Jessica Simpson’s Memoir Bombshells: Nick Lachey Divorce, Johnny Knoxville “Emotional Affair” and More

Jessica Simpson is sharing deeply personal stories with her fans.

In her new memoir, Open Book, the 39-year-old star reflects on some of her most painful memories, including the abuse she suffered as a child, her days of heavy drinking, as well as her road to sobriety. Simpson also shares intimate details about her love life in the memoir, from her marriage to Nick Lachey and her on-off relationship with John Mayer. The “With You” singer even writes about an “emotional affair” with her Dukes of Hazzard co-star, Johnny Knoxville.

At the time of filming Dukes of Hazzard, Simpson was still married to Lachey, but while away shooting in Louisiana, Simpson formed a bond with Knoxville. After sharing a hug with Knoxville on the first day of filming, Simpson “felt a force drawing us together.”

“I wondered why I was open to this,” Simpson writes in Open Book. “I was already living in a distrustful situation with Nick, and now I was afraid I couldn’t trust myself.”

Now that Simpson’s new book has been released, let’s take a look at all of the biggest bombshells from the memoir.

1. Johnny Knoxville Connection: Simpson says she coded the actor in her diary as “the boy from Tennessee.” She writes, “First off, we were both married, so this wasn’t going to get physical. But to me, an emotional affair was worse than a physical one. It’s funny, I know, because I had placed such an emphasis on sex by not having it before marriage. After I actually had sex, I understood that the emotional part was what mattered. And Johnny and I had that, which seemed far more of a betrayal to my marriage than sex.”

2. She Slept With Nick After Filing for Divorce: Months after filing for divorce from Lachey, Simpson recalls watching a documentary about Lachey’s upcoming album, which had songs about her. In the doc, Simpson writes, Lachey “mentioned that the door was still open” for them to get back together. Simpson says she felt “so exposed.” She also watched his Making the Video special on MTV for his song, “What’s Left of Me,” which featured his now-wife, Vanessa Lachey. Simpson writes that she was “mad” but felt the need to “fix him.” So she called Lachey and asked him to meet her at her house. While there, Lachey played his new album for her.

After hearing the album, which had “cruel” lines about her, Simpson writes that she felt “manipulated.”

“I felt manipulated into some revenge fantasy, but I had put myself in this situation,” Simpson says. “I didn’t know any other way to make it better, so I slept with him.”

Simpson adds that when Lachey walked out the door, she knew she wouldn’t see him again.

3. Tony Romo Broke Up With Her Amid John Mayer Speculation: While Simpson was dating Tony Romo, John Mayer was trying to win her back. According to Simpson, Mayer did this by going through her family, convincing them they should get back together and professing his love to Simpson at her parents’ house. Simpson writes that she didn’t cheat on Romo, but she didn’t tell him that she’d seen Mayer. On the night before her birthday, Romo saw an email from Mayer on Simpson’s phone and confronted her about it. When she told him “nothing happened” with Mayer, he didn’t believe it and ended things with her. However, he soon wanted her back, Simpson writes, but she told him “it’s over.”

4. Mayer’s Playboy Interview Sealed His Split With Simpson: After scanning Mayer’s 2010 interview with Playboy, in which he called her “sexual napalm,” Simpson was horrified. After receiving an apology email from Mayer, she replied with a letter of her own.

“I didn’t accept his apology,” Simpson writes. “I deleted all his contact information from my phone. I was done with this man in a way I never thought was possible. When he reached out to me, I changed my number and changed my email. Done.”

5. An Apology to Ellen: Simpson offers an apology to Ellen DeGeneres in her book for appearing on her show after drinking. “I admit I drank beforehand and was also on steroids for a chest infection that made me hoarse,” Simpson writes, adding that, when she couldn’t find Ellen’s rhythm during their interview, the talk show host tried to help but then “she gave up.” 

“I want to say it here to Ellen and the viewers: I’m truly sorry,” Simpson writes.

She later addresses her 37th birthday in 2017, where she found herself crying and realized she had to stop drinking.

“It would take three and a half months,” Simpson tells readers. “But God would save me so I could come home to myself.”

Open Book is available now.