'RHOBH's Problem With Domestic Violence

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills returns for Season 4 on Monday, Nov. 4, but there already seems to be an endless amount of drama surrounding current and former cast members. Between the allegations that Mauricio Umansky cheated on Kyle Richards, the Vanderpump's legal drama, the Maloof divorce, the Brandi Glanville everything, and the attention given to the new RHOBH cast members, there's hardly been a dull moment behind the scenes. Now, there's even more news. Former full-time cast member and current "friend of the cast" Camille Grammer was abused by boyfriend Dimitri Charalambopoulos, allegedly.

Adding horrible insult to serious injury, Grammer says Charalambopoulos struck her across the face in a Houston hotel room just four days after she underwent a sudden hysterectomy after discovering she had endometrial cancer.

In a series of alarming tweets on Monday, Grammer shared: "Info will come out today that is jaw dropping. And women can't be silenced after being physically abused!" She added: "Getting my strength back now that I am at home and wasn't able to deal with talking about it after my cancer surgery or what had happen."

According to RadarOnline, she'll file a police report on Tuesday. In response to a fan's tweet, she said: "this man should be behind bars," and "I was in fear for my life."

Say what you will about Camille — she was quite possibly the least sympathetic character on Season 1 of RHOBH (dinner party from hell, anyone?) — but it's damn disheartening to hear another case of domestic abuse from the ladies of Beverly Hills.

We were first made aware that cast member Taylor Armstrong suffered abuse in her past relationships — she gave talks on the show about standing up for yourself — and we later discovered that she was concurrently being abused by then-husband Russell Armstrong. If you remember, it was Grammer who actually called Russell out and implored Taylor get help. "We don't say that he hits you!" was Grammer's line that earned her a defamation claim from the Armstrongs. Ultimately, it was revealed that Russell was, in fact, abusive toward Taylor.

Then there were the abuse allegations from cast member Adrienne Maloof. Her nefarious chef Bernie allegedly sold photos of a bruised and beaten Adrienne to RadarOnline, positing that her then-husband Paul Nassif had beaten her up.

It's interesting, when you take a step back, to see that three women in the toppest of the top one percent, who have all the resources in the world, whose voices and personalities are so compelling they were chosen to star on a hit reality TV show, have been alleged victims of domestic violence. In a world ostensibly filled with Bentleys and 15-carat diamond rings and $50,000 birthday parties for 5-year-olds, money still can't buy peace of mind, safety, and healthy relationships. That part in and of itself isn't surprising, but it is mildly shocking that 50 percent of the cast (three of the six women who were on the show Season 1) has suffered domestic abuse. The national average of women who've experienced domestic violence is 25 percent.

The show is supposed to be an escape for most viewers — what's not fun about watching millionaires bicker like third graders and ogle $25,000 sunglasses? — but the dark side of sunny Beverly Hills is an interesting one. The conversation about domestic abuse has been heightened as of late with the Chris Brown incident and Justin Timberlake's new video for "TKO" and the more we talk about it, the better. It's just a shame that there's a need to.