Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson’s Friends Fear Divorce as Her Career Aspirations Cause ‘Tension’

Forty-five is a big birthday, but when Eric Johnson hit the milestone on September 15, wife Jessica Simpson didn’t give him a shout-out on social media. Instead, Jess, 44, posted a video to her Instagram Stories of a preacher talking about forgiveness.

“Forgiveness doesn’t change the person who hurt you,” the speaker says. “Forgiveness changes you.” The preacher added that forgiveness does not mean forgetting.

Though it’s possible the clip was simply something the singer found meaningful, or that it was directed at someone else who wronged her, the timing of her online reshare on Eric’s birthday has the couple’s inner circle concerned that their 10-year marriage is headed for divorce, a source exclusively tells Life & Style.

“Jessica and Eric have had a lot of ups and downs,” acknowledges a source. “Right now, there’s talk that they’re on a break, because Jess hasn’t been wearing her wedding band or posted anything on social media with Eric in a year. Their marriage seems to be hanging by a thread.”

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Indeed, insiders worry that even Jessica’s recent posts about their three children — Maxwell, 12, Ace, 11, and Birdie, 5 — returning to school could indicate trouble. “In one, she shared the quote, ‘Once you become a parent, life isn’t about you. Your child comes first, always,’” notes the source. “It might have been a dig at Eric, since he’s been absent from all of her photos.”

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Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson’s Issues

One of the major challenges in the duo’s marriage has been her career. In 2023, “Jessica relocated to Nashville to work on new music while Eric mostly stayed in L.A. with the kids,” says the source. “They went into it with a plan, but as time went on, it created a lot of tension. Eric felt abandoned, while Jess felt she wasn’t asking too much, and neither saw the other’s point of view.”

Two years prior, Jessica also finalized a deal to buy back her namesake brand, which put them under a lot of financial strain as she emptied her stock portfolio and used their house as collateral for a loan. “Jessica had not been that financially insecure in years, and Eric and her mother, Tina, had to have a sort of intervention with Jess about her spending habits,” recalls the source. “She was spending way above their means.”

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It didn’t help that Jess had put up money for Eric’s Business venture, Legendary Disciplines — a mind-body wellness content platform — as well. “The project kind of fell apart,” shares the source, “and created another area of tension.”

At the end of the day, the pair may just be headed in different directions. “Jessica is gearing up for a comeback and filming a docuseries chronicling her return to music,” says the source. “But Eric is private and not sure he wants to be a part of something as public as that.”