Emily Simpson has had her share of hateful comments online. But trolls hit a new low when they suggested that the Real Housewives of Orange County star’s weight loss journey played a role in her son’s eating disorder. In recent years, Emily adhered to a fitness regime and surgery that resulted in noticeable weight loss.
During the RHOC Season 19 premiere, Emily revealed that her ten-year-old son Luke was diagnosed with ARFID, or avoidant restrictive food intake disorder. Since then, she and husband Shane Simpson have been on a journey to figure out what’s best for their son. And hurtful comments have no place in the plan.
Emily Simpson explains why son’s eating disorder is different to body image issues
“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 exclusively told Us Weekly. “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.”
She further clarified that Luke’s diagnosis “has nothing to do with me and losing weight or gaining weight.” There are aspects of ARFID that are less clear currently. Emily admitted that she is still looking for answers.
“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.”
Thankfully, the RHOC star has gotten more online support than anything. Emily is part of several parental support groups of children with ARFID.
Catch The Real Housewives of Orange County Thursdays at 9/8c on Bravo. It streams on Hayu in the UK and Ireland.
TELL US – WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO THE TROLLING? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF EMILY’S RESPONSE?