Jessica Simpson did not hold back in her heartfelt Father’s Day tributes to her dad, Joe Simpson, and her husband, Eric Johnson, on Sunday, June 21.
“Happy Father’s Day Dad @joesimpsonphoto! You are the ultimate gift a daughter could ever have. When you believe, I believe,” the 39-year-old “In This Skin” songstress captioned a photo with her dad via Instagram. “When you speak, I listen and learn. When you dream, I catch the stars with you. When you teach, I gain wisdom. When you cry, I weep. When you love, I love with you. Thanking you for sacrificing everything for my purpose.”
Jessica added that she “will always carry on with confidence” because of his “faith” in her.
“Your brilliant mind and faithful heart give you all the power you will ever need in this life. Courageous and steadfast … mind, body, and soul,” she concluded. “I celebrate and love you today and everyday always.”
Earlier this year, Jessica shed light on her relationship with Joe in her memoir, Open Book, which was released in February. The fashion designer admitted that their father-daughter relationship was strained when she fired him as her manager in 2012. Jessica also admitted that she took mom Tina Simpson’s side in their divorce.
“They had been married for thirty-four years, and I had a hard time being around them together since they’d stop loving each other,” Jessica wrote. “I was blindsided by this news, which triggered his natural salesmanship. He pitched it to me as a positive thing, ‘You gave me the confidence … You gave me the way out.’ Great, I thought to myself, ‘I broke my own heart.’ … Dad moved on quickly, and maybe he’d planned it so long that he had a running start ahead of my mother.”
In the book, Jessica revealed that Joe brought “Jonathan, a young model he often shot for his new photography business” to her 2014 nuptials to Johnson. While promoting Open Book, however, Jessica noted to the Los Angeles Times that Joe’s sexuality is “not something” they talk about.
“I needed to accept my father for who he was as he worked it out in real-time,” she wrote in the memoir.
While Jessica also admitted that she was “scared” to show Joe the book, he was very supportive.
“He wrote me yesterday. ‘I wish I could have held you more in so many of those dark hours,’ he said. ‘Please forgive me for being a better manager than a father.’ I told him he was the best father I could ever have had,” Jessica wrote in the book. “I wouldn’t change a single thing about my story, because I finally love who I am, and I can forgive who I was.”
Not long after Jessica shared her post for Joe, she returned to Instagram to post about Johnson. The couple share three kids: Maxwell, 8, Ace, 6, and Birdie, 15 months.
“My husband’s most beautiful quality is being the most thoughtful father in this universe. The way he teaches our children is by listening to them,” she gushed. “He gives complete attention to what they do and what they need. He is present in EVERY moment keeping them safe, nurtured, and loved. He is constant, always renewing the pleasure of just being alive. He knows that happiness is not just something you feel, it is who you are. He accepts all emotions completely. He is the peaceful leader of this family and is raising a precious tribe of soulful warriors. There is no greater gift to this family than Eric Johnson.”
Jessica concluded: “You are all our best friend, and we are yours. We are blessed, so very blessed my love. Happy Father’s Day to the GREATEST there is.”
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