Last week, Jessica Alba and Cash Warren soft-launched their divorce. I noted, at the time, that I was surprised that we hadn’t gotten more about the much-rumored split of the other Jessica, Jessica Simpson. In the last half of 2024, there were steady rumors about the state of Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson’s marriage. Money problems and location problems, allegedly – Jessica moved to Nashville and she’s planning to relaunch her music career. Meanwhile, Eric is… not in Nashville, apparently. Well, now People Magazine is calling it. Jessica and Eric’s marriage is over.
Jessica Simpson and husband Eric Johnson are taking time apart. The singer and actress, 44, and her former NFL player husband, 45, are separating after 10 years of marriage, Simpson tells PEOPLE exclusively.
“Eric and I have been living separately navigating a painful situation in our marriage,” Simpson said in a statement to PEOPLE. “Our children come first, and we are focusing on what is best for them. We are grateful for all of the love and support that has been coming our way, and appreciate privacy right now as we work through this as a family.”
Johnson was spotted without his wedding ring in November, around the same time Simpson teased her “comeback” to music with a cryptic Instagram post that featured photos of herself in a recording studio.
“Interviews in my Nashville music room where I unearthed my singular magic,” she captioned the images. “This comeback is personal. It’s an apology to myself for putting up with everything I did not deserve.”
A source told PEOPLE days later that that the “With You” singer and her husband “very much live separate lives.”
Simpson and Johnson married in July 2014 after four years of dating and share three children: daughters Maxwell “Maxi” Drew, 12, and Birdie Mae, 5, and son Ace Knute, 11.
I will always respect Eric – and I hope Jessica feels the same way – for supporting her through her sober journey and helping her deal with her drinking problem. I genuinely thought they were happy and settled, but Jessica has also been going through some things separate from her marriage. She’s in debt because of her clothing line (she and her mom bought back the rights to the full line) and she’s trying to relaunch her music career. It would not surprise me if Jessica is the one who decided she was done with the marriage.
Jessica posted this photo from Nashville late last year – she’s really given herself an extreme makeover.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images, Instagram.
