More often than not, divorced women who are in the spotlight get a raw deal. Mostly going the way of Jennifer Aniston; forever portrayed as a bitter reject or labeled the saddest person in the world. (Despite a full life of friends and box office hits.)
Much was the case last week when Jessica Simpson’s ex-husband Nick Lachey presented his longtime girlfriend, Vanessa Minnillo with an Asscher cut diamond engagement ring. Simpson and Lachey were famous for being married, having been a high profile couple at the height of the pop music sensation-era, and even starred in their own MTV reality show entitled, yes,’ Newlyweds.’
The news about Lachey and Minnillo’s engagement quickly morphed and became overshadowed by Simpson’s reaction to it, namely her supposed adverse reaction. Not a day went by before the internet was blazing with rumors of Simpson’s sadness about the announcement, despite her valiant efforts to be happy for him. So much so that she took to the radio airwaves to not only deny them, but express confusion over how they got so big so fast.
Although the timing is sure to be speculated over, Simpson herself has announced that she also is recently engaged, this time to former NFL player Eric Johnson. Perhaps proving that she is not, in fact, the sad divorcee that she had been made out to be over the past few days , Simpson’s representation confirmed that she and Johnson have been engaged since last week.
While at the opening of Dillard’s department store in Kansas City this past weekend, promoting her new clothing line, Simpson was spotted wearing a Ruby ring with two flanking diamonds, all three stones each over 5 carats. A far different style ring than her first engagement ring from Lachey, a Pear shaped diamond, with matching side stones.
Although it is a different style than the traditional diamond center engagement ring, the Ruby was chosen by Johnson because it is Simpson’s birthstone, as well as it symbolic meaning of love. However, being a departure from the traditional, many who were at the event reportedly would not have given the ring much thought had it not been on that special left hand and third finger.
And although the star herself has not commented on her new engagement, her father and manager, Joe Simpson, took to his Twitter account to pen supportive congratulations, stating “So very happy for Jess and Eric. May they have a lifetime of joy and happiness.”
The couple has been together since May of 2010, and during that time Simpson has been very open about her current love life, telling reporters how supportive Johnson is and how she couldn’t be happier.
The timing is sure to be considered suspicious, and while it is often hard to believe in pure coincidence, congrats to both Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson for getting back up on that horse, respectively of course.