Emily Simpson has been avoiding new episodes of The Real Housewives of Orange County due to the hardships she went through with her husband, Shane Simpson, during filming.
During a new interview, the mother of three, who is currently in her sophomore season of the show, opened up about the ups and downs she and Shane went through during season 14, their current relationship status, and her thoughts on the backlash he has been facing due to his “dismissive” and “cold” behavior.
“I honestly haven’t even really watched any of the full episodes. That’s how difficult it is for me,” Emily told TooFab. “It almost makes me nauseous to watch it. It’s not easy. So sometimes it’s just easier for me to just separate myself from it completely. It’s hard, it really is.”
Although Emily acknowledged that she was more comfortable going into production on her second season in a logistical sense, she said season 14 was more draining, both emotionally and physically. As fans saw, Shane was not around a lot because he was busy studying for the bar and that left Emily to function as a single working mom.
“It’s such a bird’s-eye view into our life and marriage, and sometimes, you just don’t wanna relive that. You’re like, ‘Been there, done that! It was bad then; I don’t need to watch it again,'” she added.
Luckily, since filming wrapped months ago, Emily and Shane are doing much better and on an “up-swing” that she claims was prompted by their time on RHOC.
“I really feel like maybe Shane was not self-aware,” she said. “To him, he’s like, ‘Well, I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t call you names. I didn’t yell at you.’ But I don’t think he grasped how dismissive or cold he could be until he was forced to watch himself. He’s really put effort into being completely different, and I have to give him credit for that. Definitely.”
As for the ongoing backlash, Emily said that she understands it but also adds that there’s more to Shane than what viewers are privy to.
“This season, I just realized I can’t argue with everyone, I can’t fight with everyone,” she explained on why she stopped defending her marriage to fans. “If I was watching the show and I only saw what was on the screen, I would think, ‘He’s a d–k! She needs to leave him!’ So I understand where people are coming from… I understand why they have the opinions that they do.”
“But at the end of the day, I know that there are other sides to him. They just aren’t portrayed,” added Emily.
The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Bravo TV.
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