Firing her father, accepting her parents' new partners, and an unexpected connection with Diana
Ross' daughter. Jessica Simpson's relationship with her family has faced some serious challenges.
The "I Wanna Love You Forever" singer is the daughter of Joe and Tina Simpson. Joe
is a Baptist youth minister who made the unlikely pivot into pop star management.
Tina is Jessica's business partner, and helps to run the singer's wildly successful lifestyle
brand. In 2012, Tina filed for divorce from Joe after 34 years of marriage.
In 2020, Jessica published her first memoir, "Open Book," in order to set the
record straight about everything from her pop career to her failed marriage to Nick
Lachey. She also opened up about the drama surrounding her parents' divorce, writing,
Jessica also discussed her father's reaction to the split, writing,
In 2014, Jessica Simpson walked down the aisle with her second husband, former San Francisco
49ers tight end Eric Johnson. It was an occasion she hoped would bring her estranged parents
together, especially as Joe was officiating. Instead, it proved to be their death knell.
Just three days before his daughter was due to walk down the aisle, Joe asked
Jessica whether he could bring a "plus-one" to the ceremony. Much to everyone's surprise,
his "plus-one" was Jonathan Keith, a young male model that Joe worked with while branching out
into the world of photography. Jessica addressed the situation in her 2020 memoir, writing,
While promoting her book, Jessica was asked about her father's sexuality,
and told the Los Angeles Times,
2012 certainly proved to be a turbulent year in the life of Jessica Simpson and her family.
Shortly after her parents announced they were going their separate ways, the "With You"
singer fired her father as her manager. In her memoir, "Open Book," which was published eight
years later, she revealed that it was one of the hardest things she'd ever had to do, writing,
As for what inspired "The Dukes of Hazzard" star to make such a bold move, it turns out that Mr.
Simpson didn't always represent his daughter in the best light. As Jessica explained in her book,
"He was a great manager, but at the time, I needed to do things on my own."
"Right!"
Despite any difficulties that occurred professionally, Jessica Simpson still seems to
maintain a positive relationship with her father. In 2022, Jessica took to Instagram to celebrate
Father's Day. In the caption, she honored the father of her three kids, former NFL star Eric
Johnson, her father-in-law Stephen, and her own dad, Joe Simpson. The "Irresistible" singer wrote,
Jessica also shared some photos from a pool party to her Instagram
Stories. In one of the snaps she was shown happily smiling alongside her dad.
While things between Jessica Simpson and her father have often been fraught,
her relationship with her mother appears to have been much smoother. In 2022,
the singer celebrated Mother's Day with a Twitter post dedicated to her mom,
Tina. Sharing a sweet photo taken with her mother, Jessica wrote,
In a follow-up tweet, the "Blonde Ambition" star
made it clear just how much she appreciates her mom, writing,
While Jessica severed all business ties with her dad in 2012, she continues to
have a successful working partnership with her mom. The pair co-founded The Jessica
Simpson Collection in 2005, and despite various behind-the-scenes financial issues,
the lifestyle and fashion brand is still going strong today. In fact,
in 2021, the pair acquired full control of the company. Tweeting about the news, Jessica wrote,
After divorcing in 2012, Jessica Simpson's parents both began to move on with their lives. Joe,
of course, took a male model to Jessica's 2014 wedding to Eric Johnson. Meanwhile, Jessica's
mother, Tina, found love with Jon Goldstein, the owner of a high-end landscape gardening company.
Tina and Jon announced their engagement in June 2015, after two years of dating.
According to reports, both Jessica and her younger sister Ashlee were happy
that their mom had found love again. But in an interview on "The Tamron Hall Show" in 2021,
the singer admitted that she actually struggled with the idea, saying,
"When your parents are divorced and you're, like, when you're older, it's so bizarre."
When her parents started new relationships, Jessica was forced to reassess their roles in
her life. As she further explained during her appearance on "The Tamron Hall Show,"
"I didn't know if they still were what they taught me and waited to have sex until they got married."
In 2022, Jessica Simpson proved that she remains extremely close to her younger sister,
Ashlee, and that they still share a strong bond. In an Instagram post, Jessica wrote,
This wasn't the first time that the siblings had publicly expressed their
love for one another. In 2021, Ashlee congratulated Jessica when her memoir,
"Open Book," reached the top spot on the New York Times Best Seller List, writing,
Jessica responded with some heartfelt sentiments of her own, writing,
As well as being a best-selling author and the co-owner of a hugely successful lifestyle brand,
Jessica Simpson is also a mother of three. The singer and her husband
Eric Johnson welcomed their first child, daughter Maxwell, in 2012. A year later,
the couple welcomed their son, Ace. Finally, daughter Birdie Mae was born in 2019. In 2021,
Simpson opened up about motherhood in the pandemic, telling People,
The singer also acknowledged that the pandemic had made
her more grateful for her kids, and family in general. In 2021,
Simpson also celebrated her youngest child's second birthday, writing on Instagram,
"Because in so many ways, it's for, it's for my children now, it's not just for me."
As well as having three children of her own, Jessica Simpson is also an aunt to
her sister Ashlee's three kids, Bronx, Ziggy Blu, and Jagger. It's clear that
Jessica loves being an aunt, and in 2015, she uploaded an adorable Instagram photo
of her son Ace with niece Jagger. In January 2016, Jessica revealed that she'd given Jagger
perhaps the glitziest Christmas present a 5-month-old baby could get, telling E!,
In 2022, Jessica Simpson opened up about her enduring marriage with Eric Johnson. Speaking
to People, Simpson revealed that, eight years into their marriage, they continue to
connect emotionally and intellectually. The lifestyle mogul told the outlet,
Further singing her husband's praises, Simpson told People,
As she candidly revealed in her memoir "Open Book," Jessica Simpson recognized that she had
a problem with alcohol when she struggled to dress her oldest two kids in their Halloween
costumes due to being inebriated. As a result, she decided that it was time to give up alcohol,
and the singer wasn't the only member of her family to do so. Simpson's husband,
Eric Johnson, also pledged to quit alcohol, in an act of marital solidarity,
which Simpson was hugely appreciative of. As she wrote in her memoir,
In 2021, the singer took to Twitter to celebrate four years of sobriety.
Alongside a photo of a herself in the throes of her addiction, Simpson wrote,
As it turns out, there are just a few degrees of separation between Jessica
Simpson and Motown legend, Diana Ross. Jessica's sister, Ashlee,
is married to Diana Ross' son Evan Ross. This also makes Jessica related by law
to "Black-ish" co-star Tracee Ellis Ross, the legendary singer's daughter.
As a result, Jessica and Tracee are regularly pictured having fun together
at various family gatherings. Following one particular get-together, the multiple Emmy
Award nominee uploaded a now-deleted Instagram snap of the pair which she captioned "Sisters."
Jessica has also become close with Tracee's mom,
Diana Ross. During an appearance on Andy Cohen's Sirius XM show, Simpson revealed,
"I mean, I love Diana Ross."