It turns out that two incomes are better than one. Emily Simpson and her husband Shane Simpson had to learn that the hard way. The Real Housewives of Orange County stars spent a long time being a single-income home, with Shane prioritizing his legal career. Apparently, that ended up putting a strain on their relationship. Who would have thought?
Of course, most of us normal people would assume that only having one working parent while living in Orange County could be challenging. Housewives aren’t normal people, so Emily and Shane recently admitted on Bravo’s Hot Mic podcast just how much Shane’s lack of employment took a toll on their marriage. Plus, they opened up about the surprising aspect of their life that helped pull them back together.
Emily and Shane got real about their rough patch
On the podcast, Emily was the first one to admit how Shane’s employment struggles caused some trouble in their marriage. On RHOC, we saw him try to pass the California Bar Exam at least a hundred times. He finally passed it in 2021, but still, it was a long and bumpy road to get there.
“I think you taking the bar exam was probably the most… difficult on our relationship,” Emily admitted on the podcast.
Shane agreed. He said that between filming, parenting, and desperately trying to pass the bar, things got difficult. They didn’t mention the “D” word, but it still sounds like they had their difficulties.
“That was a lot with filming, with young children, you know finances, [and] not working,” Shane added. “It was just a lot to deal with at the same time.”
Surprisingly, both Emily and Shane credited the Real Housewives of Orange County for helping keep their marriage on track. Yes, you read that right. There’s a reality TV couple who said that putting their lives on camera helped them. This might be a first.
“I feel like us being on the show has made our marriage stronger and made us work as a unit better and made us better parents,” Emily suggested.
Once again, Shane agreed with his wife. He said that they have become “more dependent” on each other thanks to the show. We’re hopeful that it stays that way. We’d love to see at least one couple in the Bravo universe avoid the reality TV curse.
