"Get a therapist" — The Real Housewives of Orange County fans criticize Emily for using trauma to justify her behavior toward Jenn

The Real Housewives of Orange County season 18 aired a brand new episode on Thursday, August 29, 2024. Tamra Judge hosted a murder-mystery-themed party to which all cast members were invited. At the party, Emily Simpson approached Jennifer Pedranti and took accountability for her remarks regarding the latter's financial situation.

For the unversed, Emily made snide comments about Jenn's finances while they were at dinner with the others in episode 5. The Real Housewives of Orange County star asked Jenn to pay her pills and clear her debts instead of showing off her Rolex. She also called her "stupid" for not selling her watch when she owed "all of Orange County money."

Jenn's struggles with finances began after she started managing it. In an earlier episode, she confessed it was her deliberate attempt to take responsibility for something she never had to worry about.

In the latest episode, Emily admitted her aggressive behavior resulted from childhood trauma. As a child, she was often neglected and subjected to her mother's rough demeanor. Consequently, she portrayed a tough exterior to counter life's challenges. While apologizing to Jenn for her comments, she blamed the trauma for how she reacted.

The Real Housewives of Orange County fans took to X to criticize Emily for blaming the past for her behavior instead of taking accountability.

"Emily whinging on about being mean to Jen bc of her childhood…girl get a therapist. Please," a fan wrote.

"emily pulling from the ramona playbook and blaming everything on her childhood, at her very, very big age," a person commented.

"Well, Emily…you’re taking your mommy issues out on Jenn. DO BETTER," another fan commented.

The Real Housewives of Orange County fans called out Emily for feeling insecure around Jenn. They believed that was the prime reason why she acted the way she did with Jenn.

"Sorry but I feel like Emily blaming her outburst on Jenn about her finances on trauma from her childhood/always being strong cause her mom wasn’t there for her is bullsh*t. That’s such an easy way to avoid accountability," one netizen tweeted.

"Emily, that is a lot of your insecurities jumping out and you need to take that up with a therapist. How Jenn chooses to live her life and spend her money and do whatever she wants to do is up to her and not you to be involved with her finances. She doesn’t owe you anything!" a user reacted.

"Emily, you went off on Jenn because of your not-so-secret secret jealousy of the way she looks. That’s it. That’s all," another person wrote.

They continued criticizing her conversation with Jenn.

"Emily is really squeezing those tears out to force Jen into accepting her apology, a nasty individual," a user reacted.

"Emily, I’m going to hold your hand when I tell you this, just because your mom didn’t take accountability for her own mistakes doesn’t mean it’s okay for you can be an a**h*le to Jenn," a fan commented.

"Here comes Emily using her childhood trauma as an excuse yet AGAIN," a netizen tweeted.

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The Real Housewives of Orange County star Jenn accepts Emily's apology

While speaking to her husband, Emily confessed her behavior toward Jenn was "not okay" and she needed to apologize. However, she held her childhood trauma accountable for her aggressive behavior. She revealed her mother did not finish college and blamed it on others.

As a result, she felt neglected and had to look out for herself.

"It was just so hard as a kid because I always had to get myself up, always had to get myself to school. I never had lunch money. I never had a lunch, but then I'm the person I am today because of what I went through. I was never coddled or given anything," Emily explained.

The Real Housewives of Orange County cast member admitted she was "mean" but blamed the circumstances for it. She said she used her aggressive demeanor as a defense mechanism.

At the party, she told Jenn she felt "devastated" for yelling at her. She wished to take responsibility for her actions, stating her comments were "completely out of line." She explained her childhood trauma triggered her outburst. While Jenn's life was paid for, she grew up with "no support."

The Real Housewives of Orange County star said:

"I had a lot of traumatizing things happen that I don't like to talk about. So it made me who I am which is hard, driven, tough, and a lot of times it's very difficult for me to see outside of that."

Hearing her explanation, Jenn was convinced Emily was someone she could learn from. As a result, she hugged the cast member and accepted her apology.

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The Real Housewives of Orange County airs every Thursday on Bravo at 9 pm ET.