Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Taylor Armstrong made her first public appearance days after her estranged husband Russell Armstrong took his own life.
Taylor, 40, was pictured above Friday as she attended Russell’s memorial service at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in L.A. Taylor tried not to be photographed as she hid under a shawl, sunglasses and a fur blanket.
A source who was present told Us Weekly that Taylor “was clearly distraught.” An onlooker added, “The people traveling with her were comforting her and wanted to get her inside the building as quickly as possible.” Taylor reportedly spent almost two hours inside the chapel, before quietly exiting from a side door into a black SUV.
Meanwhile, there seems to be trouble brewing between Taylor and Russell’s family. Despite the fact that Taylor recently filed for divorce, she was still legally married to Russell at the time of his death and therefore has authority over his funeral arrangements.
Russell’s attorney Ronald Richards tells RadarOnline that Russell’s parents and sister have been left in the dark about his funeral plans. “I am deeply disgusted that Taylor would use her family law attorney to create cover, by lying to me over a period of days, on her behalf in writing that she would share the funeral location and time with my client’s mother, father, sister and other family members,” said Ronald.
“Instead, no one has contacted them and it is apparent now that Taylor is using this death to further injure the Armstrongs. As if filing for divorce was not enough, this act of cutting out his mom, dad, and sister is frankly, despicable… Laws need to be changed that a spouse who files for divorce should be removed at the time of filing from control over someone’s remains to prevent the grotesque second tragedy that is occurring here,” Ronald added.
After RadarOnline posted that story, Taylor’s family law attorney, Troy Christiansen, denied Ronald’s claims to TMZ, stating Taylor is “outraged” at his statements.
While Troy admits there was a conflict over whether Russell’s body would stay in L.A. or be taken to Texas, he adds that it’s all been resolved and everyone is in agreement. Troy states that both Taylor and Russell’s family are all in agreement over the arrangements including Russell’s wish to be cremated in the case of his death.
After TMZ posted their story, Ronald told RadarOnline: “They [Taylor’s reps] have now provided one relative in the family the information [about the funeral plans]. They still have not called the mother, father, or sister. An hour and a half after after this story ran, they provided the information.”
Photo credit: INFphoto.com
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