“Real Housewives of Dallas” star D’Andra Simmons came forward with her own domestic violence story after the death of one of her acquaintances.

“Successful women, that it looks like they have everything going for them from the outside, but then there’s a secret they’re hiding,” she told local outlet Fox 4 following the death of Anger Room founder Donna Alexander.

Anger Room was the scene of the fight between Simmons’ recent fight with Leanne Locken on the show.

Alexander died on Sept. 21 after being taken off of life support following an assault by her estranged husband.

Simmons, 49, revealed she was in an abusive relationship 10 years ago, saying: “He broke my fingers, he fractured my skull, I had internal bleeding. At the end of the time, I remember saying to him, I said, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ I tried to call out, and all the phones, he destroyed all the phones. They were either broken or he threw them away. I couldn’t use the phone; I couldn’t get out the door. I said, ‘There’s a rifle in the back room.’ I said, ‘Just go, it’s loaded. Just put it to my head and shoot me because I can’t do this anymore.’”

She eventually sought refuge at a women’s shelter and received counseling to help her leave her situation.

“The message that you want to send other women who feel like they’re kind of stuck in a situation, like you were in,” said Simmons. “Get out. The counseling and get the encouragement to be able to leave because I promise you, I was there. I wish I had talked to somebody a long time before I did. If I had, I would have been out a lot earlier. Luckily I didn’t lose my life, but Donna did, and don’t let her death be for nothing.”