Here's How Emily Simpson Told Her Children That Their Aunt Carried Them for Her

Emily Simpson was very upfront with viewers of The Real Housewives of Orange County that her sister served as a surrogate for her three children Annabelle, 5, and twins Luke and Keller, 3. But has she told her kids as much?

“I have been very honest with my children, especially my daughter, who’s 5,” Emily told PEOPLE. “She knows that her aunt carried her in her belly and that’s where she lived and then she was born. I’m very honest and open because I just want them to know how they came to be and also not make it a big deal. Like, ‘That’s just what happened. That’s where you lived and then you were born and now you’re mine.’“

She's thankful for happy and healthy children, and sometimes wonders what it would have been like to carry them herself. 

“There are times when I wish I knew what it felt like to carry my children in my body. And then other times, I’m glad I didn’t. It’s easier to let someone else do that!” she admitted.

She also revealed that she has a special nickname for her first born. 

“I call Annabelle ‘Karma’ because I’m sure that I was not an easy child,” she said. “That child paints all over everything — paints on the drapes, paints on the furniture, climbs the walls. So Annabelle is my karma.”

Emily wrote on her blog in July, "In my heart, I want another daughter," but her husband (who has two more children from a previous relationship) is happy with the kids they have.

"I respect Shane's position," she wrote, "but that doesn't mean I won't stop trying to change his mind!"

Credit: Emily Simpson/Instagram