In 2010, on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Taylor Armstrong was introduced to fans as an original housewife. Her quirky personality was contrasted by her dark and difficult personal life, which was put on display during her RHOBH stint. Taylor stopped being a series regular in 2014, but she has remained popular among fans of the franchise. Taylor made a cameo on The Hills season 4, alongside Linda Thompson, who is the mother of then-cast member, Brody Jenner. The future housewife appeared only briefly in a scene with Stephanie Pratt. However, Taylor got her first taste of reality TV.
Taylor was a main cast member on the first three seasons of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Her personal life was out there for everyone to see, and rumors swirled about domestic violence in her marriage to Russell Armstrong, who has passed away. He was also alleged to have had financial issues. Taylor confirmed these suspicions when she revealed that she had reconstructive surgery after sustaining an injury from physical abuse. She further dug in when she cited domestic violence in her divorce filings, shortly after the season 2 premiere.
Before the RHOBH season 2 premiere, Taylor joined her fellow housewives to tape the reunion, just weeks after her estranged husband took his own life. The season was dominated by Taylor’s storyline and her feud with Camille Grammer. Out of respect for Taylor, Russell was edited out of many scenes, but the topic of domestic violence remained prominent. Taylor’s journey to healing was captured in her third season, but she distanced herself during the subsequent two seasons, appearing only as a guest. Fans quickly took a liking to the Kansas native from season one. Taylor from RHOBH shared information about her personal life, but fought to hide certain dark secrets about her marriage. Despite the difficulties the housewife faced behind closed doors, she still managed to provide humor in her candid confessionals. Taylor is very recognizable thanks to her lip implants, which were compared to pillows by Andy Cohen. In a Bravo Insider interview, Taylor spoke about her iconic pout with regret, saying, “ They are implants, it was a mistake in my 20s, and they are here to stay.”
Autobiography & Healing
Taylor Armstrong’s book Hiding from Reality: My Story of Love, Loss, and Finding The Courage Within was published in October of 2012. Taylor shared her experience as a survivor of domestic violence, and discussed the death of her estranged husband, Russell, whom she alleges abused her physically. She continues to work as an activist, and advocates for survivors of domestic violence by giving them a voice, and talking about domestic abuse during public speaking engagements.
Couple's Therapy Appearance
In 2014, Taylor joined the Couple's Therapy cast with John Bluher, whom she was then engaged to. The show's therapist Dr. Jenn called Taylor a “diva,” but she eventually helped Taylor to recognize her own strength. Taylor and John had only been engaged for a few months when they entered therapy, but they had been experiencing trouble due to Taylor’s previous relationship. It seems their venture into therapy benefited their relationship, as they're still together.
New Marriage & Departure From The Real Housewives
RHOBH alum Taylor met attorney John Bluher when he assisted her in a legal battle that ensued after her late husband’s passing. Taylor’s late husband had been facing numerous legal troubles, which she needed to handle after his passing. Taylor married John in April of 2016, and he adopted her and Russell’s daughter, Kennedy. Taylor also stopped appearing as a RHOBH guest in 2016, after six seasons. Taylor has been open about how grateful she is for her relationship with John, telling Us Weekly, “After all the lies that were built in my previous relationship, having someone that just stood by me - even though we couldn’t stand each other for a while - it was the reason that I trusted him so much, and we became best friends.” Taylor now resides in Orange County with her husband and daughter.
“Woman Yelling at a Cat” Meme
In 2019, a snapshot of Taylor from RHOBH season 2 went viral as a meme. The image comes from a scene where Taylor got into an emotional argument with castmate Camille on the show, and it captures her as she says, “You have no idea what she’s done to me!” The meme was dubbed “woman yelling at a cat,” and features Taylor pointing and shouting, next to an image of a cat named Smudge. Taylor responded with humor by re-tweeting the meme. She proudly acknowledged that the woman in the meme was her. Taylor even tagged Camille in the tweet, and she has since reposted the meme multiple times.
Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip
She took a hiatus from Instagram from 2015 to September of 2021. Taylor’s social media presence picked up, and she began posting with fellow ex-housewives, starting with an image in the airport with Tamra Judge, who was previously on The Real Housewives of Orange County. It was announced that Taylor would be joining the cast of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Ex-Wives Club, and she confirmed her participation by posting herself filming a confessional, and added a caption about filming season 2. RHUGT brings together housewives from different franchises for one ultimate trip, but in its second season, all the women are ex-housewives. Taylor will be joined by Brandi Glanville, whom she has not spoken to since they starred alongside each other on RHOBH.
The MTV Movie & TV Awards invited Taylor and two of her RHUGT co-leads, Dorinda Medley and Tamra Judge, to present an award and promote RHUGT with an exclusive first look at the season. The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip season 2 was filmed at Dorinda's iconic Blue Stone Manor in the Berkshires, and premiered on Peacock on June 23. Taylor is iconic, and fans love seeing more of her.
Sources: Bravo Insider, Us Weekly