The tragic suicide of Russell Armstrong, estranged husband to "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Taylor Armstrong, has sent Bravo into a tailspin, delaying filming of "The Real Housewives of New York" once again.
"We were originally meant to start filming on Labor Day," a member of the New York cast tells me. "Then we all received an email saying we would start filming September 8th, when Fashion Week started in the city. Now we have all been notified that it has been pushed back another three weeks at least."
The magnitude of change Armstrong's untimely death will have on the franchise is yet to be seen -- Bravo is currently scrambling to re-edit the Beverly Hills series, set to debut on September 5th. However, the impact it is having on the other franchises has already begun.
"We expected a huge shake-up in the New York cast," another star of the show tells me. "But now, after what has happened, it might be more beneficial to proceed with the devil you know. The New York cast is certainly whacky but [for] the most part, we are all mentally stable which has to be a bigger priority at the moment than making crazy TV."
The other benefit of delaying the taping is keeping the Housewives, who are based in the number one media market in the world, silent for a few extra weeks.
"We have all been approached to appear on TV and tell the behind-the-scenes truth about the series," several cast members tell me. "But before we do that we want to see who is not going to be invited back. Those that are, are not about to bite the hand that feeds them."