Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip Season 2 has successfully reunited Bravo fans with some of the most memorable relics of the franchise’s past. Dorinda Medley’s Bluestone Manor serves as the iconic backdrop for new chaos. The terrible trio of Vicki Gunvalson and Tamra Judge returned with a bang. And, my personal favorite is the comeback of Miss Phaedra Parks, the queen of all confessionals.
The show also brought Real Housewives of Beverly Hills OG Taylor Armstrong back to TV. Taylor hasn’t been around for a while, but her impact on RHOBH will never be forgotten. Her tumultuous life literally was the basis for the first two seasons of the show. We saw her marriage with Russell Armstrong fall apart. She filed for divorce, spoke of her abusive marriage, and picked up the pieces for her daughter after his unexpected death. It was the first example of RHOBH exposing the skeletons in someone’s closet. Taylor’s story is still so important and distinct in its own right.
Taylor’s back and in a much better place in her life. However, since it’s been so long since we’ve seen her, she’s still stuck talking about the past. All RHOBH fans remember the moment in Season 2 when Camille Grammer outed Russell’s abuse on camera. The cracks in Taylor’s life were showing, but this was the first time it was made public. Taylor recently revisited that moment on an episode of Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef and corrected a bit of history for Real Housewives fans.
Most notably, Taylor clarified that Wendy Williams actually outed Russell’s abuse before Camille, via Page Six. Wendy has always been important to the Bravoverse, and this is another example. The moment occurred when Taylor appeared on The Wendy Williams Show prior to Season 2 in 2011. The talk show host didn’t hold back her feelings about Russell. “With all due respect, [Russell] is a disgusting man to you. It’s like abuse,” Wendy said at the time.
“And that started coming out a lot on Twitter and in the tabloids and stuff, like, it’s obvious these two have a messed up relationship,” Taylor said after Wendy’s on-screen questioning. “But [Wendy] was the first person to say it publicly.” Even though she’s moved on from this, it’s still such a harrowing situation to relive.
Taylor went on to talk about her response to Camille bringing up the abuse on RHOBH. In general, she was in shock during the moment because she knew once it was out there, it was public forever. “I knew something in my life is about to change dramatically. And that could be I could get killed, I could get divorced, or things might completely turn around and this could change my situation,” Taylor explained. “But I knew once I walk out this door, my life truly will never be the same.”
TELL US – WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT WENDY WILLIAMS BEING THE FIRST PERSON TO BRING UP RUSSELL’S ABUSE? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF TAYLOR ON RHUGT SEASON 2?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]