Nicole Brown Simpson's Friend Faye Resnick Opens Up About 'American Crime Story' : 'Reliving Her Death and Trial Is Catastrophic'

'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' star opens up about her friend Nicole's tragic connection to domestic violence

Photo: FX; David Keeler/Getty

Faye Resnick was prominently featured on Tuesday night’s The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story as she penned a tell-all memoir about the horrible tragedy that forever changed her glittering circle of friends, including Nicole Brown Simpson and Kris Jenner.

Now, more than two decades after she released Nicole Brown Simpson: The Private Diary of a Life Interrupted in the wake of her friend’s brutal murder, Resnick is still mourning the loss.

In an exclusive statement to PEOPLE, the interior designer and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star – who is played by Connie Britton in the FX series – opens up about the public tragedy and her own deeply personal pain.

The statement reads: “Ever since it was announced that Ryan Murphy intended to produce The People v. O.J. Simpson, I have been inundated with the question as to ‘How do I feel about it?’ All I can say is, for me, it was personally the most heartbreaking tragedy that altered my life forever. On average, two women every week die from domestic abuse. To lose my loving friend Nicole, who seemed at one point to defy these odds, is beyond devastating. The thought of reliving the events of her death and the trial that followed is catastrophic for all who knew and loved Nicole and Ron.

My only wish is that the series will bring to the forefront the horrors of domestic abuse that roughly 3.5 million women continue to experience every year. Instead of opening painful wounds for many people, or becoming a pointless media circus, I’m hoping this series serves as another chance to remind the American public that domestic abuse remains a lethal issue, even 22 years after this nightmare.

In the United States, a women is beaten in her home every nine-seconds by the man they love. The sad fact remains that there are less shelters for battered woman and their children in our country than there are animal shelters. Sadly, we cannot change the past and no good can come from retelling their stories, other than if the series serves as a call to action to help others who are sadly still living in such a nightmare.”

For anonymous and confidential help with domestic abuse please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1.800.799.SAFE or 1.800.787.3224.