Jessica Simpson, Eric Johnson’s Relationship Timeline: From a Whirlwind Engagement to Being Married With Kids

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Jessica Simpson, Eric Johnson’s Relationship Timeline: From a Whirlwind Engagement to Being Married With Kids

Love that lasts! Ten years after meeting in 2010, Jessica Simpson and former NFL player Eric Johnson are more in love than ever. In fact, it was love at first sight for Simpson, who recalled her chance May 2010 meeting with Johnson in an Instagram post in May 2020, writing, “He knocked on my dreamy cottage door (sigh), I let him in and never let him leave.” She noted that she “fell head over slippers in love” on that day. The former athlete proposed to the “Heartbeat” singer in November 2010, after six months of dating, but it wasn’t until 2014 that the pair would walk down the aisle. “Got engaged to ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’ by Led Zeppelin on 11/11 at 11:11 AM 7 years ago,” Simpson wrote via Instagram in November 2017, looking back at her proposal. “Still loving this Man is the easiest part of my life 💚 #HowtheWestWasWon.” The couple, both of whom were married before — Simpson to Nick Lachey and Johnson to Keri D’Angelo — welcomed daughter Maxwell and son Ace before saying “I do” on July 5, 2014, in Montecito, California. Following a whirlwind romance and becoming a family of four, the lovebirds settled into their new lives seamlessly. “I just think we’re a little bit more addicted to each other,” Simpson said of her new husband during a Today show interview in September 2014. “I just think there is a level of love that has reached the highest of high.” [jwplayer uPlNB1PF-zhNYySv2] Five years later, the lovebirds expanded their family once more, welcoming daughter Birdie in March 2019. Parenthood has been a “totally different experience” for the couple after baby No. 3, a source told Us Weekly exclusively that month. The older siblings are “both very curious and like to be involved.” Through all the ups and downs of marriage and family life, the pair have stuck together. When Simpson released her autobiography, Open Book, in February 2020 — in which she talked about her struggle with alcoholism and being abused as a child — her relationship with Johnson only got stronger. “In terms of my marriage to Eric, I have never felt more myself or more free,” the Dukes of Hazard actress told Us exclusively while promoting the best-seller. “Eric and I have a true mind, body [and] soul connection.” She continued: “Some of the things he loves most about me are my flaws. I am most certainly in this marriage and this life with Eric by my side with free will!” Scroll down to relive Simpson and Johnson’s love story from the beginning. [podcast_block]

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July 2010

Us exclusively shared the first pictures of Simpson and Johnson together as they stepped out in Jacksonville, Florida, to celebrate the former NFL player’s grandparents’ 60th wedding anniversary. The two began dating five months earlier while Johnson was still legally married to stylist Keri D’Angelo.

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July 2010

The couple passionately locked lips on a yacht on the Italian island of Capri during Simpson’s 30th birthday weekend shindig in July 2010. She’s “really happy,” an insider told Us at the time of the singer, who’d split from husband Nick Lachey in December 2005 after three years of marriage.

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July 2010

Us exclusively confirmed that Johnson pulled out of his two-year business program at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School to stay close to Simpson in L.A. “He doesn’t want to move to Philadelphia and leave her so soon after they got together,” a source told Us. 

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November 2010

Simpson’s rep confirmed to Us that Johnson popped the question after six months of dating.

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March 2011

“We’ve both been married before. We’re enjoying our commitment to each other,” Simpson told Women’s Wear Daily in March 2011, noting the pair might elope. “We want to take our time.”

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September 2011:

Us exclusively revealed that Simpson postponed her wedding to Johnson in September 2011. “Everything is up in the air,” a source told Us at the time. “She can’t figure out what kind of day she wants. Some days she wants a big wedding in Hawaii, then other days she wants something closer to home.”

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October 2011

After months of speculation, the designer confirmed that she was pregnant and expecting her first child by posting a Halloween-themed picture of herself as a mummy via Twitter on October 31. “It’s true, I’m going to be a mummy!” she wrote.

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March 2012

Simpson was the guest of honor at a Charlotte’s Web-themed baby shower in L.A. in March 2012. “It was a kid-friendly shower with many of her friends bringing babies,” a source told Us.

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April 2012

Pregnant Simpson went completely nude on the April cover of Elle magazine — and revealed the pair were expecting a 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 name they’d chosen for their baby. “When people hear it, they’ll know why.”

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May 2012

She’s here! The couple welcomed daughter Maxwell Drew at 9 lbs. 13 oz. 21 3/4 inches on May 1. “We are so grateful for all of the love, support and prayers we have received. This has been the greatest experience of our lives!” the first-time mom wrote on her website. 

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May 2012

Just weeks after becoming a mother, the Employee of the Month actress revealed she was joining the Weight Watchers family as a spokesperson via social media. “The cool thing about the program is that it focuses on healthy habits for the long-term (and I can still indulge in my guilty pleasures every now and then, too),” she wrote on Facebook. “I have actually gotten a group of friends together who are going to be doing it with me.”

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October 2012

Simpson lost 60 pounds in five months after Maxwell’s arrival. “My body is not bouncing back like a supermodel,” she said of her weight loss journey in October 2012. “I’m just your everyday woman.”

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November 2012

Six months after welcoming Maxwell, Us broke the news that the new parents were expecting baby No. 2. “It definitely wasn’t planned. But yes, Jessica is pregnant again,” a source said. “She really is overjoyed!”

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March 2013

The “I Wanna Love You Forever” singer accidentally revealed her second child’s gender during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! “The crazy thing is I never knew a wiener could make me nauseous,” she quipped during a March 2013 show. “Well, I guess I just told the world that I’m having a boy!”

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June 2013

The couple welcomed son Ace Knute via scheduled C-section in L.A. on June 30. “Ace Knute (pronounced Ka-nute) Johnson has arrived! Mom and baby are doing great,” her rep told Us at the time. “Jessica, Eric and Maxwell are thrilled to welcome the new addition to their family.”

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August 2013

The Texas native exclusively debuted the couple’s baby boy on the cover of Us Weekly one month later and spoke about being a proud mother of two. “With two kids, we have our hands full, but every day is a new adventure,” she told Us. “Pregnancy is a lot. It was hard to do two so close together. I have this huge sense of accomplishment, and I feel in my heart that I’m done. But obviously, accidents do happen!”

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November 2013

The family of four made their red-carpet debut together while attending a Dillard’s event for Simpson’s clothing line in Dallas in November 2013.

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January 2014

“We need to get married,” Simpson said on a January 2014 Good Morning America appearance. “I already feel like we’re like an old married couple already. If he wanted to run, he could have run when I was hormonal and pregnant.” 

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March 2014

“First time rocking a white dress this year…but not the last!!Thanks @weightwatchers!” Simpson wrote via Instagram on March 6, showing off her weight loss.

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March 2014

Moving things stateside! A source told Us in March 2014 that the lovebirds “decided to keep it simple” for their nuptials and stay in the U.S. instead of the Italian destination wedding they previously discussed.

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May 2014

Simpson and Johnson attended the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington D.C. in May 2014.

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May 2014

Us broke news that the pair were set to tie the knot over the July 4 weekend in 2014, and the bride would not be wearing white. “Jessica is having something unique made,” a source told Us of the dress. “It will be very different from the Vera Wang she wore to wed Nick Lachey [in 2002].”

Credit: Courtesy Jessica Simpson/Instagram

May 2014

“Happy 4yr anniversary, baby!! I am so honored to be the mother of your babies and loved by you every moment,” Simpson wrote via Instagram on May 21, on the anniversary of the couple’s first meeting. “I can’t wait to marry you!!!”

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June 2014

Johnson and Simpson celebrated their bachelor and bachelorette parties together with a bash at Eveleigh restaurant in West Hollywood. The pair “couldn’t have looked happier,” an eyewitness told Us in June 2014. “They kept raising their glasses. They were having a great time. Jessica looked absolutely amazing — and tiny.”

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July 2014

The pair tied the knot on July 5, 2014, in front of close family and friends and their two children in Montecito, California.

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July 2014

“I love this man, our marriage, and everything in between,” Simpson captioned a sun-drenched photo of the happy couple weeks after they said “I do.”

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September 2014

“I just think we’re a little bit more addicted to each other,” the musician told Today’s Matt Lauer in September 2014, after marrying Johnson earlier in the year. “I just think there is a level of love that has reached the highest of high.”

Credit: Courtesy Jessica Simpson/Instagram

May 2017

“7 years, 2 kids, and a whole lotta love later,” Simpson captioned a black-and-white snap of herself with Johnson and their kids Maxwell and Ace in May 2017, seven years after she began dating the athlete.

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September 2018

Simpson announced in September 2018 that she was pregnant with her and Johnson’s third child. “SURPRISE…” she wrote via Instagram. “This little baby girl will make us a family of five. We couldn’t be happier to announce this precious blessing of life.”

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October 2018

The pair dressed as Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s characters in Twins for Halloween in 2018.

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January 2019

The “Sweetest Sin” singer celebrated her third pregnancy in January 2019 with a birds-nest themed shower, in honor of their baby’s name — Birdie. “There weren’t any games since it was her third shower, it was just a beautiful chic lunch,” a source told Us.

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March 2019

Us confirmed that the couple welcomed their third child, daughter Birdie, on March 19. She weighed 10 pounds, 13 ounces. 

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September 2019

“Happy 40th Birthday to the man of my dreams,” the shoe designer wrote alongside a photo of herself and her husband for his birthday in September 2019. “I pray in every lifetime I find you and we recreate the beauty of what we have again and again. My hero, champion, best friend, lover, and daddy to our babies. I could never have hoped for more. I love you. Let’s celebrate.”

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October 2019

Six months after welcoming her third child, the Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica alum lost 100 pounds. “Even when it felt impossible, I chose to work harder,” Simpson wrote via Instagram in September 2019.

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February 2020

“In terms of my marriage to Eric, I have never felt more myself or more free,” Simpson told Us exclusively in February 2020, after releasing her autobiography, Open Book. “Eric and I have a true mind, body [and] soul connection.”

Credit: Courtesy Jessica Simpson/Instagram

April 2020

“It was a different kind of Easter at the Johnson house, but we had the best time celebrating as a family,” the “Public Affair” songstress wrote via Instagram on Easter amid the coronavirus pandemic. “The kiddos were very happy the bunny wore his mask and gloves.”

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May 2020

Going strong! “I fell head over slippers in love with this perfect man 10 YEARS ago today!” the Blonde Ambition actress captioned a sun-kissed selfie her love on their first date anniversary. “By chance he knocked on my dreamy cottage door (sigh), I let him in and never let him leave. He is mine, I am his…forever.”

Credit: Courtesy Jessica Simpson/Instagram

July 2020

“Eric Johnson, my Husband, I love you,” the Open Book author wrote via Instagram on the couple’s wedding anniversary in July 2020. “6 yrs ago today I married my perfect soulmate. Our unity was written in God’s sky of colliding stars. Together, we manifest dreams, nurture desire and hold space. Destined, it always has been and always will be, forevermore.”

Credit: Courtesy of Instagram/Jessica Simpson

May 2021

"11 years STRONG... 11 hearts filled in every passing year with unconditional, passionate, inspired, fascinating, supportive, beautiful, tempting, ravishing, exquisite, sublime, marvelous, honest, happy, adored, ideal, incomparable, powerful, mesmERIC, LOVE. Our connected hearts are praised and celebrated on this serendipitous day. I knew the night we met, the fate of you, locked the key to my searching heart and simply held my soul with love and honor," the singer captioned a selfie of the pair on their anniversary. "Then, now and for the rest of my life I am fully and always yours and you mine. Gaining access to your heart to dwell and reside in, is the greatest gift I will ever rest within until the end of time. Time goes by, the perfect children you gave me are growing older, but with you and I time does not exist for it only allows space to broaden...expanding beyond horizons just to love and be loved. Happy Anniversary to us, the beauty of us- as is and forevermore."

Credit: Courtesy of Eric Johnson/Instagram

May 2021

"I met you 11 years ago tonight. You are the most soulful and loving person I’ve ever met. Thanks for giving us 3 kids and the best 11 years of my life. The kids and I learn from your generosity and the way you love everyone, so thoughtfully, everyday," Johnson captioned photos of the couple via Instagram in May 2021.

He added: "And your creativity is incredibly impressive to watch. All your traits have already been passed on to Maxwell, Ace, and Birdie, in the best way. I’m so grateful for you, and I love our relationship, and how it’s grown, twisted and blossomed into what it is today. Lots of laughter and fun. I’m a lucky man."

Credit: Courtesy Eric Johnson/Instagram

July 2021

Eric shared a sweet tribute to Jessica to mark their seventh wedding anniversary.

“Jessica, I love you. 7 years into marriage and you still make me laugh just as hard as day one. I had fun yesterday celebrating us,” he wrote on July 6 alongside some never-before-seen wedding photos. “Our kids bring us so much joy and they could not be luckier to have such a fiercely empowered, unique, beautiful mama. I love you, babe!!! Happy Anniversary!”

Credit: Courtesy of Jessica Simpson/Instagram

September 2021

“ERIC, 42yrs ago today you were born and without a doubt I know that God created and shaped you to be my purest love, truest companion, my forever person, my ALL in everything, my every day and night answered prayer before I even knew the words to speak,” Simpson wrote via Instagram in honor of her husband’s birthday. “The gift of life began with your first breath to bring forth my purpose to be brought into this life. I truly was born to love you. As a child I talked to God asking for you and you found me when my heart least expected eternal intimacy.”

The musician continued: “I am graced to be living within your soul and you within mine until the end of time. I am HAPPY it is your BIRTHDAY ... the blessed day this world received the gift of you is the greatest day of the year for so many, but especially for your fortunate wife and our beautifully perfect children. I love you. Maxwell loves you. Ace loves you. Birdie loves you.”

Credit: Courtesy Jessica Simpson/Instagram

August 2022

The shoe designer enjoyed a "romantic, sexy and well deserved" getaway in Mexico with her "forever lover" and posed beachside in a black, Jessica Simpson-brand one piece and strappy black heels. 

"Awww I will miss this, but I will be bringin’ home a lot of extra passion for everyone and everything that is for sure," Simpson captioned her Instagram post. "Adios Cabo San Lucas 🏝☀️🌊💋🤍."