RHOC’s Emily Simpson Details Son’s Rare ARFID Struggle
Because nothing says “peak reality TV therapy” like revealing your child’s diagnoses in a confessional, RHOC’s Emily Simpson just let fans in on her 10-year-old son Luke’s battle with what experts call ARFID—Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. The Bravolebrity, also mother to 12-year-old Annabelle and twin Keller, admitted during Season 19’s July 10 premiere that Luke’s picky-eater phase escalated into a full-blown refusal to eat in the past year. Two months ago, a therapist confirmed her fears with a hard acronym: ARFID.
Simpson—formerly a lawyer turned reality star—laid out the grim details. Luke doesn’t recognize hunger cues and reacts to food like it’s a crime scene. “Food in general disgusts him,” she confessed to husband Shane Simpson, while recalling a nutritionist’s observation that her son is hypersensitive to smells. One whiff of someone else’s home and he’s declaring, “It stinks in here,” because apparently the kid hasn’t mastered social niceties either. Emily sighed that they have to tiptoe around Luke’s aversions, acknowledging his sensory quirks might be more than “just” food drama.
Of course, refusing every meal comes with collateral damage. Simpson candidly noted that Luke’s stunted growth and low energy have turned him into a hangry, moody kid who can’t connect the dots between “hungry” and “eating.” When he’ll tell her “I’m starving” immediately after declining dinner, mom’s left scratching her courtroom-trained head. The real horror show? Bullying concerns. Emily fretfully imagined Luke being the “weird kid” at school, prompting the kind of maternal panic that only playing on Bravo can intensify.
The emotional roller coaster hit its peak when Simpson whispered to BFF Gina Kirschenheiter that ARFID might be a red flag for autism. Cue the tears. Sound sensitivities, texture freakouts, smell aversions—it’s all feeding into the possibility of a broader neurodivergent profile, meaning more tests and that sinking feeling of “Did I miss something?”
In true RHOC fashion, the segment ended on a cliffhanger: Luke has to see an autism specialist for “intense testing,” and viewers are left hanging on whether mom and son will find the right treatment path. It’s enough to make you wonder if any therapy session on reality TV can top this level of overshare.
And there you have it—just another Bravo-approved family crisis wrapped in a neat ARFID diagnosis. You’re welcome.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and E! Online, Bravo, People Magazine
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
