Debts And Divorce Led to “Real Housewives” Husband Russell Armstrong’s Death

There was no suicide note found with the dead body of Russell Armstrong, who is notable for being the husband of “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Taylor Armstrong. So when there wasn’t any note, there came plenty of speculation on what drove Russell to take his own life.

According to celebrity blog TMZ, Russell was struggling to come to terms with his looming divorce, while he had amassed tons of debt on the financial front.

Speaking in a brief sit-down with TMZ, Russell’s legal representative Ronald Richards said, “I feel bad because his credit cards weren’t working. . . . He had tremendous financial problems.”

He continued, “He was also extremely bummed out about the divorce with Taylor. As far as a will, even if he does have a will, they don’t have any assets, so I’m not sure what there would be left to leave. I am extremely saddened. . . . I had no idea he was depressed.”

Media reports suggest that Russell made a lot of money during the 90s dot-com boom but wasn’t able to manage it properly and had to file for bankruptcy in 2005. His assets at that time had shrunk to less than $50,000, while he owed millions to his creditors.

Russell and Taylor’s turbulent relationship was well documented in the “Housewives” first season. In fact, Taylor rarely left an opportunity to tell other contestants about their relationship troubles. But they had separated on amicable terms and their scheduled divorce was going smoothly, according to Taylor.

In her last interview before Russell committed suicide, she told Life & Style magazine, “We’ve been working hard to say really positive things about each other to her and to share her as best we can. We’ve had a very amicable separation. The proceedings are going smoothly, and right now – fingers crossed – I don’t anticipate anything different.”

It should be noted that Russell and Taylor’s relationship was going to be featured heavily on the next season of “Housewives,” but his untimely death has ruined a lot of plans. A silver lining could be that the showrunners can play with the whole widowhood saga.

Source: [TMZ, Life & Style]