Jessica Simpson explained why she was a few degrees away from her children on a recent flight.
The “With You” singer set the record straight after her ex-husband, Nick Lachey, claimed she sat in first class while her kids flew economy on a six-hour flight, telling photogs Wednesday at LAX, “My mom bought those tickets.”
She reiterated, “It was my mom’s treat for us to go to Hawaii.”
As Simpson began to go through security, the photog asked if her kids would sit with her if she were the one who purchased the tickets, to which she replied, “Of course!”
Lachey noted on last Wednesday’s episode of “Watch What Happens Live,” that Simpson was seated with her mother, Tina Ann Drew, and her now-estranged husband, Eric Johnson, in first class.
The 98 degrees member was flying with wife Vanessa Lachey, whom he tied the knot with in 2011, and their three kids — son Camden, 13, daughter Brooklyn, 11, and son Phoenix, 9 — at the time.
“I believe her kids and her — I’m not familiar with where they stand, but — her husband, maybe, were on the plane but not with us,” Nick explained, noting that his “former mother-in-law” was there, too.
The “Love Is Blind” host then confirmed Andy Cohen’s inquiry if Simpson and Johnson’s three kids — daughter Maxwell, 14, son Ace, 12, and daughter Birdie, 7 — were “in a separate class of service.”
Lachey shared that the run-in was “strangely OK,” musing that “it’s been 20 years” since their marriage in the mid-aughts.
The boy band frontman and fashion designer walked down the aisle in 2002 before calling it quits three years later. Simpson and Nick finalized their divorce in 2006.
“We hadn’t seen each other in those 20 years, then spent six and a half hours on a flight to Hawaii together,” he explained.
Lachey made it clear the duo didn’t spend the flight together, but were merely “in the same vicinity.”
He added that “everyone was very, very cordial” and “very respectful.”
Simpson and Johnson tied the knot in 2014 before announcing their split in 2025.
“Eric and I have been living separately navigating a painful situation in our marriage,” Simpson told People at the time.
“Our children come first, and we are focusing on what is best for them,” her statement continued. “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.”
