Emily Simpson Teases 'RHOC' Reunion & 'Interesting' 'Wife Swap' Episode

Emily Simpson was more than game to trade lives with another woman for her episode of Wife Swap: The Real Housewives Edition.

After spending six years on The Real Housewives of Orange County, the attorney wasn't afraid to deal with the conflict that comes from stepping into the shoes of another wife.

Simpson speaks exclusively with OK! about how she's feeling after the Season 19 reunion, the decision for her family to partake in the Bravo spinoff, Gina Kirschenheiter's cameo and why being direct has helped her navigate the world of reality television.

Although Simpson is feeling positive post-reunion, the fallout from the alleged screenshots of Gretchen Rossi supposedly "liking" politically divisive Instagram posts will be at the center of the special.

"I feel good coming out of the reunion," she says. "I have real friendships with these women. I walked away still very good friends with Heather [Dubrow], and Gina's my best friend. I'm close with Shannon [Beador], Jen [Pedranti] and I are close. I feel like Gretchen has the opportunity to probably say the things in the reunion that she probably should have said [on the cast trip] in Amsterdam. I can say what I would have done in that situation, but maybe I wouldn't have if [the screenshots] were presented to me. It's easy to say, 'Well, I would have done this.' I think it was good for her to have the opportunity to say the things that she should have said. It was done well, and she said everything that she should have said. It will be interesting to see what the audience will take away from it."

In Simpson's episode of Wife Swap: The Real Housewives Edition, the attorney heads to the East Coast to exchange her sunny life in Orange County for life on the farm with a woman named Caley Svensson.

"When it was presented to me originally, I thought I was swapping with another Housewife," she says while laughing. "It wasn't until right before we started filming that I think I made the connection that I wasn't actually switching with another housewife, but it was interesting. I knew I was going to New Jersey, but I didn't know where, I didn't know what the lifestyle would be."

Kirschenheiter popped into Simpson's home while she was gone to see how her husband and kids were adjusting to a new wife and mom in the house.

"I loved that. I felt like that made sense because that's genuinely who we are. If it weren't being filmed, she would have done that anyway," she says. "If there were some random woman at my house with Shane [Simpson], Gina definitely would have dropped by. I also love that she met with Caley because I feel like you can learn more about who I am through Gina. She's someone who can present who I am well, better than anyone."

Emily's knack for holding herself accountable for what she says and for being direct with her costars has made her a mainstay on the Bravo franchise.

"First of all, I'm firstborn. I had to grow up really quickly and take care of my sister. I think I didn't have that opportunity to learn how to be nurturing because that wasn't a part of my life," she says. "I had to be strong. I had to be blunt. I had to take care of my sister. I had to figure things out as a kid — that's carried over into who I am as an adult. I'm not a beat around the bush kind of person. It gets me in trouble sometimes, but I don't feel like I'm a mean person at all."

Wife Swap: The Real Housewives Edition airs on Tuesday, November 4, at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.