Jessica Simpson is revealing that she and ex Tony Romo recently reconnected — but not romantically.
“A couple weeks ago, my mom got a phone call,” Simpson, 45, said onstage at the 2025 Women Who Rock Benefit Concert in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, per fan footage. “He’s calling my mom, saying, ‘Well, Tina, I’m selling the boat.’ And my mom’s like, ‘OK, and?’”
Simpson appeared to be referencing an alleged $100,000 speedboat she gifted Romo, now 45, in 2009 for his 28th birthday, per the National Enquirer.
“He’s like ‘Well, Jessica’s name is still on the title,’” she continued. “So, then I get paperwork, and I have to sign over this boat for him to sell.”
Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson ‘Want Different Things’: Source
After the back-and-forth, Simpson claimed that Romo thanked her by giving her plastic cups. She quipped, “I’m like, ‘Wow, I’m glad we didn’t work out.’”
Simpson and Romo dated from 2007 to 2009 before moving on with NFL player Eric Johnson. The couple welcomed daughter Maxwell and son Ace in 2012 and 2013, respectively, before tying the knot in 2014. Nearly five years later, Simpson and Johnson, now 46, added daughter Birdie to their family.
Us Weekly confirmed in 2024 that Simpson and Johnson were “living separately.” The pair announced their separation in January.
“Eric and I have been living separately navigating a painful situation in our marriage,” Simpson told Us in a statement at the time. “Our children come first, and we are focusing on what is best for them. We are grateful for all of the love and support that has been coming our way, and appreciate privacy right now as we work through this as a family.”
Jessica Simpson Reveals Where She Stands With Ex Eric Johnson After Split
Months later, a source exclusively told Us that Simpson “has a new sense of confidence and is coming back into her own.”
“She’s doing well since the split,” the insider said in August. “She’s a different person since she’s been out of the relationship.”
The source shared that her marriage to Johnson was “holding her down,” noting that Simpson “wasn’t happy for a long time” due to “trust and communication issues” that “just got bigger.” Simpson ultimately “realized she was holding the marriage together” for the duo’s three children,” the insider said. The source added, “It was an emotional roller-coaster.”
Amid the split, Simpson has returned to music after a 15-year pause. “She’s written a lot. She has had so much to pull from creatively,” the source said. “It’s been good for her to have this time to work on music, which has always been her true love.”
