Emily Simpson is hoping Shannon Storms Beador’s arrest for an alleged DUI hit and run will be the epiphany the reality TV star needs to make some much-needed changes to her life.
Following Beador’s brush with the law earlier this week, The Real Housewives of Orange County star, 47, spoke to Entertainment Tonight regarding hercastmate and her recent troubles.
“I was in shock. I was blown away,” Simpson told the outlet, noting that she almost didn’t believe the news at first because she thought it might be “something that someone made up.”
After coming to terms with Beador’s arrest, Simpson said she reached out to her costar, though their exchange was short. “We actually texted briefly,” Simpson said. “I think she needs space.”
“I just asked her how she was and I said, ‘I hope you’re doing okay, and if you need anything, please, you can reach out,’ and that was basically it,” she added.
In a RHOC episode earlier this season, Simpson quipped that Beador, 59, should be required to take a breathalyzer test just to use her phone. While she emphasized how she was joking at the time, Simpson admitted there was a seed of truth to her comment, as well.
“I feel like there’s always a bit of reality within a joke,” Simpson told ET. “I feel like we’ve seen her spiraling. We’ve had conversations, just as a cast, about her, worrying about her.”
“I genuinely, from the bottom of my heart, hope that, like, sometimes people actually hit rock bottom [and] take accountability and to have an ‘Aha!’ moment, where they say, ‘Yeah, maybe I do need some help,’” she continued. “And I hope that this is her ‘Aha’ rock-bottom moment.”
Simpson also said she hopes Beador “takes accountability and recognizes what happened and the severity of it and [that she] really wants to embrace that and change for the better.”
On Monday, Beador was arrested at 1:17 a.m. on Sept. 17 after fleeing the scene from a collision that caused property damage, according to the Newport Beach Police Department. The NBPD also said the Real Housewives of Orange County star had been booked for two misdemeanors — one for a hit-and-run, the second for DUI alcohol — and released on a citation.
Beadorwas found walking her dog by police after she allegedly left her car in the middle of the road, according to the initial report by TMZ.
Following her arrest, Beador’s lawyer, Michael L. Fell told the reality star was reeling from the fallout and was “extremely apologetic” for her actions.
“I spent quite a bit of time with Shannon yesterday,” Fell said in a statement on Monday. “She is extremely apologetic and remorseful. We will be awaiting the official information on this case as it becomes available, and Shannon is prepared to accept full responsibility for her actions.”
In the time since, several other housewivescastmembers have spoken out following Beador’s arrest, including Tamra Judge, who shared her reaction to the news on Monday’s episode of her podcast Two Ts in a Pod. She admitted to co-hosts Teddi Mellencamp and guest Cynthia Bailey, “I’m literally shaking right now. I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
Judge, 56, described Beador as “extremely quiet” during a conference call for their show Tres Amigas with Bravo star Vicki Gunvalson on Sunday, adding, “She said, ‘It’s been a rough couple of days,’ and that’s all she told me.”
“I talked to her the day after this supposedly happened,” the Bravo star continued. “That’s why I instantly thought it was a lie. This is life-changing. This is going to change her life. I feel bad for her. I’m just happy nobody got hurt.”
The Real Housewives of Atlanta alum Bailey, 56, encouraged Beador to “stay strong” following the incident, while Mellencamp — who appeared on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills — also addressed the alleged DUI and urged listeners to avoid drinking and driving.
“There is absolutely no reason in this day and age to ever drink and drive,” she explained. “I will not even have one drink and get into the car because you don’t know how an alcoholic beverage is going to hit you.”
RHOC alum Braunwyn Windham-Burke also addressed Beador’s arrest, calling it a “catalyst for change.”
“I know Shannon has a big heart and hope this can become her story where this is a moment when everything changed for the better,” Windham-Burke, 45, told on Monday.
She shared the reality star has been “going through a hard year,” adding, “Obviously, what happened is not okay. You should never drink and drive. It was a very unfortunate night for her, but fortunately no one was hurt.”
The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.
