The season 19 finale of The Real Housewives of Orange County left fans reeling and Emily Simpson is still trying to process what happened. The drama centered on claims that Tamra Judge may have been sharing confidential show information with bloggers.
In the final moments of the season, Shannon Storms Beador, Jennifer Pedranti, and Gina Kirschenheiter spoke with an unnamed individual who alleged that Tamra Judge was leaking top-secret information about the Bravo series. Although Emily, 49, wasn’t present for the call, she believes Tamra, 58, may have shared storylines.
“I’m sure she did, because the amount of information that this person knew — it was detailed,” Emily exclusively shared with Us Weekly while promoting Wife Swap: The Real Housewives Edition on Thursday, October 30. “It was dates. It was who was there. It was where we were filming. It was content.”
What really caught Emily’s attention was the level of detail the mysterious source had, including screenshots allegedly showing Gretchen Rossi “liking” anti-LGBTQIA+ posts. (Gretchen, 47, denied “liking” the post when Gina, 41, and Tamra brought up screenshots in Amsterdam.)
“That’s detailed information that only cast and production would know about,” Emily said. “So, clearly, someone leaked it, and the fact that they said it was Tamra? I mean, I believe them. I’m sure that she does or has done it for years. I think it just caught up with her. There’s no reason for me not to believe that it was her. It seemed very black and white.”
The drama is expected to continue during the three-part reunion show, but many cast members seem convinced that the “Two T’s in a Pod” podcast cohost is capable of this kind of behavior. During Thursday’s finale, Shannon, 61, and Jennifer, 48, openly criticized Tamra after hearing from the anonymous source.
“Tamra will do anything for maximum impact,” Jennifer claimed in a confessional. “I think she will hurt anybody. I think she will leak information, and I think she’s probably one of the most calculative, scary, dangerous people within this friend group.”
Shannon added, “How dare you try to destroy so much for your own benefit? I really can’t come up with another word other than evil.”
Tensions are also brewing between Tamra and Emily as the reunion approaches. “I feel like Tamra came into the reunion with a chip on her shoulder towards me, and I don’t even understand where that came from,” Emily said. “There’s this surprise ending — I’m not even in that end and I’m not even part of that — and after that, she comes at me. I’m thinking, ‘There are three other people that were just sitting here just destroying you, and you’re yelling at me.’ I don’t know. I don’t understand it.”
As fans eagerly await the reunion, it’s clear that the fallout from season 19 is far from over—and Emily Simpson is right in the middle of it.
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