Real Housewives of Orange County star Emily Simpson shocked fans when she revealed that she didn’t give birth to any of her children. Rather, her sister was a surrogate mother to all three of her children.
Emily dropped the truth bomb during an Instagram Q&A session.
A fan asked why her daughter’s school picture said Sara rather than Anabelle, which is what Emily calls her on the show.
She then explained that she gave Anabelle the first name Sara after her sister who carried and gave birth to her.
Sara was initially going to be her daughter’s middle name, but her husband, Shane pointed out that Anabelle Sara Simpson didn’t make for a PC acronym.
Emily switched her name to Sara Anabelle but calls her Anabelle.
Another asked, “Did your sister carry the twins? Sorry I just learned that she carried Annabelle.”
“She carried all three of my chidren,” Emily replied with three heart emojis.
“Were you unable to carry to carry or was it by choice?” another fan asked as a follow-up. “I don’t recall you mentioning.”
“I had 5 miscarriages,” Emily revealed. “Then we did in vitro. Then I lost twins at 16 weeks pregnant.”
Emily addresses the emotional toll of her miscarriages
One fan who seemed to face the same struggle asked Emily how she managed to get over her miscarriages.
“The only thing that really helped me was time,” Emily explained. “But I think it’s also important to do things to take your mind off of it: I read a lot of books. Went to therapy. Took the Utah BAR exam. Bought a horse and took riding lessons and got a puppy.”
Emily has also dove deep into living a healthy lifestyle. She recently shed 30 pounds and has embarked on a new fitness business venture with her personal trainer Paulina.
How the surrogacies impacted the sisters’ relationship
One fan asked Emily if having her sister Sara carry her babies put a strain on their relationship.
Emily replied that the surrogacy only brought them closer together. She shared that her children know that their Aunt Sara carried them and love her for it.
Another fan asked if Sara would appear on RHOC now that her involvement with delivering Emily’s children has been revealed.
“I hope so!” Emily replied. “I think her perspective on carrying all three of my children is probably pretty interesting.”
Another curious fan asked whether Sara had any of her own children. Emily responded that Sara does have a daughter.
The Real Housewives of Orange County airs on Wednesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.