"Worst thing I've been through"— The Real Housewives Of Orange County star Emily on her miscarriage

The Real Housewives of Orange County is currently airing its 18th season, which premiered on July 11, 2024. The Real Housewives franchise remains Bravo's most successful reality series, spanning over 10 spinoffs.

For the unversed, The Real Housewives of Orange County season 18 cast includes Shannon, Tamra, Gina, Emily, Katie, Jennifer, and Heather, with Alexis, Teddi, Sutton, and Vicki in recurring roles.

In an October 18 episode of Scheana Shay’s Scheananigans podcast, Emily Simpson shared her journey with fertility issues during the early years of her marriage with her husband, Shane Simpson. Emily stated that she suffered multiple miscarriages early in her marriage.

“I still do this day don’t know why I could never actually carry. It was traumatizing. It was the worst thing I’ve ever been through,” Emily shared.

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The Real Housewives Of Orange County star Emily revealed her sister volunteered to give birth to her babies

Emily further stated that after her miscarriage, she decided to opt for in vitro fertilization. The Real Housewives Of Orange County star became pregnant again through this process and was expecting twins. Four months into her pregnancy, while shopping at Costco, Emily recalled saying to Shane that something was wrong.

During the outing, Emily's water broke, which rang alarm bells in her head. At the time, she was living in Utah and was later taken to the local emergency room, where she “had to go into labor.” She was also made aware by the doctors that the twins were not going to survive.

Emily went into the emergency room as she needed an emergency D&C and a blood transfusion. She recalled the ordeal as the most horrible thing she had ever been through, crying while holding onto her husband. Emily convinced herself that she would not go through anything like that ever again.

After The Real Housewives Of Orange County star’s hospital stay, she told her sister Sara Moffitt about her experience. Sara urged her sister not to put herself in this vulnerable position again, as her body was not up for it. She had a child of her own and offered Emily to become a surrogate mother on her behalf.

Sara carried all three of her sister's children, Annabelle, 11, and twins Luke and Keller, 9. Emily and Shane are also parents to his daughters Shelby and Chanel, whom he welcomed during a previous relationship.

Continuing on the conversation in the podcast, Emily expressed gratitude towards her sister and the sacrifices she made by giving her the three children. The Real Housewives Of Orange County star revealed that she is still not aware of the reasoning behind her miscarriages.

Emily has always been open about her struggles with pregnancy. In an October 1, 2018 piece written by Emily herself on Bravo's official website, she revealed that she does so for other women going through the same problems.

"Reliving my journey to motherhood has not been easy, but I feel like it’s important to share my heartache and my life with other women so that we feel less alone," Emily wrote.

She penned an emotional article and recalled her state of mind regarding the miscarriages and the overall process at the time, as she further wrote:

"This time period in my life was full of pain, darkness and frustration. My journey was difficult, physically and emotionally. My physical health was at risk during the in-vitro process (the egg-retrieval specifically) and then again when I lost the twins," Emily stated.

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Catch the episodes of The Real Housewives of Orange County on Thursdays at 9 pm ET.