RHOC’s Emily Simpson Responds to Critics Who Think She Caused Son’s Eating Disorder (Exclusive)

Emily Simpson is setting the record straight on one cruel assumption surrounding her son’s eating disorder.

“I have to say, I’ve had some people say negative things about the eating disorder, and they’ll make a correlation between me having surgery or me losing weight,” Emily, 49, exclusively shared with Us Weekly on Wednesday, July 16, when promoting The Real Housewives of Orange County. “This has nothing to do with a child wanting to lose weight or having a body image. This is a neurodivergent disorder that has to do with his brain and how he operates.”

On the season 19 premiere of RHOC, Emily revealed that her 10-year-old son, Luke, was recently diagnosed with avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID).

According to the Cleveland Clinic, ARFID is a condition that limits your food intake. Those facing the eating disorder can lose interest in eating, feel anxious about the consequences of eating and avoid foods that have an unwanted color, taste, texture or smell.

While Emily has allowed Bravo to document her own health and fitness journey over the years, she made it clear to Us that ARFID “has nothing to do with me and losing weight or gaining weight.”

Ever since sharing her son’s story on the July 10 episode of Bravo’s reality show, Emily said she has had countless moms reach out with support and resources.

While she is still searching for answers, Emily is comforted by the fact that she is not alone.

“We definitely know that he has ARFID. The ARFID has a lot of symptoms that overlap with autism,” she explained. “We did take him to a specialist to be tested. He did some very extensive testing that comes up later in the season. I’m still not really clear on a lot of things.”

Both Emily and her husband, Shane Simpson, have vowed to be the best parents for their son. (The couple also share daughter Annabelle, 12, and son Keller, 10.)

“A school counselor told me this,” Emily recalled. “She said, ‘Emily, you know, it’s not always good to just put a label on something.’ I want a label so that I can tell people, ‘He has this, this and this.’ At the end of the day, I don’t know if that’s the best thing. He is what he is, and he is very complicated.”

Since sharing her story, many of Emily’s costars have been able to put aside any TV drama to support their friend.

“I love you. I love your strength as a mom and a woman. I am so proud to be your friend ❤️,” Gina Kirschenheiter wrote via Instagram. Heather Dubrow added, “You’re a great mom Emily! We love you ❤️❤️❤️.”

The Real Housewives of Orange County airs on Bravo Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET. Stream old episodes anytime on Peacock.