No secrets between them. Jessica Simpson‘s bombshell revelations about a past affair came as a shock to the public — but not to husband Eric Johnson.
“Jessica has been opening up about really everything. She still had some secrets and she wanted to get them off her chest,” a source exclusively reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly, noting that the former NFL player, 42, “knew previously” about Simpson’s dating history.
Earlier this month, the singer, 42, revealed she had an affair with an unnamed movie star following her split from then-boyfriend Nick Lachey.
Eric Johnson and Jessica Simpson at the Jessica Simpson Collection 10th Anniversary party Gregory Pace/Shutterstock
“This megastar, who I grew up thinking was so hot, eyeballed me up and down. Like he was undressing me with his eyes,” she wrote in her Amazon essay, which was published on February 1. In the excerpt, Simpson recalled first meeting the mystery man at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards.
The Texas native, who later was married to Lachey, 49, from 2002 to 2006, recalled how she “wasn’t ready” for anything serious. Simpson claimed she continued to cross paths with the unnamed guy which eventually led to an affair.
“Yes, there was something sexy and enticing about all this, but there was also something demeaning about it. I felt like a call girl,” she continued. “I didn’t care if he was my teenage fantasy come to life, this was not a choice that same girl, my younger self, would be proud of.”
Following their split, the “With You” performer started dating Johnson in 2010 and they announced their engagement later that year. The pair, who tied the knot in 2014, share daughters Maxwell, 10, Birdie, 3, and son Ace, 9.
The Dukes of Hazzard star previously offered a glimpse at her dynamic with Johnson. “I don’t feel like our marriage has been long, but I feel like I’ve loved Eric my whole life,” she exclusively told Us in April 2022. “I guess in the moment I met him, it felt like a marriage. We rarely fight. If we do, it’s more conversational, and it’s not like, ‘He’s right or she’s right.’ It’s not about winning.”
The Open Book author also revealed that she doesn’t have plans to have more kids. “I have no baby fever,” she added. “The third pregnancy for me [in 2019], that was it. I can’t do that again. The last pregnancy for me was really hard.”
At the time, Simpson detailed how having a child “later in life” was “a lot harder” than she expected, saying, “It’s just something that you end up accepting. I got a great child out of it who I adore and love and she rules the house. She definitely is the most heard in the family.”
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