For months, there was speculation of trouble in Jessica Simpson's marriage to husband Eric Johnson. They've both been spotted without their wedding rings on multiple occasions and — in an out-of-character move for Simpson — neither noted their 10th wedding anniversary in August on social media. Simpson, 44, also failed to acknowledge Johnson's 45th birthday in September, and he was notably missing from a set of family back- to-school photos she posted on Instagram that same month. Finally, on Jan. 13, the singer confirmed the suspicions, releasing a statement that she and Johnson “have been living separately navigating a painful situation in our marriage.” According to sources, the pair — who share kids Maxwell, 12, Ace, 11, and Birdie, 5 — had been living separate lives for over a year before making the announcement. In November, when reports of Johnson flirting with other women began to surface, a source tells Us they realized their issues were too large to overcome. “There were trust issues caused by the breakdown of their A source says separating wasn't an easy decision for Simpson: “She was very torn and confused.”
Picture-Perfect
Simpson and Johnson fell fast and hard for each other after meeting at a party in 2010. He had just separated from his first wife, while Simpson — who split from first husband Nick Lachey in 2005 — had recently ended her on-again, off-again romance with musician John Mayer. “We connected on all levels,” Simpson wrote of Johnson in her 2020 memoir, Open Book. “We both were ready for the real deal.” They appeared blissfully in love as they navigated life with their growing family. Simpson often sang her husband’s praises. In Open Book, she called him “the most incredible father on the planet,” and while promoting the memoir she gushed about him being her “sexual shaman.” When Simpson got sober in 2017, Johnson was by her side. (The former NFL player also stopped drinking at that time.) “Sobriety made the marriage better,” says the source. “They both became more present when they got sober.”
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In April 2022, Simpson told an outlet that their marriage was “stronger than ever,” adding, “I feel like every moment with us, we’re growing as long as we’re communicating, and our love is only deepening.” A year later, they still seemed to be solid, with Simpson posting PDA-packed photos of her and Johnson on a March 2023 couples getaway. That September — the last time Johnson was seen on her Instagram page — Simpson wished him a happy birthday, writing, “My heart is so taken with this man, I could hardly call it my own.”
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Finding Her Voice
Simpson has been back in her happy place — the recording studio — working on new material
“I can’t wait for y’all to hear the soundtrack of my soul,” Simpson wrote in a December social media post. A source tells Us she’s been working “nonstop” on her new album (her first since 2010’s Happy Christmas) and that it will be her most personal record yet. “It’s taken Jessica a long time to get to a place where she can get this out,” the source says, noting that some of the songs “transpired from her being in dark places and bad times. That includes her failing marriage, her struggle with sobriety [and] her mistakes.” Adds the source: “She has poured it all into these lyrics. The stuff she’s working on is phenomenal.”
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Troubled Waters
Things apparently took a turn after that when, according to a Simpson source, Johnson had been seen flirting with women at a bar. “Jessica is not [the type of] woman to put up with anything,” a third source tells Us. “She’s indepen...