Most of you have probably heard about the death of Russell Armstrong, the estranged husband of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast mate, Taylor Armstrong.
I'm not going to lie. I was shocked when I heard the news. It's just so sad especially when there are children left behind.
What I was not so shocked to hear about is the fact that Russell and Taylor were spending money they didn't even have to 'keep up with the joneses'.
They did so in order to keep the persona that they were filthy rich, in order to be a member of the Housewives cast.
They did so in order to keep the persona that they were filthy rich, in order to be a member of the Housewives cast.
60K for a child's fourth birthday party? Now we're finding out they were blowing through all their savings and them some to pay for such a thing?
Word is -- Russell left behind nearly $10-million in debt.
It's just so sad!
While I love to watch the Housewives franchise on Bravo, I'm sickened at what some of these reality stars are doing in order to stay on these shows and in the limelight.
For Example:
Lynne Curtin - OC Housewives: I actually tweeted(I'm @DeNanner in case you're interested) her earlier about how I'm sure her husband can relate to what Russell was going through. If you recall, Lynne's husband allowed her and their daughter to get plastic surgery knowing they couldn't pay the rent on their house.
The season ended with them being evicted and Lynne and her husband being 'outed', that they were not in fact wealthy. They were dropped from the cast.
Teresa Guidice - NJ Housewives: She and her hubby spent..spent..spent themselves into bankruptcy. I think it got worse when they too, joined the show.
NeNe Leakes - Atlanta Housewives: We know about their money and marital problems. I've also heard that Bravo pays their monthly rent for the mansion they live in so it appears they are 'Atlanta socialites'. I'm assuming they do this because they know NeNe and her drama bring ratings.
I could go on and on about different examples when it comes to this. While I'm not a fan of Gretchen from the OC Housewives, you have to admit, she lives modestly and within her means in comparison to the rest of her bunch.
The whole point of this post is to bring to light out how networks such as Bravo and others, exploit people for ratings not giving a crap about what happens to them down the road.
I don't agree with some, that Russell killed himself because of the show, but I do think the drama of the show contributed.
I know these people sign up for this but don't you think there should be some sort of guidance given by the networks on how to deal with the fame and money?
I know the NFL does this for their incoming players.
They go through weeks of seminars on how to manage their money, be leery of gold-digging women and so forth.
Thoughts?
