What Jessica Simpson's Real And Rumored Exes Have Said About Her
It's safe to say that Jessica Simpson is one of those celebrities who usually can't keep her personal life out of the headlines. The Abilene, Texas, native is obviously very talented though, having had a long and successful career as a singer, actor, and businesswoman. In 2022, Simpson even took back control of her billion dollar fashion empire, The Jessica Simpson Collection, proving she's come a long way from her start as a 90's teen pop star.
However, it seems Simpson's career really took off in 2002, when she married 98 Degrees singer, Nick Lachey. That's because the two went on to do one of the first MTV reality shows, "Newlyweds," which not only became a massive hit, but seemingly launched Simpson's Hollywood career. Of course, with more fame came more gossip, and after Simpson and Lachey divorced, Simpson's romantic life became major tabloid fodder. These days, the "With You" singer is happily married to former NFL player Eric Johnson, whom she wed in 2014 and shares three kids with. "Our love is only deepening ... I feel like we're stronger than ever now," Simpson gushed to People in 2022.
Simpson hasn't always been so lucky in love, however, having had a string of failed celebrity romances throughout her career. And although she's been pretty open about her private life over the years, a lot of her exes have been, too, with many not holding anything back when discussing the "Blonde Ambition" star. So let's break down what Jessica Simpson's real and rumored exes have said about her.
Nick Lachey was smitten but admitted to marital problems
It appears that Nick Lachey admitted that he was instantly smitten with his now ex-wife Jessica Simpson when they met back in 1998. The two had shared a manager who introduced them at the Hollywood Christmas Parade. They must have really hit it off, since Lachey recalled to People, "I found myself looking through the crowds for her all night." Yet, Lachey apparently really knew Simpson was "the one" when he heard her voice. He gushed to CBS News (via InStyle), "The first time I ever heard her sing, I got chills. And I told the guys [in 98º], 'I'm going to marry that girl one day.'"
Lachey did go on to marry Simpson in 2002, after three years of dating. The couple hadn't lived together before marriage though and the "I Do" singer didn't hold back when sharing how cohabiting was an adjustment. He explained, "The thing learned about Jessica is that she's used to having everything done for her. She'll take her shoes off in the living room and they'll just stay there ... until I put them away."
That dynamic seemingly created problems for the former couple with Lachey even dishing, "I finally had to sit her down and tell her, 'I'm not your mom.'" That wasn't the only marital problem that Lachey was open about either, considering he reportedly wasn't a fan of how involved her father, Joe Simpson, was in their lives. He even told Rolling Stone, "I think it's weird."
Nick Lachey was happy they didn't have kids
Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey famously divorced in 2006 after doing their MTV reality show, "Newlyweds." Lachey had opened up to Rolling Stone soon after, revealing that it was Simpson who had pulled the plug (via E!). He recalled, "I never wanted to be a divorcé. I wanted us to be happy." Lachey even went as far as to divulge how hurt he was by Simpson, saying, per Us Weekly, "It breaks my heart that I couldn't make Jessica happy," before admitting that he still loved her.
Lachey eventually changed his tune, though, since he later spoke out on "The Jenny McCarthy Show" in 2014 that he was glad that he and Simpson never had kids. He even explained, "It was the best thing probably for both of us that we went on with our lives ... it all worked out the way it was kind of meant to work out."
Simpson did her fair share of dishing about their marriage too, especially in her 2020 memoir, "Open Book." Yet, Lachey apparently wasn't interested in reading it, telling Andy Cohen on his SiriusXM radio show that he already knew the truth. He added, "It's so not a part of my life anymore that it's not even on my radar." However, Lachey did throw a little shade at Simpson after that, when hosting the "Love is Blind" reunion in 2022. He joked, per E!, "[Marriage] is always better the second time, right?"
John Mayer labeled Jessica Simpson a 'sexual napalm'
It's pretty evident that one of Jessica Simpson's more famous exes was singer John Mayer. The two dated on-and-off for years after Simpson's divorce from Nick Lachey. Their romance made headlines not only because Simpson dyed her signature blond locks brown when she was with him, but because of what Mayer said about her a few years later in 2010. The "Gravity" singer infamously dished to Playboy, "That girl is like crack cocaine to me. Sexually it was crazy ... It was like napalm, sexual napalm." If that wasn't juicy enough, he continued to spill, "Have you ever been with a girl who made you want to quit the rest of your life? Did you ever say ... "I would start selling all my s**t just to keep f**king you.'"
Simpson was apparently well aware that Mayer was obsessed with her, but admitted in her memoir, "Open Book," per Us Weekly, that his Playboy interview made it clear that he was with her for the wrong reasons. She wrote, "He talked about me by name in the most degrading terms ... I was done with this man in a way I never thought was possible."
While Mayer had apologized, he had no desire to read her memoir. He explained on "Watch What Happens Live," via E!, "As Pee Wee Herman says ... before the movie of his life is about to play out at the end ... 'I don't have to watch it, Dottie, I lived it.' And I think that's prescient here."
Tony Romo called Jessica Simpson 'a supportive girlfriend'
Jessica Simpson dated former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo for two years between 2007 and 2009. You could say it was Romo talking about Simpson before they met that led to their romance, since he revealed he had a crush on her in a football game segment. Simpson later told Glamour that she happened to be watching that game, recalling, "My family was like, 'Did you just hear that?' His picture came up, and I'm like, 'He's really cute.' Then I heard [that I was his crush], and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh!'"
The two went on to get a lot of hate for their relationship though, because Romo apparently started to play badly. Some football fans even accused Simpson of being a jinx. However, Romo defended his then-girlfriend, telling Vanity Fair that he was happy she went to his games. "She's a supportive girlfriend. You know, it's very hard when you lose because games are important," he said. He shared how she made that easier for him, adding, "It's nice to have someone to come home to and try to make you feel better."
Romo was also used to getting trolled, which he said was something he and Simpson had in common. He even told Channel 11's sports journalist Babe Laufenberg (via Hair Boutique) that he and Simpson sometimes discuss which one gets dragged by the media more often. However, it was the John Mayer romance rumors that allegedly became too much for him and he later dumped Simpson.
Dane Cook threw shade at Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson was only rumored to have dated comedian Dane Cook in 2006 when they filmed their movie "Employee of the Month." The two had been seen at a Hollywood club together with a witness telling Life & Style (via Today), "They looked like two people trying not to look like a couple but who really wanted to rip each other's clothes off."
Although they never confirmed a romance, the gossip about them being in a relationship apparently held enough weight for Us Weekly to ask Cook about Simpson years later in 2010. When questioned about her engagement to her now-husband, Eric Johnson, Cook said, "Jessica's a great friend of mine and I'm so happy for her!" If they did date, he seemingly implied that they ended on good terms too, by adding, "She's an incredible person ... I send out a big well wish to 'Special J' as we lovingly call her."
However, it seems Cook came off as more of a salty ex when talking about Simpson on "Watch What Happens Live" in 2014. That's because when asked by host Andy Cohen, "What was the dumbest thing you heard her say on set?," he answered, "She said one day, 'Are we making a movie?'" While Cohen had been the one to ask the question in their game "Plead the Fifth," Cook could have protected Simpson by squirting cheese in his mouth instead of answering. Yet, it looked like he had no problem throwing her under the bus.
Johnny Knoxville dismissed affair rumors
While Jessica Simpson and Johnny Knoxville never officially dated, the clothing designer admitted in her memoir, "Open Book" that they had an "emotional affair" while filming their 2005 movie, "Dukes of Hazzard." She wrote (via People), "I could share my deepest authentic thoughts with him." The problem was that Simpson was still with Nick Lachey, and Knoxville with his wife, Melanie Lynn Clapp. "We were both married, so this wasn't going to get physical. But to me, an emotional affair was worse than a physical one," Simpson revealed.
At the time, Knoxville seemed quite taken with Simpson, even telling "Extra," "She looks great on film and she looks great in those Daisy Dukes." However, he made it a point to deny the rumors that they were more than just co-stars. He explained to the Tampa Bay Times, "With the stuff they wrote about Jessica and I, it's obviously not true. They write these things and, you know, I've got a daughter and a wife and she's got a husband and it affects the families involved." He reinforced that to People, saying, "Usually, you just laugh and go on... if it's something like they've done to Jessica and I, it's not as funny."
The rumors were so intense that Howard Stern even gave Knoxville a lie detector test on his show to ask Knoxville if he ever had sex with Simpson. He answered no, which was apparently truthful. Regardless, Knoxville and Simpson eventually divorced both of their respective spouses.
Billy Corgan talked about loving Jessica Simpson
Smashing Pumpkins' frontman Billy Corgan was another one of Jessica Simpson's rumored loves since they were linked in 2009. After they were seen hanging out, a source allegedly close to Simpson told E!, "She has fallen hard and is smitten." Corgan later addressed their reported romance to the Chicago Tribune in 2010, saying, "The stuff that I've seen doesn't have any bearing to the reality that I'm in." While that didn't necessarily shut down the rumor, he did add, "It's like being in a cartoon. It has nothing to do with what's really going on or how I feel."
However, Corgan later added fuel to the fire when he told Rolling Stone about his love for the "Dukes of Hazzard" star. He not only wouldn't say they were "just friends" but dished, "Sometimes people just like being around each other, and good things come out of that." He even gushed, "My goal in life is to love whoever I think is worth loving, and I think if people knew her like I knew her, they would love her like I do."
If that isn't indication enough that Corgan was smitten, he also bashed John Mayer for sharing details of his and Simpson's sex life to Playboy. Corgan told Rolling Stone, "There's things you should really just keep your mouths shut on." It's still unclear though if Corgan and Simpson ever were an item, since she told MTV, "Billy is a dear friend of mine."
Bam Margera claimed he and Jessica Simpson hooked up
It's unclear if Jessica Simpson and Bam Margera ever actually dated, but there were rumors that they hooked up when she was married to Nick Lachey. According to Hollywood.com, Margera's fiancé at the time, Jenn Rivell, and his father, Phil Margera, had blabbed about it on Pennsylvania radio shows, before the former "Jackass" star seemed to confirm it himself on Howard Stern's radio show. He claimed that it happened when she was filming "Dukes of Hazzard." "[We] wound up at her parents' house drinking margaritas and it went from there," he recalled.
Margera wasn't coy about their alleged hook up, either, since when asked by Stern how Simpson looked naked, he dished, "She looked good. I can't deny that!" He didn't stop there, even telling Us Weekly (via Digital Spy), "It was when her parents were away and Nick was away. It's not a secret." Margera apparently had no regrets either, even if he said it ended his relationship with Rivell. He dished (via Hollywood.com), "We were seeing each other for a while – but that whole Hollywood thing just isn't me. I guess it was good it happened though."
Simpson reportedly denied his accusations but some still thought she would touch on their rumored romance in her memoir. A source had told Star Magazine (via Celebitchy), "They drank a lot together, and Jessica will recount a number of wild times." She didn't, so perhaps Margera had made it all up for attention.
Jeremy Renner denied that he dated Jessica Simpson
While Bam Margera had insisted he had been involved with Jessica Simpson, "Hurt Locker" actor Jeremy Renner had pretty much done the opposite, denying he had a romance with the "Irresistible" singer. The rumors that the two were dating began in 2010, after People reported that they had exchanged numbers at a Hollywood cocktail party. A source dished at the time, "Jeremy spent the night hitting on Jessica like crazy. They were really flirting up a storm."
Renner however, was apparently not okay with those claims and insisted to Us Weekly that he did not hit on Simpson and that they only talked for three minutes. He explained, "Her hair stylist did my mom's hair so we were talking about that and then all of a sudden we're dating!" While that might have been true, weeks later, Us Weekly reported that he and Simpson were spotted at a Washington D.C. hotel in the middle of the night, before a usually open Simpson refused to answer questions about Renner at an event.
Yet, even if they did secretly date, Renner continued to deny it that next year, telling EW, "Anyone I had my arm around or talked to I was f***ing, apparently. The gossip people are sick." You could say it was clearly Simpson who dealt with the most gossip though, thanks to her so-called exes who just couldn't seem to not talk about the star, whether she ever actually dated them or not.