Emily Simpson is opening up about battling COVID-19, back when she was diagnosed in July while she was filming the current season of The Real Housewives of Orange County.
If you recall, Emily and her family's experience with COVID was featured during the December 16 episode of the Bravo hit reality series. In a new interview, Simpson revealed how she was able to keep her experience with the coronavirus pandemic under wraps for so long.
"Because I am the master of confidentiality. I think it comes with territory of being an attorney. I know how to keep things to myself," she told Bravo's The Daily Dish.
Aside from Emily, her husband Shane Simpson and their kids were also diagnosed with COVID.
"I know that there'll probably be a lot of people that are very interested into a bird's-eye view into someone who their entire family had COVID and how we dealt with it and how difficult it was," she said. Emily added that she is aware that some people might feel fatigue when it comes to hearing about COVID-19 and how "sterile" it is to hear about it now due to the amount of stats people are dealing with on a daily basis.
But, she added that "this is actually real life playing out with our family [when it airs] and how we dealt with it and how severe it was for Shane that I actually thought he wasn't going to live, and he thought so, too. It's kind of traumatic for me because it was really difficult. It's the hardest thing I've ever gone through."
She continued, "I just want to say, I do not know how I was exposed, but I do want to make it clear that I followed guidelines," she said, noting that she wore a mask when she was out as required. "I guess it comes down to, even if you follow all the rules and do everything correctly, you can still get it."
Emily then revealed that her kids didn't experience symptoms. She experienced symptoms, including headaches, fatigue, and body aches, but no high fevers or respiratory issues. Shane, however, eventually had to be hospitalized and spent eight days in the hospital as his condition worsened. He had symptoms including vomiting blood, high fevers, and difficulty breathing.
"I dropped him off [at the ER], and I didn't know what to do. I sat in the parking lot in my car for hours. It was such a weird time," Emily said of the day she took him to the hospital. She said at one point he told her while he was at the hospital that he was put on breathing tubes.
While Shane was in the hospital, Emily kept the mood up at home and tried to "stay positive" for their kids even if she didn't know what was going to happen as she didn't hear from Shane for a long period at times. "It was a complete nightmare," she added.
Emily recalls trying to find the balance between being a busy mom and trying to recover from coronavirus herself, while also dealing with Shane's illness and stay in the hospital.
"I feel like there was a couple times I was on the brink of a nervous breakdown," Emily explained. "It was more than one person could handle. I remember calling Gina [Kirschenheiter] a couple times bawling."
Emily said that Shannon Storms Beador, who also previously confirmed she had COVID-19, supported her as well while she was dealing with her family’s coronavirus situation. Emily added, "The only thing I can say is when they talk about 'mom strength,' as a mom, you do it."
Despite the unfortunate situation that the Simpsons faced, Emily, reveals that she and Shane came out of the situation in a good place. "We get along so well. We really appreciate each other. I think that's the thing I learned with that [is that] life is so short. You never know [and] something can happen at any moment and take someone away. And, so, instead of wasting energy fighting about stupid stuff or being mad at each other, we really and completely refocused and we're really appreciative of each other — and it's a great space to be in," said.
Source/Photo Credit: BRavo's The Daily Dish; Bravo Media/NBCUNiversal