Jessica Simpson is happy with her husband, Eric Johnson, but 15 years ago, her love life was more complicated.
The fashion sensation has dropped a shocking bombshell during an interview with Drew Barrymore earlier this week.
According to Simpson, after her divorce from Nick Lachey in 2006, publicists of other stars told them not to date her.
At the time, the fashion mogul was considered bad for business after a messy separation and controversial foray into the world of reality television with Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica.
She told Barrymore: “Anytime it started to get a little bit serious, I was the person to run from because every guy would be listening to their publicist who would be like, ‘Stay away, stay away you’ll never be a respected actor, you’ll never be a respected musician if you are dating her.'”
Simpson continued: “That was back then. At least, that was the excuse I heard.”
This situation forced her and some of her high-profile partners to keep their romances secret. However, a few of her relationships made a lot of noise in the press.
Simpson got a lot attention for dating pop music star John Mayer from 2006 to 2007. The Blonde Ambition star was also linked to then-NFL star Tony Romo from 2007 to 2009.
An email from Mayer was responsible for Simpson breaking up with Romo. However, in her memoir, Open Book, she insists that cheating was not involved.
Simpson had a fling with Marron 5’s Adam Levine in 2006. Before she filed for divorce from Lachey in 2006, there were rumors that she was hooking up with Levine.
It is not clear if those allegations contributed to the end of the marriage. Lachey had also faced cheating rumors, but he had denied them.
The messiness of the situation hurt Simpson’s reputation in the entertainment industry and made it difficult for some stars to be associated with her romantically. All of this led to some mental health challenges and alcoholism.
Simpson opted not to reveal the names of the celebrities she dated secretly and added: “I have dated a couple of musicians, some under the radar that people don’t know about, we’ve got to keep some secrets.”
However, a very curious Barrymore asked her to call her to spill some tea. The mother of three blames the fact she was very young for the breakdown of her marriage to Lachey.
She still respects him and chooses not to say disparaging things in the media about their time together.
