When The Real Housewives of Orange County returns with new episodes on Oct. 14, fans will quickly notice that Tamra Judge and Vicki Gunvalson are nowhere to be found. The two longtime cast members parted ways with the series in January, just before Season 15 commenced filming, but despite their absence, series star Emily Simpson told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY that there are many reasons why viewers should be excited about the show’s future.
Even though it was a “challenging season” to shoot because of the coronavirus outbreak that briefly halted production two weeks into filming, as well as Vicki and Tamra’s surprising exits, Emily said the cast “came together and did the best that we could considering the challenges that we [were] dealt with.” Emily went on to say that she believes she, Shannon Beador, Kelly Dodd, Braunwyn Windham-Burke, Gina Kirschenheiter, and newcomer Elizabeth Vargas “made a great show because I think it’s a really good cast.”
Emily told us that last season was “really difficult” for her because of her painful hip condition and strained relationship with on-again/off-again BFF Gina, but this year, they got things back on track and she got a new hip, so now, viewers will see a lot more positivity, including “strong relationships between Kelly and me and Kelly and Shannon — [including] their ups and downs — [as well as] Gina and me, and I think Elizabeth was a great addition.”
Emily also explained that Braunwyn will deal with something truly personal this season, “So it’s all very raw, very authentic and very real,” she said. She also noted that “the second half of the season [will have] some surprises that come up that people don’t have any idea about.” Consider us intrigued.
Want more? Season 15 of The Real Housewives of Orange County kicks off with new episodes on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 9pm on Bravo.