Credit: Charles Sykes/Bravo
Emily Simpson may have gained 40 pounds when she joined the cast of The Real Housewives of Orange County five years ago, but these days, she’s looking slimmer than ever.
As she took to her Instagram page on Tuesday to showcase her weight loss journey with her fans and followers, Emily posted a couple of photos of herself sporting bikinis as she opened up about the weight she gained and said she finally feels like she’s back to her “old self.”
“Around age 42 I gained 40 pounds and it wasn’t until now (age 47) that I was able to finally get it off and feel like my old self again,” Emily began in her September 19 post. “Just to be clear though… I rocked a bathing suit on TV for [five] years and never felt ugly or not confident in myself or my body. Not once.”
“I am the strongest (mentally and physically) right now … at age 47 …and I will continue to improve myself daily. My only competition is Me,” she continued. “Thank you for following this journey with me and for those of you who are always kind and comment positive things … I appreciate you! For the haters out there.. I love you too! You motivate me daily to lift harder and eat better.”
Emily also added, “Thank you [Paulina Hefferan] for texting me at 6am every morning and confirming that my a** would be at the gym by 7.”
In addition to including videos of herself working out at the gym in her post, Emily shared a couple of recent photos of herself on vacation in the Dominican Republic, both of which saw her in bikinis.
In her first photo, Emily was seen posing on a boat in a blue two-piece swimsuit.
“Took a catamaran out today and had a blast!” she wrote in the caption.
In her second pic, Emily was sporting a white string bikini and heels in her bathroom.
Emily’s post came just weeks after she discussed her weight loss, which was prompted by the diabetes medication Ozempic, with Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live, admitting that she’s been highly criticized with comments like, “You don’t look like yourself.’”
“And that’s because publicly, for the past five years that I’ve been on the show, I’ve been 40 pounds heavier than I used to be,” she explained. “But you have to understand for me, I feel like my old self again, and that’s what makes me happy, that’s what makes me continue to work out is because I feel the way I used to feel in my 30s.”
Although Emily confessed to using Ozempic, she insisted she took it for only one month.
The Real Housewives of Orange County season 17 airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.