Jessica Simpson defends her choice to fly in first class while her kids were in economy
Rhianna Benson
Featured Image Credit: Aeon/GC Images
Airline passengers are constantly reminded to cater to their own well-being before helping others, including children.
By the sounds of things, Jessica Simpson may have taken this advice a little too literally.
Nick Lachey, the singer’s ex-husband, claimed this week that Simpson had assigned herself a First Class seat for a family vacation to Hawaii, leaving her three children in Economy.
The former couple hadn't expected to run into one another during the March holiday - in fact, they haven't seen one another since their divorce 20 years ago.
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Lachey, whose comments were made during an appearance on the 13 May instalment of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, had been travelling with his current partner, Vanessa Lachey, for the six-hour flight, who married in 2011.
The pair were also joined by their two sons, Camden, 13, and Phoenix, nine, and their 11-year-old daughter, Brooklyn.
He claimed his own family hadn't 'spent' the flight sat close to ex-partner Simpson - from whom he split in 2006 after four years of marriage - but had been in her 'vicinity'.
Asked how they got on, Lachey insisted the flight was 'strangely okay', adding, 'it was honestly fine'.
According to the 98 Degrees star, however, Simpson's three children from her marriage to her most recent ex-husband, Eric Johnson, 14-year-old Maxwell, 12-year-old Ace, and Birdie, seven, sat in a 'separate class of service'.
Her kids were 'all on the plane but not with us', Lachey claimed.
The trio were allegedly joined by Johnson, a former NFL tight end, in the considerably cheaper carriage, while Simpson sat in the premium department with Lachey's 'former mother-in-law', Tina Ann Drew.
Responding to the criticism she's faced since Lachey's comments came to light, Simpson, 45, has since attempted to justify the move.
She was hounded by photographers over the incident during an appearance at LAX Airport this week, responding, "My mom bought those tickets!"
Doubling down, the 'I Wanna Love You' hitmaker reiterated: "It was my mom’s treat for us to go to Hawaii."
After a paparazzi member asked whether she'd have sat with her children if she'd been the one to buy the tickets, Simpson quickly insisted: "Of course!"
The Texas star confirmed her separation from Johnson last January after a decade of marriage.
She told PEOPLE at the time: "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."