Emily Simpson shared a series of bikini photos on her Instagram Story on Monday after embarking on a family cruise with her three kids, daughter Annabelle and twin sons Luke and Keller.
While enjoying a getaway with the Royal Caribbean, the Real Housewives of Orange County cast member posted images of herself sporting some major weight loss just days after showing off her toned legs in a little black dress.
“Happy Sunday!” Emily wrote in the caption of an August 6 photo of herself in Laguna Niguel.
But after showing off her fit physique, Emily was met with backlash for using the controversial diabetes medication Ozempic to jumpstart her weight loss journey.
“Ozempic is working!!” one person proclaimed.
And in response, Emily encouraged her critic to take their negativity elsewhere.
“Please find somewhere else to bitch and moan. It’s annoying and petty,” she wrote.
Another person was kinder about Emily’s new body, telling the RHOC cast member she looks “amazing” and asking if she eliminated alcohol from her diet as her co-star, Gina Kirschenheiter, recently confirmed doing herself.
“You look amazing! Did you stop drinking like Gina? Feel like that is a game changer,” the person shared.
“No but I cut way back on a lot of things: alcohol, dairy, fast food, etc,” Emily replied.
At the end of June, after Real Housewives of New Jersey star Jackie Goldschneider seemingly agreed with online critics accusing her of Ozempic use, Emily confirmed using the drug for one month during an appearance on SiriusXM’s Jeff Lewis Live. As she explained, her decision to embark on a weight loss journey came about in late 2022 amid production on the currently airing season of RHOC.
“I knew that I had gained weight. I didn’t like the way I looked, so I went to the doctor,” Emily revealed. “I did a full blood panel. My cholesterol was high. I have zero testosterone. I was pre-diabetic, so she actually said, ‘Why don’t you do a semaglutide?’”
Looking back, Emily confirmed she began taking Ozempic in December.
“That was a great kickstart for me,” she admitted. “I’m just gonna say that for me, it worked amazing because it really just kind of all the bad habits that I had where I was just kind of grazing, not really paying attention to what I was eating, eating late at night, eating my kids’ food, it just, all that stuff just kind of went away. It made me more conscientious of what I was eating, and so that was a really great kickstart for me. I didn’t lose a lot of weight doing it. I maybe lost five to seven pounds or something like that.”
Ultimately, Emily said she decided to quit taking the drug because it was making her feel lethargic and sluggish, and she added that she had “liposuction” and a “breast reduction” in January.
Months later, on her Instagram Story, Emily showed off her stunning bikini body.
“Finally relaxing alone by the pool,” she added in a second post as she was seen in a blue bikini.
The Real Housewives of Orange County season 17 airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.