The Bravo Thread

[BTFLCHLD]

interesting. in the midst of divorce; frantic and worried. sounds like there were indicators of his mindset. very unfortunate there wasn't an intervention. and if there were attempts, they were obviously unsuccessful. sad. hope he found peace.

[fringed n fab]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

Are you kidding? Andy Cohen must be doing a happy dance right now. This guarantees huge ratings for the show, and the timing could not be more perfect.
Okay... I feel terrible for his family and everyone close to him. But sadly he pretty much dug the hole that collapsed on top of him. Perhaps he should have used his first bankruptcy as a lesson about living within ones own means and living a modest life. Was it necessary to take on a materialistic duck-billed trophy wife who spends $20,000 on a 3-year-old's birthday party? And lo and behold, once the gravy train went into collections, Taylor jumped. Figures. BH and OC must be chock full of these fakes who hide their bulging debts and foreclosures behind facades of perfectly manicured lawns and fake tans (Alexis and Jim Bellino, I'm looking in your direction!). I realize these Housewives shows are supposed to show sneering examples of the most vile humans walking amongst us, but one would hope that there is at least some shred of humanity or some shred of decency that ultimately saves them from their own self-destruction. In his case, apparently not. I hear there's trouble in shangri-la.

I agree with you on the ratings, that's a sad fact for these shows. And why it's hard to accept Andy and Bravo's sincere disappointment in something like this.

I don't watch or care about most of these "reality" scripted shows, but I did watch HW of BH and it was the only HW show I got into. But geez, are those some of the most fake acting people and lifestyles out there? I could never get glitzed up nightly, going to party after party being kissed on the cheek by people who couldn't give a sh*t about you really. I just could never be around fake people as that. No matter how many millions you might have in the bank. Real everyday people do not act so false as that. Why is Hollywood so phony?

[fringed n fab]

I also found it ridiculous her spending thousands of dollars on a childs birthday party, clearly one a kid wasn't even interested in. Kids need a nice cake and some friends and some punch and games and they're happy. You don't need a 60,000 birthday tab for them.

[GODDESS6]

Originally Posted by fringed n fab

I also found it ridiculous her spending thousands of dollars on a childs birthday party, clearly one a kid wasn't even interested in. Kids need a nice cake and some friends and some punch and games and they're happy. You don't need a 60,000 birthday tab for them.

i know right?, that party was for taylor not kennedy~ kennedy would rather play on the swing w/ her nanny~ taylor was the one dancing on the tables having photos taken of herself~

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by fringed n fab

I agree with you on the ratings, that's a sad fact for these shows. And why it's hard to accept Andy and Bravo's sincere disappointment in something like this.

I don't watch or care about most of these "reality" scripted shows, but I did watch HW of BH and it was the only HW show I got into. But geez, are those some of the most fake acting people and lifestyles out there? I could never get glitzed up nightly, going to party after party being kissed on the cheek by people who couldn't give a sh*t about you really. I just could never be around fake people as that. No matter how many millions you might have in the bank. Real everyday people do not act so false as that. Why is Hollywood so phony?

I think of all of the HW shows in the franchise, the BH cast is actually, relatively speaking, the most "real" of the bunch. These are some seriously wealthy broads (with the exception of Taylor, Kim and Kyle, that is). I think the Orange County cast is the most nauseating. Every single last one of them (except Vickie) is involved in some kind of get-rich-quick scheme or involved in "businesses" like flipping houses or "designing" (i.e., pimping their names onto) clothing, handbags and jewelry that no retail store would ever touch. It's all flash and no cash. Fake, fake, fake. Nevertheless... for whatever reason, they can deliver the most fun, trashy drama on TV. I'm a fan.

[GODDESS6]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

I think of all of the HW shows in the franchise, the BH cast is actually, relatively speaking, the most "real" of the bunch. These are some seriously wealthy broads (with the exception of Taylor, Kim and Kyle, that is). I think the Orange County cast is the most nauseating. Every single last one of them (except Vickie) is involved in some kind of get-rich-quick scheme or involved in "businesses" like flipping houses or "designing" (i.e., pimping their names onto) clothing, handbags and jewelry that no retail store would ever touch. It's all flash and no cash. Fake, fake, fake. Nevertheless... for whatever reason, they can deliver the most fun, trashy drama on TV. I'm a fan.

i'm a fan as well, i watch all the franchise cities~ BH & OC being my favorites~

[gldstwmn]

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusive...claims-insider

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.

"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.

"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."

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.

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 know how Bravo will deal with the tragedy.

[GODDESS6]

New allegations that Russell was bisexual and into S&M will be coming out soon also.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/russell-arm...atest-real-hou sewives-curse/story?id=14318388

The suicide of Russell Armstrong, ex-husband of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Taylor Armstrong was the latest--and most shocking--tragedies to strike the seemingly cursed cast of the Bravo TV franchise.

At least 10 failed marriages, two bankruptcies, a foreclosure, and two deaths have plagued the glamorous women of the show since the series began in 2006. Yesterday, it was reported Taylor Armstrong, whose marriage to Russell collapsed during the filming of season two of the show, was one of the people to discover her husband's body at his Los Angeles home. Armstrong, 47, reportedly hanged himself.

At the time of his death, Armstrong was more than $1.5 million in debt as a result of trying to keep up with expectations for the lavish lifestyle portrayed on the show, his lawyer told ABCNews.com.

"These couples join these shows, and then they keep trying to outdo each other and they end up spending all their money trying to sustain a lifestyle that's unrealistic and wasn't there prior to the show," said Ronald Richards, Armstrong's attorney. "The weekly social events, the dinners and all the BS, trying to pretend you have unlimited resources in Beverly Hills is tough. When every night is a potential sound bite or posting on a website, you end up getting addicted to it, you go out all the time."

Justin Ravitz, senior editor at US Weekly, said that trouble seems to follow the casts of the show, who are under more pressure than most reality stars because of the pressure to be over-the-top.

"When you become a reality star, it puts everything under a microscope. If you have unhealthy relationships with your husband or your kid, where maybe you use money to try and make things better, all that's going to be magnified," Ravitz said.

Some of the calamities--including relationship meltdowns and financial disasters--can be fun for viewers, Ravitz said, noting that there's a certain degree of satisfaction in seeing the rich brought down to a more human level.

The $11 million bankruptcy filing of New Jersey housewife Teresa Guidice, for instance, made headlines around the country as the shopping-obsessed star and her husband headed to court to try and keep their lavish mansion in one of the most exclusive towns in New Jersey. Now, the two are being prosecuted for bankruptcy fraud in New Jersey courts.

"With Teresa, there's definitely a comeuppance issue," Ravitz said. "They lived so lavishly in New Jersey that there's some schadenfreude in [the bankruptcy]."

Contessa LuAnn de Lesseps, of the "Real Housewives of New York City," was rich, married to a French nobleman, and somewhat condescending, so when her husband left her for a younger woman, de Lesseps suddenly seemed more sympathetic to viewers, Ravitz said. When she came back the next season with a younger man and a new career as a singer, viewers cheered her on.

"It's like we raise them, knock them down, and then raise them back up again," Ravitz said.

Before Armstrong's suicide, another death plagued the cast of the show. In 2009, cast member Kandi Burress lost her fiancé, A.J. Jewel, when he was struck in the head and killed by people fighting outside of an Atlanta nightclub. Audiences who had cheered the couple on during their engagement were sympathetic, Ravitz said, as the show followed her dealing with the tragedy.

[DefDumbandBlond]

It was sad to hear about, my mom and I were both pretty shocked yesterday. I can only hope although it's doubtful now with the book sh*t that the media give Taylor & her family the privacy she deserves.

[GODDESS6]

w/out russell i guess we will never know for sure if these latest allegations are true, & really who cares~ but something taylor said about russell more than once last season strikes me as odd now~ there were a few times, she said something to the effect that russell would never be caught doing this or that because he was a strapping, bull riding, cowboy man type from texas~ maybe it's nothing, but it makes one wonder now that these rumours have been slung around, why she was trying to convince the ladies that he was all man~

it's still profoundly sad~
RIP russell

[fringed n fab]

He always seemed so quiet.

[GODDESS6]

Originally Posted by fringed n fab

He always seemed so quiet.

he did, his scenes w/ his daughter were sweet & precious~ you could see how much they loved ea other~ makes me so sad for that little girl~

[fumidesigns]

Originally Posted by fringed n fab

He always seemed so quiet.

those r the ones! always!

sad that the rumours r flying now tho. i feel bad for that lil girl still. she's so young. babies don't deserve this........really no one does, but especially not kids.

[skcin]

Anyone watching Top Chef Just Desserts? Next week is a Willy Wonka-inspired episode.

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by skcin

Anyone watching Top Chef Just Desserts? Next week is a Willy Wonka-inspired episode.

I am insanely jealous of people who get to sit around and judge desserts for a living. Really? They pay you to do that? One of the chefs made a saffron cake. I mean, how rare is that? A little glass vial containing a few stigmas of saffron at the local supermarket is like $30.00