Kelsey Grammer wife files for divorce, will appear on Real Housewives of Bev Hills

Back in March, Kelsey Grammer’s wife Camille was announced as a new castmember on the upcoming Bravo reality show Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. There was a lot of speculation as to whether Kelsey would appear on the show with her, and whether he approved of his wife presumably being reduced to a caricature for entertainment purposes. Camille was the most famous castmember announced, along with Paris Hilton’s aunts and other rich women like the wife of a plastic surgeon and a restauranteur. Filming started in March and it’s unknown whether it’s concluded at this point.

Kelsey announced yesterday on his Twitter account that he’s divorcing Camille. (Update: Kelsey’s wife is the one who filed. Thanks to those of you who pointed this out.) The couple then issued a follow-up statement asking for privacy. Kelsey, 55, and Camille, 41, have been married 13 years and have two children born via surrogate: daughter Mason, 8, and son Jude, almost 6. It’s Kelsey’s third marriage. He first marriage was to dance instructor Doreen Alderman from 1982-1990 and they had one daughter, actress Spencer Grammer, 26.

His second wife, who he met in a strip club where she was working, tried to commit suicide when he broke up with her after nine months in 1992. She was pregnant at the time and ended up getting an abortion shortly afterwards. (The article quoted below has more on that sordid tale, and Wikipedia notes that while Grammer was married to that stripper he had another child with a makeup artist mistress.)

Now Kelsey’s third marriage is ending and people are wonder if his wife’s involvement in Real Housewives may have something to do with it. (I can’t find anything that reveals when it will premiere, but I’m assuming it will be in the fall.) Here’s more about what may have preceded the divorce, along with some interesting analysis as to whether the show will include any hints as to the problems they’re facing. There’s some awkward wording in this article, but they do a good job of summing up the other housewives that have announced divorces:

In a November 30, 2009, Playbill article, Playbill noted Kelsey Grammer was slated to star in “London’s critically acclaimed Menier Chocolate Factory production of Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein’s hit musical La Cage aux Folles” which was slated to open April 18, 2010, on Broadway. According to BroadwayWorld.com, rehearsals for La Cage aux Folles began March 1st. This meant Kelsey was in New York City rehearsing, then starring in La Cage while Camille and the kids were on the West Coast with Camille filming episodes of RHOBH.

On the divorce, Kelsey tweeted “things had fallen apart between us”. Kelsey’s last divorce, which occurred in 1993, occurred when Kelsey’s new sitcom Frasier was due to air in the fall. Kelsey, 38, had been married nine months to Leigh-Anne Csuhany, 23, a former exotic dancer Kelsey met at a strip club. Kelsey sought an annulment, charging his pregnant wife with “fraud” and “unsound mind”. Kelsey also sought custody of their unborn child. Five days later Leigh-Anne tried to commit suicide by way of a bottle of red wine and 5 bottles of Tylenol. Leigh-Ann survived. “A few days later, the pregnancy was aborted”.

Four years, in 1997, Kelsey wed Camille Donatacci, a former Playboy model. Due to Camille suffering from a form of of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Camille and Kelsey used a surrogate to produce daughter Mason, born in 2002, and son Jude, born in 2004.

In the divorce papers, Camille cited irreconcilable differences and asked for primary custody of the kids and spousal support.

With Bravo staying mum on how many episodes of RHOBH to be aired, there’s no way to ascertain whether filming for season one of RHOBH has ended, and, whether any of the already filmed episodes will include the soon to be divorced Kelsey Grammer appearing with his about to be ex-wife Camille. Divorces, impending divorces or marital discord of Real Housewives cast members which occurred during filming Real Housewives episodes have previously been hidden from viewers. Real Housewives of Orange County’s Jeana Keough admitted she and her ex, Matt Keough, had been in the process of getting a divorce for “several seasons”. It wasn’t until Jeana’s final season Jeana admitted the marriage had hit the skids or that her husband had a severe alcohol dependency problem. During a prior season, Matt’s “trips away for business” included a stint in the local jail on DUI hit and run charges. Rumors have it Jeana will return for the next season of RHOOC after resolving a spat over salary negotiations.

In the past season of RHOOC, cast member Tamra Barney separated from hubby Simon with Simon filing divorce papers after the season ended. Simon claimed the Real Housewives reality show had changed Tamra with fame and celebrity going to Tamra’s head. Tamra claimed she and Simon had had a troubled marriage before Tamra signed onto RHOOC. That Tamra and Simon had been in marriage counseling for three years.

Over on the East Coast, the third season of RHONYC began with Countess LuAnn de Lesseps stating she and her Count had separated then later announced the divorce was final. (LuAnn’s Count ran off with a real life Ethiopian princess.) LuAnn admitted the Count spent a majority of his time at their European estate.

Did Bravo’s Real Housewives of Beverly Hills play a part in the Kelsey Grammer-Camille Donatacci impending divorce? At this juncture there’s no clear cut evidence RHOOC played a role. Based on other Real Housewives cast members and troubled marriages, in the future episodes of RHOBV, which have yet to be aired, Camille and Kelsey will most likely keep their marital troubles private, away from the prying eyes of the Bravo production team cameras.

[From DeathBy100Papercuts]

I bet Camille’s involvement in RHOBV didn’t help her marriage at all, and you have to wonder if Kelsey signed off on it. How could anyone with anything to lose think that participating in a Real Housewives show would be worth the money and infamy? Reality shows often spell doom for relationships too.

Update: TMZ has more on why the marriage supposedly ended, and they note that Kelsey was in NY working on Broadway and that “Camille stayed with their two kids in L.A. and flew back and forth to visit him, but sources say it became apparent ‘Kelsey loved New York, his friends and his freedom more than his marriage.‘” They also say that Kelsey didn’t call his children on father’s day. It sounds like the story comes straight from Camille. A source says “She doesn’t know what Kelsey is doing in New York, but he’s made it pretty clear he wants nothing to do with marriage anymore. She didn’t see it coming.” How long until the cheating stories surface?

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