Did Jessica Simpson just take a swipe at one of her famous exes? Star reveals what she ISN'T looking for in a man
When asked what she is looking for in her next partner, the 44-year-old singer and entrepreneur shared the criteria she's looking for in a man with host Jenna Bush Hager.
'My type of person is a one-of-a-kind,' she gushed. 'I don't have like, a look or anything like that. I just like for somebody to be individually who they are and exude confidence without the ego.'
The performer, who split from Eric Johnson after 10 years of marriage earlier this year, explained she's had trouble finding someone self-assured, but not cocky.
'I feel like it's out there, and I don't need somebody to be supportive of me all the time,' the mother-of-three added. 'I feel like the independence I have right now, if I can have that and give it to someone else, that would be cool.'
Her comment about wanting 'confidence without the ego' seemed to point to her rocky relationship with first husband Nick Lachey.
While writing about their split in her 2020 memoir, Open Book, she admitted: 'We really got crushed by the media and by ourselves.'
'I respect Nick very much. I was really young and my success hadn't really begun. He knew me as this young innocent 18-year-old that had never been introduced to the world in so many ways,' she explained. 'I went straight from my father to him. Nick's very smart. He was eight years older than me, but he was also young.'
As documented on their reality show, Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, the former couple struggled with his resentment of her career.
'We were not one of those couples that screamed at each other, let whatever fly out of our mouths, and then make mad, passionate love,' she added. 'We would yell at each other, and then he would go out of town and not answer his phone.'
During her Today interview, Simpson also noted that she has no plans to walk down the aisle, but is 'very passionate' and has 'a lot to give.'
Simpson also emphasized that whoever she dates next has to be 'a very good kisser.'
'See, that's like the most intimate thing. Grab my face and pull me in! Can you tell I need it?' the I Wanna Love You Forever hitmaker mused.
Hager, 43, then assured Simpson that she would find her a match and one that could live up to her smooching standards.
'Even if it's just one night!' Simpson playfully shot back.
During her vulnerable appearance on NBC's Today show this week, the star also detailed the emotional fallout of her marriage ending.
'In the face of life completely changing, music saved my life,' Simpson shared.
She continued: 'Nashville saved my life. All the songwriters, the band, everybody, like, it was just one of those things, where I really connected to my soul.'
The actress made the remark after performing her track, Blame Me, off her latest album, Nashville Canyon, Pt. 1, to a lively crowd in New York City.
While Simpson has kept most of the details of her separation private, she confirmed back in January that she and Johnson had been living apart.
'Eric and I have been living separately navigating a painful situation in our marriage,' she said in a statement to Us Weekly. 'Our children come first, and we are focusing on what is best for them.'
The couple, who started dating in 2010 and tied the knot in 2014, share three children—Maxwell, 13, Ace, 12, and Birdie, 6.
Though she didn't mention Johnson by name on Today, Simpson didn't shy away from revealing how emotionally turbulent that chapter of her life has been.
'It was incredibly healing. I was in Nashville. It was a crazy time for me and my life. Literally flipped upside down,' she said.
'And I really just had to focus on my purpose. My purpose, my place in this world, and using my voice for the right reasons. And trying to just inspire myself to get back up. Have the courage to do it in the face of heartbreak.'
These days, Simpson says she's embracing a new chapter—and a new relationship status.
'I'm a very single lady,' she recently told DailyMail. 'I mean, I'm not getting on the apps yet. I would love for a friend to set me up. Are you kidding me?'
Despite the split, things between Simpson and Johnson remain amicable.
'They talk and see each other all the time,' a source told Us Weekly. 'They love each other and will always be supportive of one another.'
Still, the insider added, 'Right now there is no talk of getting back together.'
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