In her legal opinion. Emily Simpson weighed in on her Real Housewives of Orange County costar Noella Bergener’s messy divorce after getting an up-close look at the drama.
“When I first met Noella, I was very, very much on her side and believing her ‘cause I had nothing to compare it to,” the attorney, 45, exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, January 12. “He’s not on the show, he’s not giving his viewpoint, so the only thing I have to go by is what she’s telling me. And of course, I want to support her and be a friend to her.”
Emily Simpson and Noella Bergener. Tommy Garcia/Bravo (2)
However, as more allegations have trickled out surrounding the case, Emily has changed her stance on the situation.
“Now that all this stuff is coming out and he’s releasing statements and his attorneys are releasing statements, I will tell you, as an attorney, I jump all over that stuff,” she said. “I read all of it. I listen to it. I decipher it. I go back through what she told me on what dates; I make timelines. So, I will tell you, I can blow holes through a lot of things.”
Us confirmed in August 2021 that Noella filed for legal separation from James Bergener in California after one year of marriage. However, his lawyer told Us that he filed for divorce in Puerto Rico in July 2021, and the case was finalized in December 2021. The reality star then accused James in December 2021 of abandoning their son, who has autism, but James denied her allegations.
Amid the legal battle, Noella told Us on January 4 that she is “squatting in [her] 10,000-square-foot mansion” after James cut off her finances. He retorted in a statement that the lease was up in November 2021, while his attorney claimed that James “has paid substantial sums” to Noella since their split.
Emily, meanwhile, took issue with her costar’s living arrangements. “Who calls their house a mansion? Let’s go there,” she told Us on Wednesday. “Like, what is this? Does she have a moat? Is there a dragon? Like, I don’t understand. Like, why does she have to say mansion? But secondly, as far as what I read from documents, the lease was up. I don’t know what their financial arrangement was — maybe he was only financially obligated to pay the length of their lease and then that was it. So, I don’t know. If she’s illegally squatting there, then she should …….
