"A part of my life and will always be": Jessica Simpson gets candid about Eric Johnson split

Following a marriage of over a decade, Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson have decided to take a step back. Sharing three children, in an exclusive interview with People Magazine, Jessica Simpson opened up about her former relationship with her estranged husband Eric Johnson.

"I've grown up so much. I can handle so much. Maybe I'm just meant to love a lot of people in my life."

She further added,

"I don't know why my heart gets tossed around but I'm one of the lucky ones. At least I have my children and I still have Eric. He's still very much a part of my life and will always be."

In January 2025, the I Wanna Love You Forever singer announced her separation from Johnson. According to CNN Entertainment, she revealed in a statement that they have "been living separately" while "navigating a painful situation in our marriage."

The couple had been reportedly married for 10 years and they continue to co-parent their three children together – daughter Maxwell, 12, son Ace, 11, and daughter Birdie, 5.

During her separation, she also added,

"Our children come first, and we are focusing on what is best for them."

As they work through this as a family, she said she appreciates privacy at this time and is thankful for the love and support that has been coming their way.

Her recent statement on her split with the former NFL player has sparked a sudden interest in her past relationship with her husband.

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Looking at the relationship between Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson

Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson first started dating in May 2010, according to a report in Page Six. They met through a mutual friend. The singer recalled meeting Johnson for the first time in her 2020 memoir, Open Book, and wrote, “We connected on all levels,” and added, “We both were ready for the real deal.”

A few months later, in November 2010, the couple got engaged. They welcomed their eldest daughter, Maxwell, in 2012, followed by their second, a son named Ace, in 2013. This was before they decided to tie the knot on July 5, 2014, at the San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito, California, as reported by Distractify.

The couple was blessed with their third baby, Birdie, in March 2019. Simpson took to her Instagram to express her love for her husband and wrote,

“I love him. ... He has taken my heart and loved me in every perfect way.”

But a few years later, rumors of a split started circulating in November 2024 until Simpson confirmed the news by announcing her separation from her husband of 10 years in January 2025.

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Jessica Simpson opens up about her upcoming EP Nashville Canyon: Part 1

Speaking about her upcoming EP, Simpson told People Magazine,

“Discovering this music is something I did on my own. Thank God I had Nashville, it was just a way of me owning myself and declaring it."

She also emphasized her growth as a musician over the years and said,

“I am a woman now and I can do what I want and to have freedom in music — I think that’s what you’re going to feel in Nashville Canyon.”

In a recent interview with her sister Ashlee Simpson for The Cut, Simpson described the process of creating her new EP, Nashville Canyon: Part 1, as therapeutic. Referring to the hard reality of her split from Johnson and writing through the pain, she said,

“Through the deepest heartbreak of my life, it was the most intense yet enlightening therapy I’ve ever been through.”

The former pop star dropped her first single, titled Use My Heart Against Me, on February 21, 2025, which is part of her new EP, Nashville Canyon: Part 1, according to People Magazine. The EP will be out on March 21, 2025. It includes a collection of five songs that were written amidst her divorce from Eric Johnson.