Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson's Relationship Timeline

A love story for the books! Jessica Simpson and her husband, Eric Johnson, have been happily married since 2014, and now the couple shares three kids — Maxwell, 7, Ace, 6, and Birdie, 15 months. How exactly did they meet, though? Let’s dive in.

The 39-year-old had to kiss a lot of frogs before finding her prince and living her happily ever after. In Jessica’s memoir, Open Book, she got candid about her past relationships with Nick Lachey, John Mayer and more.

In the ‘90s, Jessica and Nick, 46, were the picture-perfect couple, but behind the scenes, the former flames were struggling. So much so, Jessica asked for a divorce after they were married for four years.

Soon after, Nick appeared in a documentary, in which he aired out his issues with the “With You” singer. “I watched him portray himself as a victim, casting me as this selfish person,” she said in her book. “He then mentioned that the door was still open for us to get back together. I kept pulling the blanket up over my face to hide because I felt so exposed. It was so disrespectful, and [he] dragged me back into his orbit when I was just starting to leave [the relationship].”

The blonde babe revealed she invited Nick over to clear the air about his comments, and she “slept with him.” However, there was “no connection” between them anymore, the pop star noted.

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Additionally, Jessica spoke about her time with John. “Again and again, he told me that he was obsessed with me, sexually and emotionally,” she wrote. “John loved me when I was shining, and he drew inspiration from that light. When he tapped me dry, he looked at me like I was withholding something from him.” Ultimately, the two went their separate ways in May 2007.

Luckily, Eric, 40, came along at the right time — the two stepped out together in July 2010 in Florida. Five months later, the former NFL player popped the question. “He wants to know everything about you — the good and the bad,” she told Glamour magazine about her husband. “Find somebody like that. I mean, it took divorce and a lot of really long, intense relationships to get there, but I did.”

Too cute! Scroll through the gallery below to see Jessica and Eric’s relationship timeline.

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April 2012

Jessica showed off her body and baby bump on the cover of Elle magazine and revealed they were expecting a baby girl. “We’re embroidering it on things. It’s nothing shocking and nothing you’ll have to add to the dictionary,” she said of the moniker. “When people hear it, they’ll know why.”

July 2018

Jessica revealed the spark is still very much alive between her and her hubby. “He keeps me hot,” she told Entertainment Tonight at the time. “He’s always throwing around the kids, and he’s just an amazing father. It makes me want to stay young. Like, how can you be so active? I mean watching the kids running makes me exhausted.”

July 2020

“Eric Johnson, my husband, I love you. [Six years ago] today, I married my perfect soulmate,” Jessica began a heartfelt anniversary shout-out on July 5.

“Our unity was written in God’s sky of colliding stars. Together we manifest dreams, nurture desire and hold space,” she continued. “Destined, it always has been and always will be, forevermore.”