I’ve never seen the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. But about a month ago one of the husbands of the housewives, Russell Armstrong, hanged himself with an electrical extension cord in his bedroom.
There are all sorts of questions as to whether or not reality tv or fame or debt made him commit suicide. It’s kind of hard to feel sorry for his estranged wife Taylor, as she gives post-suicide interviews to Entertainment Tonight, crocodile tears rolling down her botoxed lips.
Despite our aversion to Taylor, we must remember that she’s a victim of suicide. We must put our personal beliefs on reality trophy wives aside and recognize her sorrow.
Actually nevermind, I just read this:
“Taylor put on a brave face for the former couple’s daughter Kennedy, 5, right after Russell, 47, committed suicide by hanging himself a month ago.
“As I was laying in the street screaming, I realized that my little girl was there and I had to pull it together to get her out of there,” Taylor, 40, says in an interview airing Tuesday on ET. “I just told her that daddy got sick and he died.”
“I just told her that daddy got sick and died?!” Are you serious? She’s 5 and her father is a reality TV star. Most 5 year olds, especially in Beverly Hills, have iPhones, the internet, watch Bravo. How is you daughter going to feel when she finds out from TV or a school friend that her father was an abusive, debt ridden son of a bitch who killed himself?
Telling her daughter her dad was “sick” is not what was easiest for Taylor’s daughter, it was what was easiest for Taylor.
Here are some guidelines from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention on how to tell a young child honestly what has occurred.
They may not ask how the death occurred, but if they do, you can start by simply saying, “Daddy died by suicide, which means he killed himself.” The rest of the conversation will depend on her response to that statement.
Answer questions honestly, being careful to avoid euphemisms (such as “passed away” or “went to a better place”), which can confuse kids. The older the child, the more likely she’ll ask more direct questions. The following are some examples of honest answers:
- -he was probably suffering from an illness in his brain that made him confused, and he didn’t know he could get help
- -I don’t know—I wish I knew the answer
- -with a gun”