Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Taylor Armstrong has detailed the horrific domestic violence she suffered at the hands of her husband before he took his own life - including how he once punched her in the face and, in a separate chilling occasion, held her underwater.
The Bravo reality star, 53, married venture capitalist Russell Armstrong in 2005.
She filed for divorce in July 2011 and he died by hanging one month later on August 15, 2011, aged 47.
In the latest episode of Investigation Discovery's documentary series Hollywood Demons, which is set to air on April 14, Taylor shared the abuse she was subjected to by Russell.
Recounting one incident, Taylor said Russell pushed her into a swimming pool and feared he would drown her.
The horrific attack happened at a friend's house shortly after the friends had voiced concern for Taylor's safety.
'Russell, he left, and this couple, they were very close to me and were very aware of what was going on,' she said.
'The man said "we'll help you get out of this because this is not okay, and we're really worried for you."
'Well, Russell was hiding around the side of the house and heard everything. He came flying into the back yard.
'He threw me in the pool. He grabbed the man, knocked all of his teeth out, and he jumped in the pool and he was trying to hold me under the water.
'I thought he was going to drown me.'
In another instance, the television personality, who shares daughter Kennedy with her late ex, claimed that Russell made a threat against her life.
'Once his boys were visiting us and I made them a pizza,' she recalled, referring to his sons from previous relationships.
'He came into the house, grabbed me by the throat and put me against the wall.
'He said, "if you ever serve my kids a pizza without a vegetable again, I'll kill you."'
On top of this, she also discovered voice recording devices around their home, which left her with the impression that he monitored everything she said.
A turning point happened in June 2011 though when Taylor recounted how Russell fractured her orbital floor, a break in the bony structure that supports the eyeball, on her 40th birthday.
'It was my 40th birthday, we checked into The Four Seasons where we met, and he gave me eight pairs of my favorite shoes and a really long card and it was all about how he knew he hadn't been a good husband and that things were going to change,' she said.
'That night, after my birthday party, we were laying in bed and he said something to the effect of, I know you slept with the Chippendales when you were in Vegas.'
Taylor had just been in Las Vegas with her friend Lisa Vanderpump to celebrate Lisa's daughter's bachelorette party, which had been filmed for the Bravo show.
'He just proceeded to push and push, and he would not let up,' she continued.
'He raised up, leaned over like this, and punched me. He fractured my orbital floor and so I went to see the doctor, and Russell went with me.'
Following the incident, Taylor was forced to have reconstructive surgery, and it was at that point she filed for divorce.
Russell took his life two months after Taylor's birthday. He had been staying at his friend's house on Mulholland Drive at the time, where he was found.
'There was a myriad of things that he was very concerned about, but I never thought that he would kill himself,' Taylor said of his death. 'Suicide never crossed my mind.'
At the time of his death, Russell's lawyer Ronald Richards told ABC News that his former client was also in debt to the tune of $1.5 million.
He added that the reality show's celebration of outrageous excess plunged him into debt as he tried to keep his family's lavish lifestyle afloat.
'These couples join these shows, and then they keep trying to outdo each other and they end up spending all their money trying to sustain a lifestyle that’s unrealistic and wasn’t there prior to the show,' he said at the time.
'The weekly social events, the dinners and all the bulls***, trying to pretend you have unlimited resources in Beverly Hills is tough.
'When every night is a potential sound bite or posting on a website, you end up getting addicted to it, you go out all the time.'
