Bravo / YouTube Emily Simpson and Shannon Beador
“The Real Housewives of Orange County” star Emily Simpson is not holding back. In her September 6 appearance on “Watch What Happens Live” alongside RHOC co-star Gina Kirschenheiter, host Andy Cohen had the former lawyer take the stand in a game called “Truth or Emily Eats a Cucumber” (a reference to Simpson drunkenly eating a sliced cucumber at Heather Dubrow’s television network celebration party in that night’s episode).
While playing the game, Cohen asked Simpson, “What do you think is the biggest red flag in Shannon [Beador] and John [Janssen]’s relationship?” to which Simpson replied, “Oh my god, there’s so many. I mean they break up all the time.”
Kirschenheiter jumped in to add her thoughts, saying, “The fact that they’re not together,” to which Simpson quickly responded, “No but I think they are together. I think so.”
Emily Simpson Thinks Shannon Beador is Still With John Janssen Despite Recent Breakup
Cohen wanted Simpson to clarify, asking, “Oh you think they’re together? Oh really? And they’re pretending to not be together so they don’t get any heat?” to which Simpson responded, “I don’t know, maybe.”
Simpson previously spoke out about Beador’s former relationship, saying on another WWHL appearance that she felt Janssen was “controlling”.
Beador and Janssen both opened up to People in January 2023, with the outlet reporting that Janssen had ended their three-and-a-half-year relationship the month prior, a move that Beador said left her “blindsided”.
“All I can do is repeat in my head what he said to me while we were filming [RHOC season 17],” Beador said, “We were in a great place. But seven days later, when the cameras were down, it was a completely different story. He told me he was done with the relationship. And to hear what he said to me then was absolutely devastating.”
Janssen spoke to the outlet about the decision, which he said was “super hard” for him to come to. “The last thing I wanted to do is hurt Shannon, but I do think I did the right thing for the both of us,” He said, “We’re two people who love each other very much, but love is not always enough. And while I know Shannon sees it as I’ve said things to her I never meant, I hope she’ll be able to see that there’s no bad person here. It’s two really good people who couldn’t make it work.”
In June 2023, Beador opened up more about her split to Page Six, telling the outlet that the root cause of the breakup was not one big incident, but rather a pattern of “bickering”, and despite being friendly with Janssen, she asserted that the pair were “never going to get back together.”
Shannon Beador Was Seen Out With John Janssen & His Family Post-Breakup
While Beador told Page Six that she and Janssen maintained a friendship following their split, Page Six reported in July 2023 that Beador had been “removed” from an Orange County bar after “screaming” at Janssen’s daughter.
Janssen spoke to the outlet in Beador’s defense, saying that Beador was not the only patron asked to leave. “Yes, there was an argument,” Janssen confessed, “but it was at the end of the night, the lights were up, and everyone was being asked to leave.”
Beador didn’t comment directly on these reports, however she shared a photo of her and Janssen arm in arm from that night to her Instagram page on July 27, simply captioning the post, “Great dinner. 😊”
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