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The Daily Dish The Real Housewives of Orange County

Tamra Barney: "I Tried to Take My Own Life Twice"

The RHOC star says genetics and bad relationships played a part in her second suicide attempt.

By Nicki Gostin

Tamra Barney's life may look like a fairytale: she lives in a gorgeous home, has loving children, and just got married to Eddie Judge. But life hasn't always been so picture-perfect.

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Last month, The Real Housewives of Orange County star revealed she had attempted suicide at 21-years-old, following a painful divorce from her then-husband Darren Vieth. But it wasn't the only time Barney felt utterly helpless. Now, she's revealed that she had tried to take her life yet again with prescription painkillers. The attempt happened around the age of 25, after a terrible argument with her boyfriend of three years.

“It was exactly the same situation,” she reveals to In Touch magazine. “I was in another bad relationship. So I took a large amount of prescription painkillers.”

PHOTOS: See Pictures of Tamra Barney Through the Years.

Tamra says that relationship made her feel helpless and she felt suicide was the only way out. "Feeling stuck in that situation caused me to try and do it again. I didn't know what to do. I thought, 'Okay, this is it. I can't do this again."

What played a part in her attempts to take her own life? The 45-year-old says genetics and a history of growing up in a "nonemotional" home played a part. “We have a long line of people who struggled with depression in my family," she says. "My grandmother was schizophrenic, and it just kind of trickles down."

Thankfully, Tamra survived and soon was prescribed anti-depressants for the next decade. But it's not like everything has been blue-sky for the Housewife. When her marriage to businessman Simon Barney ended in 2012, the ordeal affected her physically. "I had extremely bad intestinal problems because I was so unhappy," she confessed.

These days, Tamra is in a much healthier--and happier--place thanks to her new husband Eddie. "My life with [him] is wonderful," she says. "He's an amazing man. I'm so thankful that I've finally found my happiness!"

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