"Real Housewives" Russell Armstrong Commits Suicide

[Kimberlyd125]

I don't think promoting her book is trying to garner sympathy, I think she's trying to pay off some of the debt Russell left her holding while telling her story and helping others.

But, that's just my opinion.

I don't see how bashing an abused women (let's not forget the abuser admitted it) will help anyone in that article or anywhere else, here included.

 

[Kimberlyd125]

"I have a titanium mesh implant holding up my right eye right now, so I don't know what more radiographic evidence you need than that."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...ns-live-taylor-armstrong-video_n_1262009.html

 

[Kimberlyd125]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...lor-Armstrong-WAS-abused-husband-Russell.html

'Taylor WAS abused by Russell Armstrong, and it was not the first time': Experts weigh in on shocking images of bruised and battered reality star

The program alleges that Taylor said her horrific injuries were a result of a fight with Russell Armstrong, but that 'her husband arrived at the hospital and she soon changed her story to say her daughter accidentally kicked her in the face, so a doctor did not file a report.'

Mrs Armstrong underwent surgery to re-attach a broken membrane in her eye and went into hiding for the next few weeks.




Looking at the harrowing images of Taylor's bruised and batter face, Dr Murray says: 'This is really serious physical assault. Perhaps someone taking her head from behind and slamming it into a table.'



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[Hopeful One]

People really don't believe her?? And of course Russell's family and friends defend him. What is he going to do? Beat her in front of them?? No! Abusers are smarter than that!! They don't want ANYONE to know the truth about them!

I can't believe she's being victimized again by people saying she's lying. Just like victims of rape, no one believes them. I think it's really sad and black eye (pardon the pun) on our society.

 

[believe09]

From the daily beast:

Asked why she would stay the next day and party at the pool with a black eye, Taylor said, “No, no. I had orbital floor blowout—never a black eye from the punch.” But if Taylor didn’t have a black eye, then what was the photograph shown on Dr. Phil? “That,” she told The Daily Beast, was a picture taken after her July 5, 2011, reconstructive surgery, which included inserting titanium mesh inside her orbital floor to, literally, keep her eyeball in the socket.

And:

Asked why several contemporaneous photographs taken of her showed no sign of any eye injury, Taylor said it was because Russell’s half-open handed jab had caught his knuckle in her eye socket in such a way as to cause only internal injuries, not external injuries. She said the whole thing was made worse because she’d had Lasik surgery shortly before the punch, and the force of the blow had dislodged and wrinkled the (cornea) flap that had been cut during surgery.

Now IIRC up thread here someone mentioned Lasik Surgery and the photos of the black eye. So if she had a wrinkled cornea from June to July, how could she see? Just wondering. In a nutshell, using her own words, there was no visible injury until she had surgery in July. She never complained about her eye, either on or off the camera apparently. :waitasec:

The article goes on to detail the evolving, fluid story regarding a jaw injury as well.

Regardless of whether or not her injuries occurred at the hands of Russell, she needs to get her stories straight.

I find it interesting that she didnt know Russell was planning on leaving her.

 

[Kimberlyd125]

People really don't believe her?? And of course Russell's family and friends defend him. What is he going to do? Beat her in front of them?? No! Abusers are smarter than that!! They don't want ANYONE to know the truth about them!

I can't believe she's being victimized again by people saying she's lying. Just like victims of rape, no one believes them. I think it's really sad and black eye (pardon the pun) on our society.

ITA!!!

It was mentioned in this thread that the bruising around her eye looked like bruising from LASIK.

I've been trying to see if that was true. The pics I've found of LASIK bruising was nowhere near as bad as Taylor's.

Taylor did have LASIK surgery on that eye 5 says before her injury from Russells hands. But, from what I've seen and read, it would not have caused that much bruising. And it would definitely not have caused a titanium mesh implant.

 

[Kimberlyd125]

From the daily beast:



And:



Now IIRC up thread here someone mentioned Lasik Surgery and the photos of the black eye. So if she had a wrinkled cornea from June to July, how could she see? Just wondering. In a nutshell, using her own words, there was no visible injury until she had surgery in July. She never complained about her eye, either on or off the camera apparently. :waitasec:

The article goes on to detail the evolving, fluid story regarding a jaw injury as well.

Regardless of whether or not her injuries occurred at the hands of Russell, she needs to get her stories straight.

I find it interesting that she didnt know Russell was planning on leaving her.

Right!!! Internal injuries that caused the reconstruction that caused the bruising?

Ok.

Still... He caused it.

I hate when victims become the blamed.

 

[Hopeful One]

ITA!!!

It was mentioned in this thread that the bruising around her eye looked like bruising from LASIK.

I've been trying to see if that was true. The pics I've found of LASIK bruising was nowhere near as bad as Taylor's.

Taylor did have LASIK surgery on that eye 5 says before her injury from Russells hands. But, from what I've seen and read, it would not have caused that much bruising. And it would definitely not have caused a titanium mesh implant.

My husband has LASIK surgery and never had any bruising whatsoever. Everyone I've known who has had the surgery didn't have any bruising. I'm not saying it doesn't happen but just because she had bruising, that doesn't mean it HAD to be from LASIK.

 

[Kimberlyd125]

A source close to Taylor reveals that she underwent Lasik eye surgery on July 5. Days later, the source claims that she was hit by Russell so hard that her corneal flap was dislocated.

For the rest of the month of July, Taylor was not seen in public as her injuries healed. Her first public appearance after that was on August 1, at a press tour promoting season two of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

http://www.etonline.com/news/114260_ET_has_First_Interview_with_Taylor_Armstrong/index.html








The shocking hospital bed snapshots show Armstrong with a hematoma on her forehead and a swollen and deeply blackened right eye that required surgery, Entertainment Tonight reported.

The "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star had undergone Lasik eye surgery just days before on July 5 and the beating that landed her in the hospital was so bad she needed surgery to repair her corneal flap, an unnamed source told ET.

http://articles.nydailynews.com/201...5_1_hospital-workers-domestic-violence-photos






A source tells ET that Taylor underwent Lasik eye surgery on July 5, but that her corneal flap was dislocated several days later when Russell hit her. Taylor did not make any public appearances until Aug. 1.

http://tv.yahoo.com/news/taylor-armstrong-admit-husbands-abuse-first-interview-since-221800726.html

 

[Kimberlyd125]

&#8220;My jaw (was) not in the place that it was supposed to be, there was saliva running out of my mouth, and I was thinking to myself, &#8216;How am I not going to call an ambulance? How am I going to protect him? I don&#8217;t want him to go to jail. And what am I going to do if I can&#8217;t get my jaw back in place?&#8217;&#8221; she told "Today" host Savannah Guthrie.

&#8220;How pathetic. How sad,&#8221; Russell Armstrong&#8217;s sister Laurie Kelsoe told the Daily News Monday. &#8220;She says she wants to protect their daughter. Does she not know she&#8217;s doing the most hurtful thing possible saying these things about my niece&#8217;s father in a book?&#8221;

Kelsoe has questioned the abuse allegations in the past, and Taylor Armstrong returned fire Monday by calling Kelsoe a meth addict for five of the six years she was married to Russell Armstrong.

http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/t...etrayal-slams-sister-in-law-article-1.1018122

 

[Kimberlyd125]

More on the eye injury:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...g-details-abusive-marriage-new-tell-book.html



'Russell smashed my head on windows, punched me in the eye and called me a ': Real Housewives' Taylor Armstrong details abusive marriage in new tell-all book

Taylor also details an occasion where Russell's violent behaviour landed her in hospital after he suspected her of sleeping with a Chippendales dancer during Lisa Vanderpump's daughter's bachelorette party in Las Vegas.
Tests on her bruised and black eye - the result of Russell's punch - revealed that 40 per cent of the bone which supports the eye had been fractured and that Taylor would need reconstructive surgery which involved titanium implants.

'The pain was excruciating. I could tell that something was very wrong with my vision,' Taylor remembers. 'This whole time Russell was glaring at me. "You're so dramatic," he said. "You're fine."

 

[Kimberlyd125]

I remember watching the shows during this time and had never put the timeline together.
I did not realize the "fight" was over the party in Vegas.

But, not long after Pandi's party in Vegas, the couples took a trip to Hawaii.
Taylor did not go.

Kyle and Lisa got a phonecall from Taylor saying her marriage was over. She was very upset during the call.

When they got back from Hawaii, Taylor had a make up covered bruise on her eye.
Lisa asked her if that was what it took for Taylor to leave and Taylor said, "This time I really got hurt".

So, it all makes sense to me now.

The timeline fits perfectly.

There is NO DOUBT in my mind that this man abused Taylor.
I can only hope she is able to break the cycle and that the next person she dates will not be an abuser. I hope Kennedy does not grow up to be a submissive abused wife. She saw and heard so much during her young life.

 

[Kimberlyd125]

I've never been physically abused, so maybe I just don't understand. But how can she miss and love someone (everyday) that knocks her in the jaw? I can say I was emotionally abused by an ex who cheated on me (and gave me an STD). I can honestly say I loathe the guy to this date and probably wouldn't blink if he was hit by a truck.

But when I hear her say how much she misses him I just don't get it. Is that survivor guilt or something?

MOO

Mel

She explained this on the RHW reunion show the other night.

She said she realizes its very hard for people to understand, but after years of being controlled, when you don't have it anymore you miss it and you are unsure what to say or do. Because you have had someone tell you every step to make and everything you should or should not say.

She said she had low self esteem before they met and his control helped her in a weird way.

Melanie:

Here are her words regarding your question...

“The terrible truth is that I felt lost without the control that Russell had imposed on me for the nearly six years that we were married. Disturbingly, I missed that control. I didn’t know what to do once I had no one there to tell me how to dress, act, and behave; what to want; and who, even, to be. In some ways, I missed the abuse. I missed the pain. I missed being scared. Not because I liked feeling any of that. But because it was the life I had become accustomed to, and without anyone to be afraid of, to apologize to, and to cover for, I felt completely lost.”

—TAYLOR ARMSTRONG

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hid...ean=9781451677713&itm=1&usri=taylor+armstrong

 

[Hopeful One]

And because these women become so beaten down that they don't know any better and they think they don't deserve any better.

I don't "understand" it either because I've never experienced it. But I do know a few women in my life who have been abused and they kept going back. They believed the man's lies, his apologies, his excuses. It's not right and it doesn't seem fathomable, but it happens and it's very real. Very serious. This is how women get killed by their abusers. They keep going back and they stay and stay. They don't know any better, they don't know how to get out, and even if they do know how, they're scared.

 

[Joe Friday]

If he was that controlling why did he let her do the show in the first place? Money?

You would think if he was abusing her, he might have thought he would be exposed when Taylor got around the other ladies and started talking. Just as it played out on the show.

Most control freaks will not let their victims out of their sights, much less go away out of town alone. Taylor I think took trips with the other ladies on the show to places like Las Vegas if memory serves me correctly. I'm really surprised that Russell would have let her go out of town for a day or two alone, if he was so controlling that he told her how to dress, act and behave as she has stated.

JMO

 

[Kimberlyd125]

He didn't "let" her do the show. They BOTH signed on to do the show.

From what I read, he did it for the money and she says she thought it would give her some protection.

 

[Kimberlyd125]

When the girls went to Vegas, the marriage was on again off again.

He beat the crap out of her when she got back and put her in the hospital.
I guess he showed her!

IMO its not a matter of "if" he abused her.

 

[krimekat]

Respectfully, I think Taylor has played this "poor me" role her entire life. I believe recently she's been projecting what she learned while volunteering at the Women's Shelter. In my opinion her world came crashing down when Camille Grammer outed her on RHoBH -- she shared dirty laundry with her new friends in Beverly Hills that was not even truth.

I am not bashing abused women as I've seen my fair share of violence, but I do have issue with someone basking in the glory of sympathy & continuing a life of lies. I don't believe she was ever abused by Russell in the manner she is saying. I also do not believe she was abused as a child, an adolescent or an adult except for the abuse she created on her own. My opinion is she is a wolf in sheep's clothing.

I do believe Russell's actions were his own because of financial problems coupled with the abuse that was exposed on RHoBH. Never once in 2 years have I seen Taylor shy away from the camera or with a black eye, a busted lip (LOL), an arm in a sling, limping, bruised, scratched, etc. Why have a $60K bday party for your daughter when you are in financial ruins?

My opinion has been formed by sleuthing her on the 'net & watching RHoBH for 2 seasons. I also have the pleasure of knowing women who act just like Taylor. Many of her family members, friends and former business partners have a lot to say about her.

Shana Hughes Taylor Ford Armstrong of the Ford Motor Company -- please!

Again, I had Lasix surgery & my eye looked exactly like hers in the pic above -- not buying it.

I love to read everyone's opinions & respect what you think. I'm just not buying what Shana is selling . . .

 

[Kimberlyd125]

If he didn't abuse her, how did she wind up with a severely fractured orbital bone that required mesh implants?

 

[Kimberlyd125]

Respectfully, I think Taylor has played this "poor me" role her entire life. I believe recently she's been projecting what she learned while volunteering at the Women's Shelter. In my opinion her world came crashing down when Camille Grammer outed her on RHoBH -- she shared dirty laundry with her new friends in Beverly Hills that was not even truth.

I am not bashing abused women as I've seen my fair share of violence, but I do have issue with someone basking in the glory of sympathy & continuing a life of lies. I don't believe she was ever abused by Russell in the manner she is saying. I also do not believe she was abused as a child, an adolescent or an adult except for the abuse she created on her own. My opinion is she is a wolf in sheep's clothing.

I do believe Russell's actions were his own because of financial problems coupled with the abuse that was exposed on RHoBH. Never once in 2 years have I seen Taylor shy away from the camera or with a black eye, a busted lip (LOL), an arm in a sling, limping, bruised, scratched, etc. Why have a $60K bday party for your daughter when you are in financial ruins?

My opinion has been formed by sleuthing her on the 'net & watching RHoBH for 2 seasons. I also have the pleasure of knowing women who act just like Taylor. Many of her former friends and business partners have a lot to say about her.

Shana Hughes Taylor Ford Armstrong of the Ford Motor Company -- please!

Again, I had Lasix surgery & my eye looked exactly like hers in the pic above -- not buying it.

I love to read everyone's opinions & respect what you think. I'm just not buying what Shana is selling . . .

What Camille "called her out on" was the truth. She had shared info with the other ladies that she did not want to come out on camera because she was scared.

She was upset with the fact that Russell would know she had been telling others about the abuse.

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