The reality star opened up to ET on Thursday about her fellow cast member's concerning legal woes.
Emily Simpson is hoping that Shannon Beador's arrest for alleged DUI will be something of a wakeup call for her fellow Real Housewives of Orange County star.
Beador was arrested and taken into custody over the weekend on charges of drunk driving and a misdemeanor hit-and-run, according to the arrest report obtained by ET.
ET's Brice Sander spoke with Simpson on Thursday, and the reality star reflected on when she first heard the news of the arrest, and what she hopes might come of the incident.
According to Simpson, she was sent a screenshot of a headline about Beador's arrest, and almost couldn't believe it at first.
"Honestly, I had to look at it multiple times because... I thought maybe it was something that someone made up, you know? Lots of people make up memes and things," Simpson said. "When I realized that it was a real thing, I was in shock. I was blown away."
According to Simpson, she's been in touch briefly via text with Beador since the arrest.
"I just asked her how she was and I said, 'I hope you're doing OK, and if you need anything, please, you can reach out,' and that was basically it," she said, adding that she hasn't reached out to Beador since. "I think she needs space."
"And then, at some point, I'm gonna text and call and see how she is," she said. "But I think, for right now, she probably needs, you know, space."
The alleged DUI incident unfolded in the early hours of Sunday morning, shortly after 1 a.m. P.T., when Newport Beach police officers responded to reports of a hit-and-run incident involving Beador. She was subsequently arrested and booked on these charges, only to be released shortly thereafter.
In response to the incident, Beador's attorney, Michael Fell, told ET, "I spent quite a bit of time with Shannon yesterday. 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."
For Simpson, she's hoping that this incident will be something of a wake-up call for Beador.
"I feel like as a cast... I feel like we've seen her spiraling," Simpson stated. "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,' and I hope that this is her 'Aha' rock-bottom moment."
Simpson 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."
A source told ET, "Shannon got home from a night out and realized she left her phone at the place she was at. She wasn’t able to call an Uber without her phone and decided to drive back to the place, resulting in the accident."
"Shannon is devastated and knows she made a big mistake," the source said. "She has always been against drinking and driving and never does. She's telling friends this lapse in judgment won't happen again."
The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Wednesdays on Bravo.
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