Finding your footing on a show like Real Housewives can be difficult, but Emily Simpson has hit her stride. It only took her to get five years into The Real Housewives of Orange County.
In Season 17, which many fans describe as her best, Emily said that she felt she showed more of herself in 360 degrees, like a genuine version of herself, as opposed to a flat 2D character. And if she was maybe initially afraid to wade into the turbulent Housewives water, she certainly isn’t anymore.
This year, Emily has often challenged fellow housewife Heather Dubrow to mixed results. The boiling point came on a trip to Mexico when Heather felt she was getting “dogpiled” by the other women. Looking back now, Emily admitted to ET that she has regrets about how she handled Heather during that vacation and the season in general.
Too in it to see it
“At the time, when you’re in it, you’re tunnel vision,” Emily shared. “You don’t really see what’s going on, and you’ll react in the moment. But then later, you’re like, yeah, you know what? I wish I could have taken a step back and had conversations with her that were more reasonable. I wish I had been more of a friend in that moment.”
The argument was about the women believing Heather tried to control the narrative too much. On her end, Heather felt that she was constantly being criticized no matter what she did.
Emily claims the “wolf-pack mentality” got to her, and she was frustrated and let the frustration get the better of her. “I wish I could have brought it back in, taken it down, and thought, we’ll talk about this later because she’s getting too much right now.”
Much of the resentment began at BravoCon 2022 when anger broke out over the labeling of the RHOC as “losers.” This resentment bubbled over on the cast trip to Mexico. It remains unclear if the word came from Heather, Tamra Judge, or Shannon Beador. And the word triggered Emily because it brought up past emotions.
And this time, the primary emotion was anger. Though Heather ultimately admitted to using the term, but she swears she wasn’t referring to everybody. But Emily didn’t buy that. So the hate train continued, with Heather eventually shooting back and claiming that she hated the women repeatedly.
“I think she felt attacked by everyone at once, and so I feel bad. I’m sure she did hate us,” Emily shared.
Off-camera drama
Emily also clarified that viewers don’t get to see it all on the screen and that much of the conflict with Heather happened over stuff that wasn’t on-cam. In hindsight, she wishes she had dealt with it earlier instead of letting it bubble over, but that ship has sailed. Some of the conflict is supposedly about Heather’s gossip sessions about Shannon’s relationship with John Janssen that happened when the camera wasn’t rolling.
Emily asserted that Heather is very smart and can be calculated with what she presents on camera. In contrast, Emily feels she is more talkative on camera and ends up saying whatever’s on her mind and dealing with the aftermath later. Now, nearly a year removed from filming, Emily realizes that Heather is way more sensitive than she thought, and that’s what led to a “season of misfires” in their friendship.
For viewers, everything is set to come to a head at the season finale, which finds the women gathered for one last circus-themed party.
As for Heather and Emily now, Emily shared that she and Heather walked away from taping in a better place than they were during the season. “I saw Heather after we filmed,” she continued. “She had a birthday party, and I was the only one from the cast who went. So I feel like I’ve shown up for her and shown her that I am truly her friend.”
The Real Housewives of Orange County continues Wednesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK EMILY HANDLED THE HEATHER SITUATION WELL? WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO IN THE SEASON FINALE?
