Real Housewives Curse Takes Tragic Turn with Russell Armstrong Suicide

Aug. 17, 2011 — -- The suicide of Russell Armstrong, husband of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Taylor Armstrong was the latest--and most shocking--tragedy 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.