Signs Jessica Simpson And Eric Johnson's Marriage Was Set To Implode

Jessica Simpson officially announced that she and her husband Eric Johnson were divorcing in January 2025, but some feel the writing has been on the wall for way longer. Between cryptic social media posts, anonymous tipoffs regarding divorce lawyers, and being seen out and about without their rings, it seems as though Simpson and Johnson's split has been in our faces all along. 

First off, Simpson's divorce announcement. Speaking to Us Weekly two weeks into 2025, the singer shared, "Eric and I have been living separately navigating a painful situation in our marriage." For many, it was a confirmation of what's been assumed for a while now. After all, two months prior, sources had told ET that the exes weren't living together. That wasn't all, though: around the same time, TMZ reported that two people close to Simpson had spoken to divorce lawyers. However, it was said that Simpson hadn't spoken to either of the attorneys herself. Nevertheless, if two different people believed the situation was so bad that they tried to set up a meeting between the designer and attorneys, it's clear they felt the relationship was well beyond repair. 

One other detail that was reported on while all this was happening was that a potential reason for the marital woes was Johnson's behavior while drinking. Speaking to ET, an unnamed source claimed to know of "rumors and rumblings about Eric being overly flirtatious during their relationship — especially when he drinks." Flirtation aside, something tells us the fact that Simpson has been sober for years while Johnson is evidently not only added to the couple's problems. 

We'll be the first to admit that not posting a significant other on social media doesn't necessarily indicate trouble in paradise. After all, many stars prefer to keep their love lives on the down low. However, once upon a time, Simpson was very open about her relationship with Eric Johnson. In fact, she even alluded to him not being quite as open on the 'gram as she was. Case in point: her Instagram birthday message to him in 2023. "My heart is so taken with this man, I could hardly call it my own ... We love youuuu (he ain't an Instagram guy, but I always think the more good wishes the better)," she wrote underneath a carousel of sweet family moments. Simpson also shared a number of other glimpses into their life together over the years. 

With all that in mind, when Simpson stopped sharing those gushy posts, alarm bells went off for many. While Johnson was featured in her carousel for the extended family's spring break in 2024, it was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it feature, to say the least. What's more, in the time since, he hasn't been in any of her other posts — and people started to notice. 

In response to Simpson's post wishing her kids (who are growing up so fast!) the best for their new school year in September 2024, one fan wrote, "Anyone notice she hasn't posted her husband in over a year??" Not entirely accurate, as she had included him in the spring break post, but it was clear fans had picked up on his absence. Others also chimed in, with another commenter asking, "Where's the hubby????" Some Instagrammers even hinted at Johnson being an absent dad, with one writing, "Daddy not proud?" Yikes. 

Jessica Simpson might not have posted much of her husband in 2024, but that's not to say she took a break from posting other things. Quite the contrary, she remained very active on Instagram throughout the year ... and she did so with a number of cryptic posts. 

"To thine own self be true," she quoted Shakespeare in one post, prompting a ton of chatter in the comments. Some asked why she'd never released new music, despite hinting that she would in the past. Others claimed that her marriage was over, pointing to her aforementioned lack of posts including Eric Johnson as evidence. Her next cryptic post saw her quote Mother Teresa, writing, "Peace begins with a smile." Again, there were questions about new music, as well as questions about her husband, with one commenter asking, "Where's Eric?" And then, there was the post she shared in September with the caption, "A weekend of much needed self love hugs." For reference, Johnson's birthday was the previous week, so there's a strong possibility the self-love had something to do with that.

Another cryptic post shared by the star? A black and white snap of herself recording a song, with the caption, "Breadcrumbs of black obsidian ... Connect me to the crown." It certainly seemed as though she was alluding to song lyrics, though that's yet to be confirmed. Even so, the caption was an interesting one. For those unfamiliar with crystals, black obsidian is believed to bring about transformation by removing emotional blockages and past traumas. Given the other cryptic posts, we have no doubts that there was a connection between the stone's benefits and whatever Simpson was dealing with — and there's a good chance relationship woes fell into that category. 

Though many of Jessica Simpson's posts were on the cryptic side, not all of them have been hard to decipher. Well, kinda. 

After months of hinting at it, Simpson took to Instagram in November 2024 to confirm that she was releasing new music. That would have been exciting for fans in itself, but she also confirmed that something transformative had, in fact, happened in her life during the making of the album. "This comeback is personal, it's an apology to myself for putting up with everything I did not deserve," she wrote — and yikes! Of course, we wouldn't rule out the possibility that what she put up with may have related to mean comments online. After all, Simpson has fired back at critics of her appearance in the past, and she acknowledged in an Instagram post that even if she was pretty good at ignoring haters, "Peoples' comments and judgements can still hurt deeply with their incessant nagging 'You will never be good enough.'" 

Having said that, there's also a possibility she was hinting at her marriage being the reason we don't hear much from Simpson anymore, and, now that it's over, she's ready to apologize to herself for not putting new music out sooner. After all, a source who spoke to ET in November 2024 about split rumors pointed out, "Jessica is motivated and Eric isn't. They have different goals." Either way, Simpson did share in an additional post that the album was "the soundtrack of my soul."

Even with all the cryptic posts and claims from unnamed sources, it is worth noting that other than Jessica Simpson's divorce statement, neither she nor Eric Johnson has spoken plainly about what happened. However, the one thing they did do was stop wearing their rings. And, just like how Simpson no longer posting pictures with Johnson raised suspicions within her fanbase, the pair being seen without their wedding rings set off major alarm bells. 

Granted, one of Simpson's ringless occasions was for a photoshoot for her eponymous line — and since she was advertising her jewelry at the time, that might not have had anything to do with her marital strife. Even so, she was also photographed by Daily Mail paparazzi without the sparkler in tow. What's more, when the pap asked about her marriage, she and the people helping her into her car completely ignored him. In other words, not sharing anything that could add fuel to the fire, but not exactly shutting down the speculation, either. 

As for Johnson, People reported that he was also seen running errands without his wedding band in November 2024. However, like his estranged wife, he didn't speak to the press about the reasons why. 

Though most of what's been said by sources has revolved around Jessica Simpson, it's worth noting that some insiders close to Eric Johnson have spoken about his stance on everything, too — and according to them, Simpson's cosmetic surgery transformation had a lot to do with the split. Speaking to Life & Style, they said, "He's been very vocal about how difficult it is to live with someone so obsessed with surgery and so detached from reality most of the time." Ouch. The same source also claimed that Simpson's emotions had been tough for Johnson to navigate. "She'll be yelling for joy one minute, then start crying and hide out in her bedroom for a day," they said. Another detail they shared? That it was Johnson who avoided being seen publicly and on Simpson's Instagram, and not the other way around. 

Of course, other sources have hinted at the opposite being true. As we mentioned, some have claimed that Johnson's drinking was upsetting to Simpson and that it was her who was getting over it. "Jessica clearly wants Eric to get his act together ... but she won't stick around in limbo forever," they mused to Life & Style. 

At the time of this writing, Simpson has yet to share a release date for her new album. However, here's hoping that when it does come out, it'll bring an end to all the unanswered questions. Even if her new music doesn't spell it out, though, we're wishing her the best and hoping the creative process has provided some much-needed healing for the star.