Jessica Simpson and husband Eric Johnson are taking time apart.
The singer and actress, 44, and her former NFL player husband, 45, are separating after 10 years of marriage, Simpson tells PEOPLE exclusively.
“Eric and I have been living separately navigating a painful situation in our marriage,” Simpson said in a statement to PEOPLE. “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.”
The news comes less than one week after Simpson — who shares three children with Johnson — posted a sunny selfie to Instagram, reminding her followers that “Life is short. SMILE while you still have teeth😜.”
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Johnson was spotted without his wedding ring in November, around the same time Simpson teased her “comeback” to music with a cryptic Instagram post that featured photos of herself in a recording studio.
“Interviews in my Nashville music room where I unearthed my singular magic,” she captioned the images. “This comeback is personal. It’s an apology to myself for putting up with everything I did not deserve.”
A source told PEOPLE days later that that the “With You” singer and her husband “very much live separate lives.”
Simpson and Johnson married in July 2014 after four years of dating and share three children: daughters Maxwell “Maxi” Drew, 12, and Birdie Mae, 5, and son Ace Knute, 11.
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The pair first met through a mutual friend in 2010 and were engaged that November after six months of dating.
The Open Book author and the retired tight end welcomed their first two children, Maxwell and Ace, in May 2012 and June 2013, respectively.
Their son and daughter appeared as the ring bearer and flower girl when the couple tied the knot before more than 250 guests in Montecito, Calif.
“A true love will never make you question yourself or what’s real,” she told PEOPLE in 2023. “Thanks to my amazing soulmate I am able to love passionately and without fear of being hurt.”
Charley Gallay/Getty for Jessica Simpson Collection
That same year, Simpson opened up to PEOPLE about how Johnson “embraces” her career.
“I don’t find it hard to love anybody, but I have always thought that I was hard to love, that I was too much for people, or my schedule was too demanding,” she shared. “He knows my heart and understands my heart more than anyone I’ve ever met in my life.”
Jessica Simpson/Instagram
Simpson also said that their relationship has always felt “easy” and that they’ve always tried to “keep the romance there, even with three kids.”
For Johnson’s birthday in September 2023, she shared photos on Instagram from their family birthday celebration and paid tribute to him in a sweet caption.
“My heart is so taken with this Man, I could hardly call it my own…. We love youuuu,” she wrote.
The pair also spent time sans kids in early 2023 by taking a couples getaway in March. At the time, the star posted photos from their vacation on Instagram and wrote that she “stole [her] lover” for the weekend.
In 2022, Simpson spoke to PEOPLE about how communication was a focus of her marriage. “I feel like every moment with us, we’re growing as long as we’re communicating, and our love is only deepening,” she said.
“I feel like Eric and I learn from each other so much,” she added. “I feel like we’re stronger than ever now, [more] than we were even at the beginning.”
She also explained how their life together wasn’t without its challenges in a 2021 interview with PEOPLE.
“I think the takeaway is that it’s not easy and every day presents challenges and blessings,” she said at the time. “Life is a blessing to be lived, and the more we overthink things, the more we fall behind on our personal journey.”
Simpson was previously married to Nick Lachey from 2002 to 2005.
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