Bravo / YouTube Emily Simpson and Heather Dubrow
“The Real Housewives of Orange County” star Emily Simpson feels that season 17 may be her “best season” yet, however, that doesn’t mean she is without regrets. Simpson sat down with Entertainment Tonight for an interview on September 27, a few weeks after filming the RHOC reunion and wrapping the season up, and she agreed with reporter Brice Sander’s assessment that season 17 is her best one yet.
“I guess maybe ‘best season’ in that there’s a lot of Emily,” Simpson said, “and a lot of different sides of Emily. There’s funny Emily, and there’s empathetic Emily, and there’s friend Emily, and there’s a****** Emily. It’s probably just more of a 360 [degree] view of me as opposed to more of a flat character.”
Sander then asked Simpson what she made of the “disconnect” between her co-star Heather Dubrow’s perception within the RHOC cast versus within the Bravo fan community, asking if the audience was missing something they may not have seen on camera.
Hear what Simpson had to say about Dubrow below.
Emily Simpson Has Regrets About How She Interacted With Heather Dubrow
“I believe [there is more to the story than the audience was seeing on the episodes],” Simpson said of her and her co-stars’ issues with Dubrow during the season, “I would say there are a lot of underlying things that happened that just don’t make it onto the screen. So when you see someone who’s frustrated or upset you don’t know all of the background that led up to that point, because they can only show so much.”
Although Simpson’s frustrations with Dubrow were not hidden from the audience during the season, she went on to share with ET that she did have some “regrets” about how she handled herself when it came to Dubrow, sharing, “I think at the time when you’re in it you’re very tunnel-visioned, you don’t really see what’s going on, and all I can do is react at the moment. But then later you’re like, ‘Yeah, I wish I would’ve taken a step back. I wish I would’ve had conversations with her that were more reasonable.’ And I wish I would have been more of a friend to her in that moment and not let her get attacked. It was a wolfpack mentality, and at the time I didn’t see it.”
Despite having a rough season and sparking rumors that she may be moving over to the Beverly Hills Housewives after Dubrow and her husband Terry bought two properties in Los Angeles, Simpson thinks Dubrow will be staying put in the RHOC cast, as she revealed to Access Hollywood in September 2023.
“I think she will [return to RHOC], I mean I don’t know. She’s never told me one way or the other if she is or not. I think that she will,” Simpson said.
Jennifer Pedranti Also Wishes She Was a Better Friend to Heather Dubrow
Another RHOC star has come out and said she wishes she had been kinder to Dubrow during the course of filming season 17. New cast member Jennifer Pedranti commented on Dubrow’s September 20 Instagram post (which was shared hours before an episode from the cast trip to Mexico and detailed some of Dubrow’s upset feelings from the trip which she tried to smile her way through).
“That was a tough one.. you ALWAYS handle yourself with so much class and grace. I wish I would have been a better friend during our season. I was just being cooked in my own inferno 🔥 😂 😂 Xoxo,” Pedranti commented, and although the two weren’t very close during the season, Dubrow appeared to appreciate the kind words, replying, “Love you ❤️”.
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