Real Housewives Of New York: Words From the Peanut Gallery

One thing all the Real Housewives have in common, they can’t stand it when the attention is not on them.  During the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 2 premiere, they were tweeting furiously, as many have observed. I  asked Vicki Gunvalson, who, by the way, has signed on for a 7th season of the Real Housewives of Orange County, a question about a tweet between her and boyfriend Brooks Ayers last night:

Me:

@vgunvalson @wallstreet0705 ok, i bite, got married? tell us during #rhobh , lol

Her answer:

vgunvalsonVicki Gunvalson

@absurd2sublime @wallstreet0705 Nope.. No marriage.. Just really happy !

RHONY, three weeks after Russell Armstrong’s death, gave this to People.com, about an hour before the premiere:

 

Just ahead of the season 2 premiere of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills on Monday, the stars of The Real Housewives of New York City are opening up about the suicide of Taylor Armstrong’s estranged husband, Russell.
“That made me cry,” Ramona Singer told PEOPLE before heading off to spend the Labor Day weekend aboard a 150-ft. yacht in Newport, R.I., and Nantucket, Mass. “[Taylor is] lovely and it’s hitting her hard. The night before the memorial service, I had dinner with [Taylor's costars] Lisa Vanderpump and Kyle Richards and we talked about it. And they’ve been so supportive.”
While some wonder if The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills may have pushed Armstrong to his breaking point, the ladies of New York City say the show isn’t at fault.

“I think it is very tragic. But I don’t think that the reality show is to blame for his unfortunate death,” Singer said. “I think he had problems. And it’s sad when someone has so many problems, they feel the only way they can eliminate their pain is by taking their life.”
Kelly Bensimon,  who called Taylor and Russell a “lovely couple,” agrees with her costar.
“I would never blame it on the show,” Bensimon said. “You don’t know what happens behind closed doors. And no one can judge. It’s no one’s job to do that. A lot of people speculate.”
While the reality show will premiere as planned and the suicide will be addressed, some of the Housewives see the tragedy as a private matter.
“My heart goes out to her and I’m here for her. But I never intrude,” Sonja Morgan told PEOPLE. “She knows I’m here, but sometimes being helpful is just staying out of someone’s business.”
“I don’t even feel comfortable talking about that publicly,” Alex McCord said of the suicide. “We did what we did privately. And that’s that.”

Noticeably absent: Jill Zarin and LuAnn de Lesseps. As of this moment, the Real Housewives of New York have no contracts, no word yet from Bravo.  By now, they e would be in the midst of filming  the Labor Day in the Hamptons scenes, and New York Fashion Week. They have been unusually quiet on Twitter, even Simon van Kempen.  What’s Up?

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