Mark Balelo Compared Himself To ‘RHOBH’ Suicide Russell Armstrong
The night before the ‘Storage Wars’ star killed himself, he reportedly compared himself to the ‘Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ star Russel Armstrong — who also committed suicide amid public backlash. Read on for more details.
Mark Balelo, 40, who was featured in the A&E reality series Storage Wars, committed suicide early on Feb. 11 by carbon monoxide poisoning just two days after an arrest due to a drug-related offense. Sources say the night before he took his own life, Mark related himself to the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Russel Armstrong — who killed himself in August 2011.
Mark was worried about how his recent drug arrest would impact his image and his A&E show, sources tell TMZ. The site reports that the Storage Wars star was extremely stressed out, and even said he “understood” where Russell was coming from when he took his own life in August 2011 amid reports he had physically abused his wife Taylor Armstrong.
He said he could sympathize with Russell and the public humiliation he faced for his financial troubles and the abuse allegations against him, especially since his life played out on reality TV.
Mark’s Fiancee Elizabeth Metzidis Speaks Out
Mark was engaged to Elizabeth Metzidis, who was with him in the hours before he killed himself. On Feb. 9, he was released from jail where he was being held after his drug-related arrest. He had asked Elizabeth to visit him because he was worried he would hurt himself. After she left his office, he later killed himself due to carbon monoxide poisoning
“Thank you to everyone for all your thoughts and kind words. Mark lived for his friends and family and would so appreciate everyone here for their love. We are truly and completely devastated by this. Mark was everything. EM,” she wrote on his Facebook page.
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— Christina Stiehl
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