Jessica Simpson Says Mom Paid for First-Class Hawaii Flight After Seating Criticism

Jessica Simpson says she did not choose to sit separately from her children on a recent flight to Hawaii.

The singer responded after her ex-husband Nick Lachey revealed that he saw Simpson flying first class with her mother, Tina, while her children sat in economy with Simpson’s estranged husband, Eric Johnson.

Speaking to a photographer at LAX on Wednesday, Simpson said her mother paid for the trip. “It was my mom’s treat for us to go to Hawaii,” she said, according to Page Six. Asked whether she would have sat with her children if she had bought the tickets herself, Simpson replied, “Of course!”

Lachey discussed the encounter on Watch What Happens Live, saying he and Simpson had not seen each other in about 20 years since their 2006 divorce. He described the six-hour flight as “cordial” and “respectful.”

Simpson and Johnson, who separated in January 2025 after 10 years of marriage, share three children: Maxwell, Ace and Birdie. Lachey is now married to Vanessa Lachey, with whom he shares three children.