The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

[SugarMama]

You ask why a woman stays or why she would confide in a casual friend rather than to family & close friends.
.... Telling someone not that close to you helps you get it off your chest....

Thanks for sharing your experience and perspective, PA Snow Bunny - it's tragic you had to go through that, but it's equally inspiring that you were able to eventually rise above and out of it!

I can understand the need to share with others; however, given that Taylor was sharing with women who were only connected with her via a television reality show still seems a bit strange to me. Just sounds like a staging for drama.

[Prism]

You ask why a woman stays or why she would confide in a casual friend rather than to family & close friends.

I can only state my case. I stood because I had 2 small children. I stopped working, ay his request, to be a SAHM. I stood because I had 2 small kids & zero income. He would get visitations & he drank...ALOT. Would any of you trust your babies to a drunk? You hope & pray things get better & he stops drinking. If you confide in family & close friends you will forever taint their view of him. If the situation does improve, he changes the relationship with your family and friends will never be the same. Telling someone not that close to you helps you get it off your chest. My EX did close off any relationship I had with my female friends.

My now 30 year old son can describe in detail the day he began hating his father and he was just 5 at the time. He moved in with my parents when he was 13 to get away from his father. He told me straight out he was afraid of what he might do to him. My son and I never lost our relationship. Towards the end of my marriage, after a broken ankle & me finding out about his affair with the wife of a couple we were friends with, my 2 sons took me to task & said you either leave him now or we are both gone; you choose us or him. My kids came first & they gave me the strength to leave & start my life over after 25 years. I slowly got back in touch with my friends & together they helped me deal with life. My family, other than my Mom, stood on the sidelines & basically never had my back. My brothers, sister, aunts, uncles, cousins did nothing to help, support or defend me. It took ALOT of years of therapy for me to forgive them & allow them a limited part of my life but I won't ever forget. THAT IS WHY WOMEN DON'T CONFIDE IN FAMILY & FRIENDS.

He has forever changed who I am & I do have trouble allowing many people to get close.

Wow! Your pain and sadness must have been - and perhaps still is - almost unbearable. You sound strong now, thank god you made it out!

[Starbucks880]

Some abuse is difficult to see. My EX was verbally, emotionally & physically abusive. No one, except for my sons, knew. I knew better than to say anything. Sure I could have left him but,show of hands, would want to risk the saftey of your children during vistiations with an abusive alcholic? The black & blue marks were always in locations where my clothes would cover. The broken ankle couldn't be explained away.
Who, of any of these women, saw Taylor when her jaw was broken? IIRC broken jaws have to be wired shut for 5-6 weeks. Who saw that? We all saw photos of a black eye that Taylor said she received from Kennedy. (my oldest son gave me a black eye when he kicked a soccer ball & I missed) That was plastered all over the place. Wouldn't you take photos & have medical records of a broken jaw?
This woman is as phoney as a $4 bill.

No one saw her with a broken jaw and there is no evidence she withdrew from public life for 6 weeks and avoided everyone, which is why I think they aren't buying it. I certainly am not buying it. My ex broke my jaw during a particularly viscious beating. Aside from the swelling and bruising, I had my jaw wired for 6 weeks. It was one of the most painful things I went through not to mention at first it was a panicky feeling not being able to open my mouth. Even after I had the wires removed, I still had pain and numbness and wasn't able to open my jaw the whole way. I think 8-12 weeks or so I was able to chew most foods, though it was longer before I could bite into an apple, for example. My teeth were definitely more sensitive and I had to have several removed due to nerve damage though I got some nice implants put in. Probably on of the worse things was eating a liquid diet. There are only so many soups and smoothies one can take. I was so hungry I thought I was going to go crazy and I lost weight I definitely did not need to lose. So to sum it up, Taylor claiming a broken jaw without anyone noticing makes me cry foul.

Oh and that black eye picture--cosmetic surgery can cause a black eye. Heck I had a cataract removed and had a huge black eye from it. Taylor just isn't believable.

[SugarMama]

...My ex broke my jaw during a particularly viscious beating. Aside from the swelling and bruising, I had my jaw wired for 6 weeks. It was one of the most painful things I went through not to mention at first it was a panicky feeling not being able to open my mouth. Even after I had the wires removed, I still had pain and numbness and wasn't able to open my jaw the whole way. I think 8-12 weeks or so I was able to chew most foods, though it was longer before I could bite into an apple, for example. My teeth were definitely more sensitive and I had to have several removed due to nerve damage though I got some nice implants put in. Probably on of the worse things was eating a liquid diet. There are only so many soups and smoothies one can take. I was so hungry I thought I was going to go crazy and I lost weight I definitely did not need to lose. So to sum it up, Taylor claiming a broken jaw without anyone noticing makes me cry foul...

That's absolutely vile! I hope he had to pay for his actions (financially and criminally)!

[MsDiva2007]

I really can't stand Taylor like pretty much everyone else. I don't however think she needs to prove she was abused to anyone by producing medical records. This is why so many woman don't tell anyone when they have been abused. The reaction of people not believing or understanding why and what happened to them. Imo thats like asking a pregnant woman to prove she really is pregnant because nobody witnessed her ever having sex. I am really saddened that in 2012 we refuse to believe people have been abused simply because we dislike them.

[momrek06]

My ex broke my jaw during a particularly viscious beating. Aside from the swelling and bruising, I had my jaw wired for 6 weeks. It was one of the most painful things I went through not to mention at first it was a panicky feeling not being able to open my mouth. Even after I had the wires removed, I still had pain and numbness and wasn't able to open my jaw the whole way. I think 8-12 weeks or so I was able to chew most foods, though it was longer before I could bite into an apple, for example. My teeth were definitely more sensitive and I had to have several removed due to nerve damage though I got some nice implants put in. Probably on of the worse things was eating a liquid diet. There are only so many soups and smoothies one can take. I was so hungry I thought I was going to go crazy and I lost weight I definitely did not need to lose.

OMG, Starbucks, omg. I am so sorry to read your post. I hope you are at a point where his (ex) actions do not haunt you.

[SugarMama]

I really can't stand Taylor like pretty much everyone else. I don't however think she needs to prove she was abused to anyone by producing medical records. This is why so many woman don't tell anyone when they have been abused. The reaction of people not believing or understanding why and what happened to them. Imo thats like asking a pregnant woman to prove she really is pregnant because nobody witnessed her ever having sex. I am really saddened that in 2012 we refuse to believe people have been abused simply because we dislike them.

In nearly all cases, I would agree with you 100%. But this is Shauna-Taylor, who lies. Who said Adrienne was her daughter's godmother, but when asked about that by Andy, Adrienne's expression was classic confusion...while she handled her answer diplomatically, while Shauna-Taylor was beseeching her with her eyes to agree pleeeeeze, Adrienne said she was NOT Kennedy's godmother. Wonder how many other lies the women have caught Shauna-Taylor telling? I'm certain that's why they have trouble believing her. As do I.

[Lizard]

Thank you for sharing Snow and Star. There are people who are silent in here that you have helped...to know that they have sisters who are healthy. To health, to peace. To all the people who know how to say the right things to assist us with any inner work we need to do.

[Bunny555]

I really can't stand Taylor like pretty much everyone else. I don't however think she needs to prove she was abused to anyone by producing medical records. This is why so many woman don't tell anyone when they have been abused. The reaction of people not believing or understanding why and what happened to them. Imo thats like asking a pregnant woman to prove she really is pregnant because nobody witnessed her ever having sex. I am really saddened that in 2012 we refuse to believe people have been abused simply because we dislike them.

I do have personal experience with domestic abuse and thank those who have shared their stories. My questioning Taylor stems from the fact that her own friends didn't believe her. I don't know the woman...they do. I have not read of even one account of someone who backs up her statements. Add to that the fact that she is now peddling a book a mere 5 months after the father of her child committed suicide. I'll also add the the reports of many people coming forward who were bilked by BOTH Russell and Taylor. He ended his life so really no more can be said of him. IMO life as Taylor knows it will go on........Whether claiming abuse, that Adrienne Maloof is Kennedy's Godmother or that she Taylor/Shana is part of the Ford Motor Company.

ETA: When your life revolves around spinning as many lies as you can, people are naturally going to question every statement that you make.

[PA Snow Bunny]

Starbucks & Bunny, my heart goes out to you as it does to anyone in an abusive relationship. Remember there any always be abuse against both sexes. Part of me wonders whether the abuse in the Armstrong's marraige went both ways. I just find it so odd that the woman who ran a trust for abused women stood in an abusive relationship.

Like Judge Judy always says "you don't need a good memory if you tell the truth". IMHO Taylor seems to not have a very good "memory".