During a performance at Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion festival in Texas in March, Jessica Simpson got candid about her relationship status. “I am a very single lady,” the 44-year-old told the crowd while discussing her separation from her estranged husband and the father of her three children, Eric Johnson.
But it seems that might not be the case for long, with insiders revealing Simpson is eager to jump back into the dating scene. “Now that they’ve filed for divorce, she’s free to start looking around,” a source told RadarOnline. “She’ll be respectful of Eric, but there’s no doubt she’s eager to have some romance back in her life … She’s raring to have fun again.”
And fun she already seems to be having. Eagle-eyed fans have noticed the singer getting a little coquettish online, with actor Jeremy Renner evidently the object of her attention. The pair had a flirty exchange in the comments section of a shirtless workout video he posted back in March – with Simpson commenting with the fire emoji and the Avengers: Endgame star ‘hearting’ her reaction.
On May 6, Simpson took things up a notch by dedicating a post to her “dear friend” after the release of his memoir. “I’m so deeply proud of my dear friend and perspective motivator, @jeremyrenner, for releasing his memoir, My Next Breath, with the world,” she shared on Instagram. “If the vulnerability and truth within his audiobook doesn’t make you cry or inspire you to live your life to the fullest, you are not human!”
The recent social media exchanges come 15 years after the pair first set tongues wagging when they were spotted getting to know each other at a party for his film The Hurt Locker in 2010. “They were really flirting up a storm,” sources told People magazine at the time.
While Renner downplayed whispers, telling Us Weekly the pair had an innocent chat about a mutual hairstylist, their recent interactions hint, all this time later, there could be something more. “There has always been a very strong connection between the two of them,” the RadarOnline source said.
Whatever the relationship is between them, it’s clear Simpson is well and truly ready to move on. In January, the singer announced her separation from Johnson after 10 years of marriage. “Eric and I have been living separately, navigating a painful situation in our marriage,” Simpson said in a statement to People, adding the estranged pair were focused on their kids: daughters Maxwell, 13, and Birdie, 6, and son Ace, who turns 12 in June.
And despite admitting to People that her “heart was completely broken” following the split, pals say Simpson won’t let it stop her from getting back on the horse. “Jessica’s a romantic at heart. She prefers being in a relationship,” an insider told Life & Style. “She’s hopeful that there is someone out there who will love her as she needs to be loved.”
