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Credit: Instagram, Bravo

Emily Simpson has high hopes for the upcoming 19th season of The Real Housewives of Orange County.

While discussing the return of Gretchen Rossi, 46, Gretchen’s longstanding feud with Tamra Judge, 57, her own conflicts, and what she misses of Alexis Bellino, 48, and their past, Emily, 49, offered an update on her son Luke and looked back on her and Gina Kirschenheiter‘s recreation of Heather Dubrow, 56, and Terry Dubrow‘s controversial Disney pics.

“I think this will be the best season of [RHOC] to date. It will be, because last season was amazing, everyone loved it. It was well received. The season before, clearly, we have a great cast. We have the dynamics in the relationships. We have real friendships,” Emily explained this week on E! News. “Gretchen comes back, and she has a history with Tamra, but I know Gretchen, and she’s got a history with some people, and she comes in trying to assimilate into the group, which is great.”

“I think every episode, it’s gonna be something different. There’s gonna be fun. There’s gonna be friendships shifting. There’s gonna be things revealed that you didn’t even know or were anticipating. So it’s gonna be amazing,” she teased.

Looking back on production, Emily admitted that Gretchen appeared to be “scared” of Tamra at times.

“Gretchen gets scared … don’t let her fool you. Gretchen can be very strong on the red carpet and very strong in interviews and very strong in podcasts but she … it took a while to get her to get to the point where she would have a conversation with Tamra,” Emily disclosed. “I feel like I had to consistently facilitate that. And she was like, ‘Well, I don’t think I have to,’ and I’m like, ‘Girl, then why are you here?’”

After noting that she was neither Team Gretchen nor Team Tamra, Emily revealed she had the most conflict with Katie Ginella, 41. She also noted that although she did not miss Alexis on the show, she did miss “fighting with her.”

“I thoroughly enjoy that. That’s a good time,” she admitted.

Moving on to Shannon Beador, 61, Emily said she “watched a little bit” of her castmate on Love Hotel.

“I think Shannon deserves a man, and I would love for her to find someone that treats her the way she should be treated. I think she just has to [change] what she’s looking for because I don’t think it’s working. I mean, clearly,” she explained.

During production on season 19, Emily and her husband, Shane Simpson, 50, were faced with a “crisis” pertaining to their son Luke. 

“It’s getting better, but it’s a work in progress. That was something I didn’t anticipate. It just started happening in real time while I was filming, and I struggled a lot with it. Shane struggled. He struggled. My other kids struggled. Now I’m dealing with the aftermath of having to focus so much on Luke and spend so much time with Luke,” she explained. “My other kids slipped a little, and now we’re trying to fix that, so it’s been really difficult.”

As for the photos she and Gina took in which they posed as Heather and Terry, 66, did after they faced divorce rumors years ago, sparking rumors claiming they’d called paparazzi on themselves, Emily revealed it was Gina’s idea.

“Heather commented on it and asked, ‘Where’s the pointing one?’” Emily recalled, confirming that Heather was not upset. 

“She knows it was in good fun, and we weren’t mocking their relationship. I respect their relationship,” she insisted.

Also on E! News, Emily revealed how she and Gina have been able to maintain their friendship for the past eight years.

“Gina and I are just different in general. We aren’t from Orange County. She’s from Long Island. I’m from Ohio. I think we just aren’t affected, maybe, by the Orange County vibe,” she suspected. “I think we’re just who we are and that never changed … and I think that works for us.”

The Real Housewives of Orange County season 19 premieres on Thursday, July 10, at 9/8c on Bravo.