Across the generations. Jessica Simpson celebrated her husband, Eric Johnson, and father, Joe Simpson, with a Father’s Day pool party.
“Just woke up feeling grateful for all the Dad heroes out there. Yesterday was a beautiful Father’s Day celebrating my personal favorites,” the fashion mogul, 41, wrote via Instagram on Monday, June 20, before singling out her father, 64, Johnson, 42 and the NFL player’s father. “Each of you have created, molded, shaped, and supported us and that makes my heart burst and my smile very real. I love y’all.”
Jessica continued: “The kids admire, appreciate, love and adore y’all. There is no greater gift in the world to our families. I value and honor the gift of Fatherhood #BLESSED.”
The day before, the former reality TV star shared several photos from the celebrations on her Instagram Story, including a goofy family portrait with 10-year-old daughter Maxwell and snapshot of her embracing Joe on the front porch. “I love you,” Jessica captioned the picture. The family later enjoyed a dip in the pool, where Johnson played with Maxwell, Ace, 8, and Birdie, 3. “Father’s Day Pool Day,” Jessica wrote alongside that picture.
The “With You” singer has been open about her tumultuous relationship with Joe over the years. In her 2020 memoir, Open Book, Jessica explained that her relationship with the photographer suffered in the wake of her parents’ 2012 divorce. (She also fired Joe as her manager that same year, which also impacted their bond.) “They had been married for 34 years, and I had a hard time being around them together since they’d stop loving each other,” she wrote in the book.
“I was blindsided by this news, which triggered his natural salesmanship,” Jessica continued. “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.”
Jessica also revealed that Joe brought a male model as a guest to her 2014 wedding to Johnson. “My father called me three days before we left for the wedding to tell me he was bringing his friend Jonathan, a young model he often shot for his new photography business,” the “Irresistible” performer wrote. “‘He wasn’t on the list,’ I said. There was a pause. I reminded myself that I needed to accept my father for who he was as he worked it out in real-time.” Joe has frequently denied having romantic relationships with his clients.
The Dukes of Hazzard star explained in her book that she and Joe eventually reconciled in 2016, after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. “I was most scared to show my father [this book],” she wrote. “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.’”
She continued: “I told him he was the best father I could ever have had. ‘I wouldn’t change any moment.’ It’s true. I wouldn’t change a single thing about my story, because I finally love who I am, and I can forgive who I was.”
Keep scrolling to see how Jessica’s family celebrated Father’s Day: