Hearts broke across the globe when Jessica Simpson's divorce from her first husband,
Nick Lachey, was finalized.
But the Texas native had no trouble snagging a new man, and married Eric Johnson in 2014.
However, their marriage isn't without its quirks.
Here are the strangest details about their romance.
When Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson first met, the former athlete had plans to attend
the prestigious Wharton Business School's MBA program at the University of Pennsylvania.
He ultimately decided against it, with many reports claiming he put his education on hold
to be by Simpson's side.
School wasn't the only thing Johnson may have put on the back burner for Simpson though,
as around the time they met, the retired football player was leaving his previous marriage to
stylist Keri D'Angelo.
According to E! News, he and D'Angelo separated in October 2009.
However, by the time he met Simpson in May 2010, he and his then-wife were still legally
married, although divorce proceedings were in full swing.
To make things even stranger, E! News reported,
"But Johnson was still reportedly spending extra-friendly time with D'Angelo when he
met Simpson that May."
The singer's rep denied that there was any overlap in the two relationships.
And while we want to take their word for it, we're not so sure we believe them.
After meeting through friends in May 2010, Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson were inseparable.
They jetted off to Italy for her 30th birthday in July 2010 and were spotted full-on making
out all over the city.
After just six months of dating, and one month after his divorce was finalized, Johnson proposed
to Simpson.
Simpson's rep informed E! News in November 2010,
"Yes, we are excited to confirm that they are engaged."
Their mad dash to the altar raised a few eyebrows though.
To start with, there were questions surrounding the purchase of Simpson's $100,000 ruby-and-diamond
engagement ring.
An insider alleged to Popeater,
"Yes, he made a little bit of money in the NFL and is from a wealthy family, but unless
his parents helped him out, Jessica must have paid for it herself."
There were also rumors that Simpson's family was concerned about her then-fiancé's lack
of employment.
A source reportedly told E! News,
"They are a little worried because he has nothing going on, but he really loves her
for her.
They are happy and feel that she's in a good place."
Jessica Simpson revealed that she was surprised when Eric Johnson proposed, and didn't want
to wear the engagement ring right away.
As she told CBS' The Early Show,
"I actually had to sit on his knee, I was so shocked."
"And we both definitely were teary-eyed."
"Yeah."
"I didn't even try the ring on until like, five minutes in."
"Right."
"I was, like, so shocked."
Simpson's amazement isn't all that surprising, considering the caliber of her new ring.
As CBS News noted,
"The Neil Lane three-stone ring...features a central ruby stone flanked by two diamonds."
But it's clear that Simpson was impressed, even if she didn't put on her new jewelry
right away.
She told The Early Show,
"It was all Eric's idea and he just wanted it to be special."
After her string of failed relationships, including courtships with crooner John Mayer
and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, Simpson held back when it came to vocalizing
her true feelings for Eric Johnson.
She told People magazine in October 2010,
"As far as Eric and I go, we're just best friends.
He's my dude!
I love him."
And when Simpson was asked if Johnson was the one, she seemed to hold back and told
People,
"He's the one for me right now!
I'm very happy, I'm in a great place and if right now could last forever, I'd take it."
It's unclear how Johnson felt being referred to as Mr. Right Now!
However, he obviously didn't mind too much because he asked for Simpson's hand in marriage
less than a month after the interview was published.
After getting engaged in November 2010, just a week after ex-husband, Nick Lachey, got
engaged to Vanessa Minnillo, Simpson wasn't in a huge rush to plan her own wedding.
As she explained to People,
"We're just going to enjoy the engagement and we'll get married the moment we feel like
it."
As it turned out, Simpson and Johnson's wedding ceremony was delayed on two separate occasions
as the couple welcomed their first two kids, daughter Maxwell in 2012, and son Ace in 2013.
"I am a family girl."
During an appearance on The Tonight Show, Simpson revealed,
"We've had two different wedding dates, but he keeps knocking me up."
After a much-needed lull in baby-making, they finally became husband and wife in July 2014,
and welcomed their third child, daughter Birdie, in March 2019.
Jessica Simpson loves to throw big bashes to celebrate important moments in her life,
so it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that she went all out when she married Eric Johnson.
The singer's four-day 2013 wedding included a Fourth of July barbecue, an awesome wedding
reception, and a Sunday farewell brunch for their guests.
And when Simpson said "I do," she was wearing a designer gown made by Carolina Herrera.
Thanks to all of the details surrounding Simpson's special day, the couple was left with a bill
that totaled $1.4 million, according to E! News.
We're sure there were countless magical moments throughout the entire multi-day event, but
Simpson's top moment is rather strange.
She told Us Weekly,
"My favorite memory of the wedding is Eric sitting in his boxers after everybody had
left the ceremony.
And we had to get a tailor to sew his pants back up.
[...] It was just, like, sitting there with your man in his Calvin Kleins and a tuxedo
jacket...There was something sexy about it, because he split his pants because he was
reaching for my kids.
It doesn't get better."
Birthdays are a time to celebrate, especially if your name is Jessica Simpson.
Sadly, some tend to think the fashion guru, who isn't in the spotlight as much as she
once was, goes a bit overboard.
For instance, Simpson appeared to have a little too much fun in September 2017 while hitting
the town on her hubby's birthday.
After visiting West Hollywood celebrity hotspot Craig's, Simpson was photographed being carried
out of the restaurant after what appeared to be one too many drinks.
In one photo, Simpson lost her footing and almost took a tumble down the curb.
Thankfully, her husband was around to keep her from face-planting right there on the
sidewalk.
Finally, she was spotted making her way into a waiting car, but she didn't leave before
sticking out her tongue.
Rumors were buzzing when the press suspected Jessica Simpson was getting drunk far too
frequently.
A source allegedly told The National Enquirer,
"[Johnson's] worried sick that Jess' conduct is going to start affecting their two children
and that their oldest is starting to realize there's 'something wrong with Mommy!'"
Simpson opened up about her drinking during an interview with Today in 2020 and explained,
"I always had a glitter cup and it was always filled to the rim with alcohol."
She also started missing out on major moments, like taking her kids out trick or treating
on Halloween.
Of writing her memoir, Open Book, which explores her struggle with drinking, Simpson told People,
"I didn’t realize all the stuff I had to say until I was actually connected to it through
music and writing...So when I started to go through all the depth of the pain that I was
experiencing, I realized I was pretty rock bottom."
Thankfully, this made her realize she needed to quit drinking, which she did while seeking
help from a therapist.
Jessica Simpson loves to talk about getting frisky with her husband, so it's unsurprising
that the couple requires a special diet to help support their bedroom habits.
A source reportedly told OK!
Magazine,
"Their trash can is always filled with empty oyster shells every morning...Their sex life
is white hot as always and she and Eric are now eating all things that are supposed to
turn you on."
The source even alleged that Simpson had gathered a list of aphrodisiacs online, and the singer
told InStyle,
"He's always loved every curve on my body."
In fact, it would seem that Simpson and Johnson are so into each other that even weird shoes
are enough to spark their interest.
Sharing a photo of Johnson's walking shoes, Simpson wrote,
"My husband's shoe game makes me want to bang."
Whatever they do behind closed doors is their business, even if it involves a lot of raw
shellfish.
to love
Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson are obviously into each other, and being husband and wife
has only amped-up the attraction between them to the point where the singer describes their
passion as an addiction.
In 2014, the star of The Dukes of Hazzard told Today,
"Marriage has changed us in a lot of ways.
I just think we're a little bit more addicted to each other."
The fashion mogul further elaborated,
"I just think that there is, like, a level of love that has just reached the highest
of high."
This extreme level of attachment is actually a state that's backed up by science.
According to Psychology Today,
"We often say 'love' when we really mean, and are acting out, an addiction — a sterile,
ingrown dependency relationship, with another person serving as the object of our need for
security."
Jessica Simpson is so addicted to her husband, that one lifetime with him apparently just
isn't enough.
That's why she's hoping to enjoy multiple lifetimes with him.
In September 2019, Jessica Simpson took to Instagram to write,
"Happy 40th Birthday to the man of my dreams.
I pray in every lifetime I find you and we re-create the beauty of what we have again
and again.
My hero, champion, best friend, lover, and daddy to our babies...I could never have hoped
for more.
I love you."
While the latter part of the message is sweet and pretty normal, the second statement is
a little more unexpected.
Does the singer believe in reincarnation?
While it's nice that Simpson wants to live all of her potential lives with her hubby,
this is a particular belief that's not necessarily backed up by science.
According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine,
"Objection to claims of reincarnation include the facts that the vast majority of people
do not remember previous lives and there is no mechanism known to modern science that
would enable a personality to survive death and travel to another body."
Still, it's more than a little romantic that Simpson is ready to commit to Johnson for
this lifetime and the next.
Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson obviously like to indulge in a lot of PDA, and these
two also have a thing about their tongues, which they like to show off.
While it can either be considered simply gross or just plain silly, it's just another strange
thing about the couple's relationship which seems to suit them just fine.
"Did I like stick my tongue out too much?"
For instance, back in April 2014, the duo appeared to be seconds away from french kissing
in a moment that Simpson apparently thought her followers would want to see as she shared
the intimate picture on Instagram.
And in the summer of that same year, Simpson posted a photo of the pair sticking their
tongues so far out, it almost looked painful.
In March 2016, Simpson shared a shot of a date night with her husband, and be warned,
because the photo featured the duo with their tongues touching, as Johnson held his wife's
head in his hands.
And if you thought that this was a particular quirk that only Simpson and Johnson took part
in, think again, because it seems that they've passed on this peculiar tendency to their
daughter too.
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