Jessica Simpson Husband of 10 Years Eric Johnson Living Separately During ‘Painful Situation’ in Their Marriage

Jessica Simpson and her husband of 10 years, former NFL tight end Eric Johnson are splitting up. According to People, Simpson, 44, told the magazine that the pair have separated and are living apart.

“Eric and I have been living separately navigating a painful situation in our marriage,” Simpson said in a statement. “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.”

After dating for four years, the couple got married on July 5, 2014 and have three children together: daughters Maxwell Drew, 12, and Birdie Mae, 5 and son Ace Knute, 11. At press time a spokesperson for Simpson had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment and it did not appear that the singer had made any further statement on the pair’s break-up.

Last week, she posted a sunny selfie with the message, “Life is short. SMILE while you still have teeth.” People also reported that Johnson was spotted without his wedding ring in November, which was around the time that Simpson teased a musical comeback in a chat with Footwear News.

“It’s like a retreat for me,” she said about temporarily moving her family from Los Angeles to Nashville last summer to work on her first new album in more than 13 years. “I get to just crawl up inside my head and embrace my heart. I feel so enlightened there. Writing music has become a beautiful therapeutic thing for me that I didn’t know was so natural, but it’s because I haven’t done it in so long. It’s just nice to know that I’m meeting myself back in this place, as a woman, and after going through everything that I’ve been through in my life. There’s a sense of freedom and empowerment.”

Around that time Simpson also posted a series of glam shots on Instagram from what she said were interviews in her “Nashville music room where I unearthed my singular magic.” She described her musical comeback back then as being “personal, it’s an apology to myself for putting up with everything I did not deserve.”

Though the singer has not discussed specific plans to divorce, if the couple do unwind their marriage it would be the second divorce for Simpson, who was married to 98 Degrees singer and Perfect Match host Nick Lachey from 2002-2005; the couple famously starred in MTV reality show Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica. Johnson was previously married to stylist Keri Johnson, whom he divorced in 2010.

At press time no addition information was available on Simpson’s new album, which would be her first since 2010’s Happy Christmas; her last non-holiday release was 2008’s Do You Know, which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200. She also released “Particles” as a one-off single in 2021. Simpson’s debut album, Sweet Kisses, came out on Columbia Records in 1999 and included her highest-charting single to date, “I Wanna Love You Forever,” which topped out at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.