By Alexis Tereszcuk - Breaking Celebrity News Senior Reporter

The numbers don’t lie -- it looks like tragedy really does sell.

In the aftermath of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Taylor Armstrong’s husband’s suicide, the season two premiere of the Bravo show was a ratings bonanza, with 2.2 million total viewers which is a 42 percent increase from the season one premiere Breaking Celebrity News has learned. 

According to Neilsen Media Research data the show was also up 51 percent in the 18-49 year old demographic, the target audience for a show, with 1.5 million adults tuning in to the premiere.

Russell Armstrong’s tragic suicide in August was a touchy situation for the network, and they addressed the matter by having the housewives, minus Taylor, open the show with heartfelt tributes to their former co-star. 

As Breaking Celebrity News previously reported, Bravo edited Russell out of a few episodes but the executives have decided to air footage of Taylor and Russell’s marriage counseling sessions on this season.