‘Married to Medicine’s Kari Wells Reveals She Was Brutally Beaten in Terrifying Armed Robbery

Kari Wells’ life changed when she was brutally beaten and robbed at gunpoint at a nail salon. The former Married to Medicine star relived the trauma and shared other life experiences in her new memoir “From Attitude to Gratitude: 15 Practices for Transforming Pain into Power” in hopes of helping others. Wells was part of the original Bravo show cast during the first season in 2013 before transitioning to being a “Friend” in the years that followed. 

The author and businesswoman peels back the layers revealing battles with depression, PTSD, eating disorders, and overcoming the unimaginable loss of her sister to a tragic overdose. Through the darkness, Wells found inner strength with hopes others can do the same by reading the book. Along with reflective prompts, she shares science-backed exercises including 15 practices to transform pain into purpose. 

Here the British-born star from Yorkshire, England, opens up about the personal project and sets the record straight on her abrupt Married to Medicine exit. Wells also catches us up on what she has been up to today. 

Kari Wells

Being a reality star and opening up your life is one thing, but putting it into book form is another. Why did you feel now the time was right for “From Attitude to Gratitude” to come out? 

Kari Wells: It’s not something I chose. It happened after that horrible armed robbery I was in. I was living a fabulous life in Atlanta working as a friend on Married to Medicine, which was wonderful to be a “Friend” instead of a cast member. You have a lot more liberty and freedom as opposed to filming all the time and coming and going. The amount of time it takes on your personal life. So, that worked great for me. Then I was in this terrible armed robbery where I was held at gunpoint and beaten. After that I was broken, I had a series of terrible things happen to me leading up to that. It was the final straw that broke me. I came to Aspen as my sister lives here. I had a place there. I just tried to do some healing. I tried to do some trauma therapy. I started journaling. The trauma therapist told me to write down what had happened, so I wouldn’t have to repeat it to everybody because it was very traumatic. I wrote the story down and worked on healing and getting over it. 

One day I found the story, and as I’m reading, I think it’s horrific. It was even difficult for me to read. So, I began working on a healing journey. After several things I did, I thought about how it would be so good to give back to the next generation. If someone could pick up this book and read these things and do these things, they would find true healing. I have young children, 20 and 21 [Alexa and Bryson], so it’s really for the younger generation that I wrote this book. It was a way of giving back and healing myself in the process. As I worked through these steps, it was incredible for me to find my own healing. Even though, initially I didn’t realize the healing I would receive by writing this all down and doing the work. 

‘Married to Medicine’ Season 1 Cast (Derek Blanks Photography/Bravo)

So this book has been in the works for a good amount of time. 

The robbery was I believe 2019 right before COVID and I began journaling. I started writing and sort of left it for a couple of years. Then I picked it up and then thought it would be a self-help book. Maybe not a self-help book, but it should be a transformational journey that could inspire and give back. I think self-help has negative connotations for the new generations. It’s all toxic positivity and all that. It’s not what this book is about. It’s about being true to yourself and being authentic with how you’re living. It’s about why you’re doing what you’re doing and trying to use some of the techniques I learned from some of the ancient masters and great best-sellers of books out there and putting it into a very simple, concise manual. That’s what it is. If you do those things, it’s going to be difficult to live a life that is not joyful. It brings you back every time you find yourself struggling with something. It’s the type of book where you can go, “Okay, this is what I need today.” 

It’s a process, but the 5 daily practices you can do to change your entire life. Little things can make all the difference. 

Simple things, but yet profound. It’s not nothing I particularly invented. The “Pain Caves” I would say is my terminology of going through things because people always have to go through very difficult things that happen to all of us. If you can be aware of that while you’re in it, it gives you hope of getting out on the other side. 

Kari Wells

One of the topics that stick out to me and is so important is the art of letting go. Release toxic relationships with grace and strength. 

Yes, because the amount of suffering people have is really connected with four or five different things. One of those things is relationships. We all have suffering in our relationships. The other is living in the past and worrying about the future. We’re constantly thinking about how I should have done this. I should have done that. Why did this happen? It’s going to be so difficult thinking about the future. We don’t know if it’s going to be difficult. It could be magical. Something amazing could happen. Keep that in mind, that you don’t know the future. Nobody does. Anything is possible. By just keeping that mindset, we take that massive amount of worry we live with on a daily basis and alleviate all that worry. 

With this book, it has to certainly feel therapeutic on your end. Is there anything in the book you hope that sets the record straight about something or that you’re able to tell your side of things? 

I think all of the years I was on television people assumed I had a very privileged life. I came across as this elegant, English woman, who was polished and put together. People automatically assumed that my life had been this silver spoon life. I think letting viewers and readers know this was absolutely not the case will hopefully give hope to people also going through struggles in their upbringing. 

 

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You’re still married to Dr. Duncan Wells after all these years. What’s your secret that has kept you all together when so many within the reality world have not lasted? 

Reality television really does have a strain on your marriage because you are living in a microscope of viewers, tweets, comments, and the stresses that come with that. Somebody recently asked me this question. It was a couple of newlyweds who looked for our advice. Mine was the old saying from my mother. Least said, soonest mended. It’s an old British expression she would always use. My husband, Duncan, of 23 years is a happy wife, happy life. Coming together with those two things in our mind, a lot of the credit I give to him. He does put me first, and I put him first. I think that is the secret to a good marriage. You won’t always get on or like each other. You may get really angry at each other, but coming together and putting that other person first and having a base you won’t cross. Young people I hear arguing, and I think that’s a terrible thing to say in the heat of the moment. We always say crazy stuff, but don’t ever go solo because you will always gravitate to that base every time. That’s your new low. I think with our marriage I think we had to sort of stick to a certain level and not really be terribly rude to each other in the heat of an argument, which can be difficult. 

Dr. Jackie Walters and Dr. Contessa Metcalfe has endorsed the book. You touched on this earlier, but you read all this speculation about drama and comments regarding why you left the show as a cast member after the first season. What do you say regarding all this speculation? 

The first year was very difficult. I found working with Mariah [Huq] was impossible. She was very difficult to work with. After that, I wanted to step away. I didn’t want to leave completely, so when they offered me the “Friend,” where you’re still paid and under contract. When they offered me that contract, I thought it was great and jumped at it. I did love working with some of the other ladies. I found over the years even though we may have had arguments, Dr. Heavenly [Kimes] and I have a really great relationship. Same with Dr. Jackie and Dr. Contessa and I. Toya [Bush-Harris] and I have had our issues, but we finally made peace. It’s the type of show where you do have issues, like in life, but at the end of the day we do come together. Even Quad [Webb] was calling me last week to get a donation for Dr. Heavenly’s campaign. We had a great conversation. 

They all work together in the end. I think it’s a show that can show you can have problems, but you can get over it. That relates back to the book. A lot of people have asked about me like why did she disappear? Why don’t you come back? The real reason I can’t be on that show at the moment is because I’m living in Aspen. I am working on a show called Aspen Unfiltered, which is a lifestyle show about the secret stories of Aspen and things only an insider would know. I first came out to Aspen at age 17. My sister lived there. I have a home there. I have a great relationship with many of the locals and can give people the insider’s access to things most people won’t be able to access. We’re working on the show that should be out this year. This is a lifestyle, fun series. It will be on FAST streaming initially. 

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Married to Medicine is still going here in Season 12. What do you make of the show now as it continues on? 

I think it’s fantastic. It’s definitely not something I thought would last this long during the first day we started filming. I think that is a testament to people like Dr. Jackie, Heavenly, Contessa, Toya, Simone [Whitmore], Quad, they all put in years of hard work and kept it interesting. And the producer, Matt Anderson, is amazing. 

With the book out, what does that mean to you? 

I’m very pleased. I’m hoping it has a lot of positive impact on people and hope it sets the story straight for people to know the real me. I think that’s important. I’m excited. It’s a fun project. I enjoyed doing it. I healed myself. At first I couldn’t even read the chapter about my sister’s death. Even when the publisher asked me to read it out loud, it was so difficult for me to check it for corrections for when I had to sign off on it for the final time. After reading it several times, I find I’ve healed myself more than I thought I would by doing this. It has been a journey, but I’m glad I took it.