Husbands never had it good on the “Real Housewives” series. They were seen as cads, or dunces, unreliable or plain dull.

Even if the guy is famous, such as Kelsey Grammer, he is not safe from his wife’s insults or divorce decrees for the reality audience.

But things got very real on “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” (Bravo, 10 p.m.) this summer when another of the husbands in that series, Russell Armstrong, left, committed suicide. He was the estranged husband of Taylor, right, one of the many indistinguishable blondes they follow on the show.

There had been charges of physical abuse and trouble in his investments; somebody was suing for $1.5 million. But there’s something about being served with divorce papers on national TV that can be especially humiliating – producers were no doubt anxious to get all its juicy twists and details into its forced narrative.

How culpable is the network? And how should Bravo handle the tragedy in light of the new season? Well for their part, they didn’t even delay the premiere. Nor did they re-edit the episode to be a little more sensitive about the death. (And cut their biggest drama from the show? Forget it!).

So, just as the network enabled the Salahis to crash the White House in that “Real Housewives” series, they’re letting this one play out too, save for an inserted public service announcement regarding suicide prevention. Hope the other husbands are watching.