Taylor Armstrong was reportedly compelled to file for divorce from her late husband due to his "blistering letters" to network executives.

Before Russell Armstrong committed suicide in August, he and estranged wife Taylor were going through a contentious divorce.

Their ultimate split was reportedly connected to Taylor's reality show The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills.

Russell simply did not like his personal life being broadcasted on television.

"During filming of the show, as the season progressed, Russell started sending blistering letters and emails to Bravo and NBC Universal executives threatening lawsuits," a source told RadarOnline.

"Russell was furious that Taylor had discussed their serious marital issues, including the fact that he hit her on multiple occasions, and that the fellow housewives were now talking about it on the show."

Executives were not happy with the controversy.

"Bravo and NBC decided that Russell and Taylor were more trouble than they were worth, and decided to end filming with them, as soon as it became apparent that Russell was going to continue down that path," the source continued.

Taylor was desperate to keep her spot on the programme.

"Taylor decided to pursue the separation first, but then she thought to get back on the show, she would need to file for divorce, so that she could appear on the show again, if she promised executives that she was leaving him for good," the insider explained.

Taylor's desire to dissolve her marriage was not prompted solely by this incident.

"[Taylor knew] for a very long time that she needed to leave Russell because of the verbal and physical abuse," the source said. "Being taken off a show that she loved doing because of his actions was the catalyst that finally made her pull the trigger on her marriage. Russell knew he was going to be exposed and was in full damage control mode. Ultimately, there was nothing he could do to stop it."

Taylor's biographical book Hiding from Reality: My Story of Love, Loss and Finding the Courage Within will be released in the US in early 2012.