Simon Van Kempen

Simon van Kempen is an Australian hotelier, lawyer and reality TV personality best known for appearing alongside his wife, Alex McCord, on Bravo’s The Real Housewives of New York City. Van Kempen was raised by his mother in Brisbane, Australia. He began working in hospitality as a teenager and later earned an associate degree in law and a bachelor of laws from Southern Cross University in Australia.

Van Kempen built a career in the luxury hotel industry, working in Australia and internationally before holding senior operational roles in London and New York. He became general manager of Hotel Chandler in Manhattan in 2001, a position he held until 2010. His hotel career and relationship with McCord brought him to television, where he appeared throughout the first four seasons of The Real Housewives of New York City beginning in 2008.

During his time on RHONY, van Kempen became known for his appearances with McCord and their Brooklyn lifestyle. He later coauthored the parenting book Little Kids, Big City: Tales From a Real House in New York City (2010) with McCord and released the song “I Am Real” in 2011.

Van Kempen married McCord in May 2000. They share sons, Francois (born in 2003) and Johan (born in 2005). The family moved from Brooklyn to Australia in 2014, where van Kempen pursued law and later worked as a solicitor and director of van Kempen & Associates.