JESSICA Simpson listing her massive LA mansion in Hidden Hills at $17million is a “really smart” move to “fight” Eric Johnson in their divorce.
According to legal expert and powerhouse certified family law specialist Goldie Schon, who specializes in complex custody and divorce cases, Jessica’s move to list her home in the sought-after neighborhood of Hidden Hills is particularly well thought-out.
Jessica Simpson’s move to sell her Hidden Hills mansion just ahead of her divorce is said to be a smart move[/caption]
Jessica previously listed the home in 2023, but has lowered the ask since then by $5million[/caption]
“She’s listed her Hidden Hills house for sale and it’s a very lucrative area, as I’m sure most of the public knows, there are many celebrities there and it’s in the Calabasas neighborhood.
“Many celebrities live in this closed community.
“The likelihood is that she possibly doesn’t live in that residence very much, and it’s a property that possibly needs to be sold for purposes of division in their divorce, or maybe it’s just money that she could use in order to provide to Eric as part of a buyout in their divorce, so that this could be settled in a more expedited way.”
More so, however, Goldie pointed out that the timing of Jessica‘s listing was well thought out, as was her price cut to $17million after she had initially listed the property at $22million back in 2023.
“Right now, quite frankly, it’s a good time to put a house on the market for sale, unfortunately, based on the fact that we have had a disaster happen here in Los Angeles, in one of the most lucrative areas in Los Angeles, the Pacific Palisades.
“And it would not be surprising for someone who lived in the Palisades to buy a house in Hidden Hills.
“The fact that she put it on the market and she reduced the price from where she had it a few years prior, my guess is that house will be sold very quickly, and that possibly could help Jessica with some liquidity, so that she has basically liquid money that she could play with in order to try and settle the divorce with Eric on a faster basis. It’s a good move.”
As The U.S. Sun first exclusively reported, Jessica, 44, listed her stunning Hidden Hills home for $17million on January 11.
Jessica and her family fled from the property amid the Los Angeles wildfires after she took to Instagram on January 9, to share a photo of her backyard with smoke seen heading towards the property.
The home is not thought to have been affected by the wildfires.
The listing for the home says it offers seven bedrooms and 13 bathrooms.
It was also once featured in Architectural Digest.
It sits on an expansive 2.25 acres with city and mountain views.
JESSICA SAYS ‘IT’S OVER’
Goldie also thought the timing of Jessica’s announcement that she and Eric were separating was well calculated.
“What’s interesting to me is that Jessica decided to come out and come out by herself, and quite frankly, she’s been hanging around town, basically showing the public in her own nonverbal way that she’s no longer attached to Eric without wearing her wedding ring.
“I think this is a tactic that a lot of celebrities do, to basically tell the public in their own way without really telling the public.
“She’s decided to come out and tell the world, hey, it really is over, we’re trying to resolve this, and it’s a really hard time for me, so please give me my privacy, and I’m sure a lot of people in the public will be very much team Jessica.”
Golide called Jessica “an icon,” who’s garnered fans from many iterations of fame including her music, her marriage and reality show with Nick Lachey, and her Jessica Simpson Collection.
“She’s truly an icon. I mean, you have so many years in the limelight. You have so many different age groups that truly have their heart out for Jessica.”
“I think she came out to tell the public, ‘Hey, look at me. I’m okay. I don’t want you to interfere with my dirty laundry, but I want to tell you guys I’m okay, but it’s really over, and I’m gonna fight for my kids and I’m gonna fight for my money.’
“So I think that’s really her MO at this point, especially because it wasn’t a joint statement, it was truly just her coming out and letting everybody know.
Goldie said she believes that Jessica and Eric have likely been seperated for some time, and that perhaps they were preparing a joint statement, but clearly, it didn’t turn out that way.
Jessica Simpson’s Split Statement
In January of 2025 Jessica confirmed she and Eric Johnson were splitting.
In a statement to People, the design mogul said: “Eric and I have been living separately navigating a painful situation in our marriage.
“Our children come first, and we are focusing on what is best for them.
“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.”
“I think maybe they were trying to figure out a way to come out in a joint way, and that’s sincerely, I guess, just didn’t happen where they didn’t have common ground.
“Otherwise, I think we would have seen a joint statement based on the fact that neither one of them had been wearing their wedding rings in public for a while now, since prior to the holidays.
“I believe possibly there was some conversation prior to that, that there was supposed to be a joint statement, and clearly they just didn’t come to a consensus for them to be able to do that, which is why she slowly leaked it out,” Goldie surmised.
PRENUP?
“It’s the public’s understanding that there is a prenuptial agreement in Jessica and Eric’s relationship in marriage, so there’s a prenuptial agreement. So based on that, I’m going to presume, of course, I don’t know for sure, but I’m going to presume that there is a provision in their agreement that says that either neither of them are going to get spousal support, or there’s some sort of arrangement as to how the spousal support is going to get paid, or some lump sum.
“From what I can tell again, we’re in a quiet situation, we’re not seeing a lot of retaliatory press from Eric after there was an announcement by Jessica, so I have to believe that Eric is not going to be as aggressive as he might otherwise be, at least he’s not trying to fight this fight in the public.
Goldie said she believes any prenup that may have been created was likely well thought out.
“So what could happen with the prenup at this point? They have only been married for 10 years, so that lends me to believe that obviously this prenuptial agreement was created sometime in 2014 or 2013 and by very highly seasoned attorneys were on both sides of these people in order to prepare and sign this prenuptial agreement.”
As to how this could go, Goldie says that is yet to be seen, but she hopes Jessica and Eric can handle this quietly for their family’s sake.
Jessica seen inside the stunning foyer in the home before Christmas this year[/caption]
Jessica announced her separation from her husband Eric earlier this week- they share three children Maxwell Drew, 12, son Ace Knute, 11 and daughter Birdie Mae, 5[/caption]
Eric has yet to release any statements regarding the split[/caption]