, along with immense financial hardship. 
 
 Russell was found hanged in the bedroom of a friend’s home on Monday night and pronounced dead at 8:16 p.m. by the Los Angeles City Fire Department. 
 
 The new season of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is set to premiere on Bravo on September 5. It’s not known how Bravo will deal with the tragedy. 
 
 RELATED STORIES: 
 
 Russell Armstrong Was ‘Concerned And Scared’ For Tell-All Book 
 
 Russell Armstrong Told Pal Just Before Suicide: ‘Reality TV Ruined My Life’ 
 
 Russell Armstrong’s Ex-Wife Says ‘Taylor Drove Him’ To Suicide
– After Russell Armstrong's suicide, one question is apparently on everyone's mind: Is Real Housewives to blame? The Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, and two separate Daily Beast stories all delve into that question, noting that Armstrong's marriage troubles were splashed all over television during the first season of the franchise's Beverly Hills version. Sources say the show pressured the Armstrongs to live beyond their means—they were actually millions in debt and being sued by investors—and also pressured them to ramp up the drama in their relationship. Radar reports that Armstrong told a friend, days before his death, that reality TV had ruined his "entire life." But Armstrong's ex-wife blames estranged wife Taylor, from whom Armstrong was getting divorced. "She's bad news and she drove him into this," the ex tells Radar. "I don't think it was the show. I think she drove him into financial stress and it just ruined him." Radar offers up another possible reason: A tell-all was about to be published, and would reveal that he was bisexual and may have had affairs with men. As for the second season of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, no word yet on whether its Sept. 5 premiere date will be pushed back.