Days after granting Entertainment Tonight her first interview since the suicide of her estranged husband, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Taylor Armstrong sat down with Dr. Phil for another interview.
It appeared no topics were off limits as Dr. Phil hit Taylor, 40, with the hard questions. Taylor was asked to explain her name change, her lavish spending despite financial turmoil, and whether or not she believes the housewives contributed to Russell Armstrong’s death. Below are the highlights –
Taylor On Name Change – Early on in the interview, Dr. Phil asked Taylor about her name changes, most notably changing her last name to ‘Ford’ before she married Russell. Reports had stated she would tell people she was related to the Ford auto family. Taylor however claimed she changed her name in honor of the fashion designer Tom Ford. “I’m a big fan of Tom Ford and he’s a designer. Tom Ford, Taylor Ford, it’s similar so I just decided to legally change it,” said Taylor.
From Oklahoma To Beverly Hills – Taylor was also asked how she went from a small town girl from Oklahoma to having her life in disarray in Beverly Hills. “I believe that the majority of it stems from a lack of self-esteem, having abandonment issues and clinging to a relationship because I never addressed my own self-esteem issues. And I was willing to put my own well being aside.” She added that her lack of self-esteem came from growing up in an abusive household without a father, adding that she had a lot of “shame.”
Taylor’s Reasons For Doing RHOBH – “I would say that my primary motivation for doing the show was because I was in a dangerous situation in my home life and I felt like there was protection offered to me by having cameras in my life because how’s anything going to happen if there’s a camera there to document everything.”
Why Did Russell Do The Show? – Dr. Phil wondered why Russell, whom Taylor says physically abused her regularly, would agree to do a reality show. Taylor stated Russell simply felt he was untouchable: “There was a part of him that thought that he was impenetrable and that the world would fall in love with him.” When asked if she would do the show all over again knowing what she knows now, Taylor responded: “I don’t think the end result of what happened in the Tornado would have been any different with or without the camera present.”
Did RHOBH Contribute To Russell’s Death? – Taylor made it clear that the reality show should not be blamed for Russell’s suicide stating: “If we peel back the onion a little bit. The fact is that all the things again that he was concerned about coming out were a reality. The bankruptcy, the police reports about physical abuse in the past, me having reconstructive surgery on my eye — all of that was factual. That was reality.”
She added,”The fact that there was a camera sitting over here doesn’t change the fact that he made choices that were unacceptable. To feel as though that you’re going to be scrutinized for harming other people — that’s to be expected. “
Taylor Blames Finances For Russell’s Death – Taylor reveals that after spending many sleepless nights thinking about what was the final straw, she believes it was the “financial avalanche” Russell was facing. “I discover every day the gravity of what that looked like,” she said. “The one thing he wanted in his life more than anything was to be financially successful… And when he felt that he was failing at that, I think he saw the financial avalanche that was ahead of him and he felt he would never be able to crawl out from under it.”
Taylor Explains Lavish Spending – Like many others, Dr. Phil also wondered why the couple continued to spend lavishly amid financial difficulty. Most notably the now infamous $60,000 birthday birthday Taylor threw for her 5-year-old daughter Kennedy in season 1. Taylor pretty much stated that she did not pay $60,000 as the party vendors gave her free items and services in exchange for the free publicity. “Because that’s the value doesn’t mean that I wrote that check,” she added. Taylor also revealed she never had access to any of the couple’s finances.
Taylor stated that she couldn’t have been a gold digger because when she married Russell, he had just filed bankruptcy. “When I married my husband, he was penniless,” she said. She also added that Russell was “very charismatic” though he didn’t come across that way on the show.
In other news, Camille Grammer continues to get sweet revenge on her ex-husband Kelsey Grammer! Camille, 43, was pictured last night in West Hollywood as she stepped out with her new younger hotter beau! According to reports, Camille has been dating 35-year-old bankruptcy attorney Dimitri George Charalambopoulos for a few months.
“They’ve been dating for three months and she’s very into him,” a friend of Camille’s tells Life & Style. “They spend a lot of time at her house in Malibu, but he hasn’t moved in. She says the chemistry is incredible.” Photos of Camille’s boyfriend below!
Photo credit: Nikki Nelson / WENN.com
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Camille Grammer steps out with younger boyfriend Dimitri George. Photo credit: VLUV / Splash News
Another shot of Dimitri George. Photo credit: VLUV / Splash News
