Jessica Simpson Reveals Her One Newlyweds Regret and Why She Did Show In the First Place

Celebrity By TooFab Staff |
All the Looks from Jessica Simpson's 'Open Book' Press Tour View Photos
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Ryan Seacrest asks whether Simpson considers the show a "mistake" now.

It's been a full month since Jessica Simpson released her tell-all, "Open Book," but her press tour for it is still rolling along.

On Monday, the singer-turned-entrepreneur was a guest on On Air With Ryan Seacrest, where talk once again turned to her infamous reality show with then-husband Nick Lachey in the early 2000s. The two costarred on MTV's "Newlyweds" from 2003-2005 and by the end of the final, third season, their marriage was going down the drain.

"It was my dad's idea," she said of doing the series in the first place. "My dad was like, I really want people to understand you and know that you're human. If they get to hang out with you while you're on the couch, they'll really understand who you are."

At the time, Joe Simpson was her manager, though she would later fire him in 2012.

"I was 22 ... I got married at 22. Literally, we were newlyweds," she recalled. "It was our first time living together. I was a virgin."

In her book, Simpson said their "anxieties about our careers just seemed to feed off each other" and the relationship went downhill. She said that by the time she asked for a divorce, the two "weren't even talking to each other" and were merely going through the motions for the third season of the show.

When asked by Seacrest if she believed it was a "mistake" to open up their lives for the series, Simpson said no way.

"Oh no, it's been the most empowering thing I could possibly do. I do believe that doing 'Newlyweds' is what made people — it's what launched my brand," she said. "Absolutely, I would go back and do it all over again. It's never something I wouldn't do again, just maybe wouldn't have done a third season."

During the interview, she also opened up about putting her exes -- who include Lachey and John Mayer and, in a way, Johnny Knoxville -- in her rear view once she met current husband Eric Johnson.

"The moment I met Eric I was like these people can not come back to me because I've let these doors open way too many times and it's been so destructive," she said. "Once I met Eric, I truly changed everything."

"Open Book" is out now. See full TooFab coverage of the book below!