18

Credit: Rich Polk/Bravo

If the early episodes from season 19 of The Real Housewives of Orange County are any indicator, fans are in for a fairly dynamic time with the ladies and their families. Notably, this includes Emily Simpson, as she and her husband are bravely dealing with their son struggling with an eating disorder. Recently, the former attorney opened up about her journey with her son as well as her issues with Katie Ginella.

Regarding Emily’s son, she and Shane Simpson have openly discussed him having an eating disorder and how they initially believed he was simply a picky eater. Additionally, she has opened up about him going to therapy as well as needing testing to diagnose other conditions he may have. 

Emily recently wrote an essay for Today, discussing Luke’s disorder and how she and her family are caring for him. In detailing the journey to figure out his condition, Emily said, “We used to refer to Luke as a ‘picky eater.” Now I hate that term. We are so far beyond that.”

She continued, “I first realized that Luke had a more severe problem than just ‘picky eating’ when we went on a cruise last summer. We were out in the middle of the ocean, and he wouldn’t eat anything on the buffet at the cruise. Nothing. Not a single thing. I thought he was going to starve to death.”

Emily then shared that she was glad to find white rice available on the buffet. However, it was a different brand than they were accustomed to, so he wouldn’t eat it. In the end, Luke ended up eating French fries for the duration of the cruise. 

She added, “I felt a kind of desperation — panic — being on a ship in the middle of nowhere with a whole variety of food available, and he wanted none of it. That’s when I was cognizant that this is not a child who is “picky.” He needed help. When we got back, I took Luke to one or two therapy sessions before the therapist told me that he clearly has ARFID.”

Regarding specifics of Luke’s condition, the RHOC star shared, “Luke has a very severe aversion to 99% of food. He thinks the colors and textures are scary, and the smells of the food are overwhelming. That’s why the few foods that he does eat are white, bland, have little flavor, and don’t have a smell.”

She went on, “He will eat very plain slices of turkey, Trader Joe’s white rice, and McDonald’s fries. I can occasionally get him to eat slices of banana, but they have to be cut vertically, and they can’t have any brown spots on them. And really, that’s about it.”

Many may wonder how Luke manages to spend time with friends while balancing his eating habits. Emily stated that she sends food with him if he’s going to hang out with friends. However, if he’s going for a sleepover, she will communicate with the other parents so they are aware of what he will and won’t eat. 

Emily also discussed how she and Shane try to introduce new foods to Luke. She said, “This morning, Shane tried to introduce him to Honeycomb cereal. He didn’t like it. He immediately spit it out. We’re working with the foods he does eat, and we introduce new foods when we can. But it’s hard.” From there, she opened up a bit more about his need for therapy and testing. 

According to her, “Luke needs a lot of therapy — and not just for ARFID. He also struggles with OCD, ADHD, and a learning disability. I believe it all goes hand in hand. He was out of school for days undergoing testing to see if he also has autism, which is often linked to ARFID, but the testing didn’t lead to any conclusions.”

She has spoken in interviews before about him potentially being on the spectrum. About this, she said, “Do I think that he’s somewhere on the spectrum? Absolutely. I see him daily, and his behaviors and his sensitivity to sounds, lights, and noise. But at the end of the day, the therapist didn’t want to rush to put a label on him. She explained all of the things he was struggling with and what measures we should take to help.”

Emily then said, “I worry about Luke returning to school. We need to meet with the principal, the guidance counselor, the school psychologist, the teacher. He tested into the gifted and talented program because he’s highly intelligent, but he has an IEP and needs help with reading and language.”

Later in the essay, Emily opened up about how Luke’s condition has impacted their other kids. Regarding Keller, Luke’s twin, she says he is the “polar opposite of him in terms of food. He eats everything. He eats so much that we have to tell him to slow down and stop shoving food in his mouth.”

However, in terms of Annabelle, Emily shared, “But Luke’s older sister Annabelle has been affected by what’s going on with him. She’s 12, and she’s sort of the middle child because Shane has two older children from a previous relationship. She has said that she feels forgotten because of the attention we have to give to Luke. I try to have conversations with her to help her understand.”

Additionally, she addressed claims that she used Luke’s condition for a storyline. She said, “I’ve seen people online saying that I took advantage of my child for a reality TV storyline. I would never do anything harmful or hurtful to my child. But we were going through all of these struggles in real time during filming, so I felt like I only had two choices: be honest or don’t film.”

Emily added, “I thought it was important to share because ARFID is such a new diagnosis. I have a platform to bring awareness to the disorder, and I thought that sharing was the right thing to do for moms who are also going through it.”

Regarding what they’re currently doing for Luke, she said, “Right now, we’re going through all the experts’ recommendations and figuring out what works for Luke. But at the end of the day, I just want him to be happy.”

In lighter Emily news, she recently spoke to US Weekly about her issues with Katie and her overall disdain for her. She said, “I would take Alexis any day over Katie. Alexis is like a Labrador. She’s a dingdong, but it’s to your face. Katie’s the kind of person that you don’t know what she’s doing behind closed doors. That’s scary.”

She continued, “I think people were starting to realize that she does a lot of things that are deceptive. I’ve seen Shannon freak out. I’ve known her for seven years. … Not one time have I felt compelled to take out my phone and film her for purposes of showing other people or talking about it or whatever. I think that’s such a breach of trust and an invasion of privacy.”

When asked if Katie can find a place within the group, she expressed doubt, saying, “I don’t see any way other than, I can clearly see that she’s trying through Tamra [Judge].” Emily also shared that she has not been invited to Alexis Bellino‘s wedding and that she would not attend if she had been invited. 

RHOC airs on Bravo on Thursday nights.