‘RHOBH’: Taylor Armstrong Reveals the Real Reason Why She Didn’t Leave Her Husband Russell Sooner

Taylor Armstrong from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills shared that one reason she didn’t leave her husband Russell sooner was because of money.

Like many women, Armstrong felt trapped in a bad marriage, unable to walk away because she didn’t have the capital to live independently. “I think the biggest fear with the financial control was trying to figure out how to leave because I had access to credit cards but no cash, I was terrified of how I was going to acquire an attorney or legal services, how I would ever fight a custody battle with someone whose resources were so much greater than mine and his access,” she shared on the Divorce Sucks with Laura Wasser podcast.

“He was determined to make me believe he would bankrupt me,” she continued. “Once I was living in a cardboard box, he would take custody of my child because I would be declared unfit to care for her. And when you’re living in fear and someone has a clear financial advantage over you, at the time it felt believable to me. And I feel like that’s a huge fear for people.”

Armstrong left her husband. She later found him dead due to an apparent suicide.

Taylor Armstrong’s concerns were very valid

Many married women who want a divorce find themselves in a vulnerable financial position. One woman described her financial life post-divorce. “He would not contribute to any expenses,” she told The Atlantic. “He gave me 15 days to get off his cellphone plan, and expected that I wouldn’t default on our rent, which was $1,600 a month. I sold my cellphone for food and got a prepaid number.”

Adding, “I managed to find a sympathetic lawyer to whom I still owe a ton of money,” she continued. “I sold my car and all my furniture to afford the retainer. Then I prepared and filed the initial motion myself.”

Like Armstrong, women in a down financial position may not realize they have options and may be intimidated by their ex. “I didn’t know what choices I had,” another woman told The Atlantic. “My ex scared me, and I felt I had nowhere to go. He was mentally abusive and sexually aggressive, and he threatened to drag it out in court until I lost the little savings I had left. So I cut my losses and ran.”

Armstrong described her marriage as being worn down

Armstrong detailed what her marriage was like and shared that she was on the receiving end of verbal criticism. “Definitely a lot of verbal criticism, and that wears a person down,” she recalled on the podcast.

A lot of people I talk to, I feel like emotional abuse stays with you,” Armstrong continued. “Those tapes play over and over in your head. Having a young child at home, there were times when those tapes were playing from the night before while I’m laying on the floor with a coloring book with Kennedy, but I’m not really with Kennedy; I’m still in my head or thinking about what could potentially happen later once he got home.”

Adding, “And those were really the years that I regret the most, that I didn’t find that courage to leave earlier so that I could really be more present for my child and not a constant ball of nerves.”