14 DAY TRIAL // Jessica and Ashlee Simpson’s parents, Tina and Joe, are getting divorced after 34 years of marriage. Though papers state some kind of “irreconcilable difference” was to blame for the decision, rumors say it was Joe’s secret, gay orientation.
For the past few weeks, rumors have been swirling that Joe is a closeted gay and that he was busted by Tina who, unable to cope with the realization that her husband had been lying to her for such a long time, filed for divorce.
Reports also claim that, at least for a year and a half, Joe has been having a not so secret affair with a much younger man, a model who’s only with him because he believes Joe can get him places in showbiz.
None of that is true, Joe’s friends tell TMZ under the promise of anonymity.
“Sources who speak with Joe tell TMZ Jessica Simpson's daddy says it ain't so... that the stories are ridiculous’,” the celebrity e-zine writes.
Even so, not all of his friends take his words at face value.
“The people we spoke with are split – some believe him, and some think he's just not ready to come out publicly,” TMZ notes.
The same goes to the tabloids and all of Jessica or Ashlee’s fans, and even the stars themselves. Word has it that the two singers are devastated by the discovery, with Jessica taking the news the hardest: she simply can’t believe her father would do something like this to the family and to her.
At the same time, sources are saying for the tabs that Joe’s secret lover, the aspiring model we also mentioned above, is in it for the money and fame, and has no real interest in a genuine relationship with him even though they’ve been together for over a year.
Given Joe’s ties with the industry and his many connections, the model believes he can use the relationship as a launching pad for his own career, it is being said.