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Emily Simpson Opens Up About Her Life in Utah Before RHOC Like Never Before

The RHOC cast member also reveals why The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City is so fun to watch.

By Jocelyn Vena
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Emily Simpson hasn't always been a SoCal mom and attorney. In fact, before sharing her life with the world on The Real Housewives of Orange County, Emily lived in Utah with husband Shane Simpson. And so when The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City was announced in November 2019 at BravoCon, it totally made sense to her.

"That was really interesting for me because I lived in Utah for five years when Shane and I first got married. And we actually lived in the same area where I know Lisa Barlow lives. Shane and I had a house right in that same exact area. So, I was like these are my people. I know this area," she said with a laugh in an interview with Bravo Insider. "And I thought Salt Lake City is the perfect city to have a Housewives franchise because I think the misconception is that, 'Oh, it’s Utah. It’s polygamy and Mormons and they live on compounds.' And it’s not. People in Salt Lake City have money [laughs]."

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Emily further elaborated on what makes life in Salt Lake City so splendid to live in — and what to watch on RHOSLC: "There are huge homes and land and people do all these outdoor activities with boats and SUVs. When we lived in Utah, we had like a huge house and it sat on an acre and we had side by sides [ATVs]. And so it’s a completely different as far as the outdoor activities, like off-roading and outdoorsy stuff and skiing. But it’s very sophisticated as far as the industry, jobs, and money there. There’s a lot."

With that in mind, Emily does see herself some day finding her way back to Utah with her family.

"Our plan is definitely to live in Utah again. My 14-year-old stepdaughter lives with us full time and so she’s in high school here in Orange County. But we do have a plan to eventually move back to Utah. For me, it was the space and the horses [that I loved]. I had horses when we lived in Utah, so I rode almost every day. I really miss just kind of that country girl lifestyle, that freedom of just riding and being around mountains and land and doing [activities] like we would go to Moab and do [the] trails and [ride] SUVs and stuff [like that]. So I just miss that kind of thing... I could talk about Utah all day," she added with a laugh.

Want more RHOC? New episodes air every Wednesday at 9/8c or catch up on this season through the Bravo app.

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