Emily Simpson Says Her In-Laws Don’t Fund Her Lifestyle

“The Real Housewives of Orange County” season 18 reunion kicked off on Thursday, November 7, and ended with a fight between castmates Emily Simpson and Jenn Pedranti. After Emily spelled out the allegations she had read online that Jenn’s fiancé Ryan Boyajian was involved in the Shohei Ohtani gambling scandal, Jenn responded by saying, “Then I’m sorry, I’ve read that your in-laws fund your whole life.”

Emily, an attorney, responded to the claims that her husband, Shane Simpson’s, parents fund their lifestyle in an Instagram story following the episode where she wrote, “If my in-laws ‘funded our lifestyle’ I’d be living WAY larger than I am right now. I’d be on private jets with Heather Dubrow. They do not.”

Who Are Emily Simpson’s In-Laws

Emily is married to Shane Simpson, an attorney (who RHOC fans saw finally pass the California bar exam in 2021 after mulitple attempts) from Utah who she met while they worked together at a real estate firm.

Shane’s mother, Pary Simpson, has appeared on RHOC on the past. According to BravoTV.com, Pary is 100 percent Iranian, and he and his family are all practicing Mormons (though Emily is not). Not much is publicly known about Shane’s father.

Despite Emily’s insistence that she does not live off of her in-laws funding, she shared a broader perspective on their financial relationship while appearing on “Watch What Happens Live” in November 2019 after one fan asked, “I’ve heard Shane’s parents bankroll your lifestyle, is that true?”

“It’s no secret that Shane’s parents are very wealthy,” Emily responded. “So he has lots of investments that they’ve set up for him. I’ve never made that a secret.”

Emily and Shane are still very close with his parents, as the family celebrated Shane’s oldest daughter Shelby’s wedding at his parent’s house in Orange County in August 2024. “[Shelby and her husband] were married in the LDS Temple in Newport in the morning followed by a family dinner and ring 💍 ceremony at my in-laws’ home 💐 🌺 🌷 So much fun, love, and memories shared in one beautiful day! My family from Ohio even came to the wedding,” Simpson wrote in an Instagram post filled with photos and videos from the happy day.

Emily’s daughter Annabelle served as a junior bridesmaid, even giving a speech for her older sister, while her twin sons Luke and Keller acted as ring bearers.

Shane Simpson Didn’t Want to Do RHOC

Emily opened up about what it was like getting Shane on board to join RHOC in a July 2023 interview with Us Weekly.

“Going into the show five years ago, Shane was not a fan of being on the show at all. And he made that very clear to me,” Emily told the outlet. “He was like, ‘I don’t wanna film, I don’t wanna be on a show. I don’t want you to be on a show.’ But he ultimately said, ‘But it’s up to you.’”

While Shane felt the move to join RHOC could be “detrimental” to their marriage, Emily’s shared that it’s had the opposite effect. “Here we are five years later, and I feel like our relationship has done nothing but get better. And, so, I think he’s embraced that and realized that you can just have fun with it and be yourself,” she shared.

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Henry Sinnott is an entertainment reporter who covers HGTV, The Voice, American Idol and Teen Mom for Heavy. Henry is based in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from Binghamton University. He loves all things comedy and reality TV. More about Henry Sinnott