Jessica Simpson
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A lot has happened to Jessica Simpson since she bounced on the scene with her 1999 debut album Sweet Kisses. While recording music, starring in movies and designing her own brand of clothing, Simpson has also been the constant subject of tabloid rumors and public debate over her image. And before we watch her return to reality TV on Monday night (March 15) with her show, "The Price of Beauty," on VH1, MTV News decided to take a look back at the highs and lows of her career and personal life so far.

November 23, 1999: Simpson released her debut album, Sweet Kisses. Branded as a cleaner-cut pop star than cotemporaries Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears, the 19-year-old didn't roll around in the sand or get her Lolita on in schoolgirl uniforms. Simpson became the pop-star-next-door thanks to her ballad, "I Wanna Love You Forever," followed by her duet with Nick Lachey "Where Are You."

	The Evolution Of: Jessica Simpson

1999: She began dating Lachey after touring with his band, 98 Degrees. They broke up after two years, only to reunite in late 2001.

June 5, 2001: Simpson released sophomore album Irresistible, which spawned only two singles, including the title track.

October 26, 2002: Simpson married Lachey, maintaining her good-girl image by sharing that she saved her virginity until her wedding day.

Summer 2003: The pair were one of the first celebrity couples to make a reality show out of their everyday lives with "Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica." Simpson became a household name after blithely pondering the nature of her Chicken of the Sea tuna. At the same time, Simpson finally sexed up her image for her album In This Skin, which featured a more grown-up sound than her previous efforts. She had hits with singles "With You" and "Take My Breath Away."

March 30, 2005: Simpson and Lachey wrapped up their show.

August 5, 2005: She put on her short shorts to play the role of Daisy Duke in the big-screen adaptation of "Dukes of Hazzard," alongside Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott.

December 2005: Simpson filed for divorce, which was finalized in late 2006. Her subsequent love life became a tabloid staple as she was linked to Dane Cook, Adam Levine, John Mayer and Tony Romo.

August 2006- May 2007: Simpson and Mayer dated on and off in a relationship closely chronicled by gossip pages. Mayer would later describe Simpson as "sexual napalm."

October 6, 2006: Simpson released the comedy "Employee of the Month." During filming, rumors persisted that she was dating co-star Dane Cook.

November 2007-July 2009: Simpson dated Dallas Cowboy Tony Romo for nearly two years. During their time together, she became known as a jinx for his team. It was eventually reported that Romo broke up with Simpson the night before her 29th birthday.

December 2007: Simpson's movie "Blonde Ambition," co-starring Luke Wilson, came out.

February 3, 2009: Simpson continued acting with the straight-to-DVD release of "Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous."

August 26, 2006: Simpson released her album A Public Affair, and projected a fun, carefree attitude in the Brett Ratner-directed video for the single of the same name, featuring her roller-skating with her girlfriends.

September 9, 2008: A Texas girl at heart, Simpson attempted to cross over into country music with Do You Know.

January- March 2009: While touring with Rascal Flatts, Simpson received backlash for her reported weight gain.

April 2009: Simpson parted ways with record label Sony Nashville.

Late 2009: Inspired by the criticism she received for her appearance, Simpson began filming her reality show, "The Price of Beauty."

February- March 2010: Simpson shared her reaction to Mayer's Playboy quotes on a number of talk shows. Most recently she told "The View" that she wouldn't be giving him her napalm ever again. Meanwhile, she wouldn't confirm or deny rumors she's dating Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan.

March 15, 2010, at 10 p.m.: The premiere of "The Price of Beauty," in which Simpson travels the globe to find out what cultures outside of the U.S. consider beautiful. She has even recorded a new song for the show, with Corgan's help.

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• The Evolution Of: Jessica Simpson

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Jessica Simpson
Photo: WireImage

She's been criticized by people for her appearance. She's had John Mayer talk about her private life to Playboy magazine. And while these things might have gotten under Jessica Simpson's skin in the past, the singer, who premiered her new VH1 docu-series "The Price of Beauty" on Monday night, said these days, she's up for any challenge.

"I definitely faced a lot of fears in every country that we went to, but that's what it was about," she told MTV News. "It was about going out there and seeing how far I can push myself and seeing what I can discover. Like, 'Who am I?' "

She added that given her new, fresh perspective on things, she doesn't care what anyone has to say these days. "I view the world very differently," she said. "Everything's not as big of a deal as people make it out to be, and that's a really great place to be in. I know there's nothing that anybody can say about me that will take me to a very low place, because I am stronger."

It was her experiences traveling all over the globe that gave Simpson strength. "The extremes [people] go to to feel beautiful, I think our society puts way, way too much pressure on a woman to feel beautiful," she said. "But the extremes that we saw in all these different countries were amazing. It was, like, outrageous.

"We went to Uganda. We were in fattening huts [where] the fatter you are, the more beautiful you are in this certain village we were in," she continued. "And so the men want their women to look like cows, because the cows are their prize possession. So the bride-to-be has to gain 90 pounds before she gets married. It does push its limits to what's healthy, what's not healthy. I've done all kinds of stuff on this trip."

Did you watch Jessica's new show? What do you think about the lengths people will go to for beauty? Weigh in below!

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Jessica Simpson
Photo: MTV News

Jessica Simpson hit the road last year to film her new VH1 show, "The Price of Beauty." At the time, the pop star had been inundated with negative press about her appearance and reported weight gain. And after an eye-opening journey around the world, Simpson said she learned what was truly beautiful about herself.

"I think that [the show] is such a great concept and I think it's going to be such an incredible show for women of all ages to watch. You definitely learn a lot about all these different cultures," she told MTV News about her show, premiering Monday (March 15) on VH1, adding that the filming was very personal for her.

"The reason why I wanted to go on this journey was to discover that, for myself, what was beautiful inside me and just to listen to these women talk and hear their stories," she explained. "And I had gone through a really hard time in the past year with people, just, they keep harping and me gaining weight, it made me so insecure that I really actually forgot who I was and I wanted to go on this journey to find myself again."

Now that she's back in the States, she said she can easily face any criticism or even be able to handle any line of questioning, even if it's about touchy subjects like John Mayer. "I definitely learned that I allow too many judgments of other people to seep in," she said. "Even when you think you kind of got it together and you think you can ignore it, you do still fall asleep with those voices in your head. There's no way to stop that. I think that going on this trip, all these places, I really just found an inner peace. I found something within myself that I didn't know was there."

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Jessica Simpson on "The View"
Photo: ABC

It seems like all anyone wants to talk to Jessica Simpson about is her love life. Is she still angry that John Mayer dished about their sex in Playboy? Is she dating Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan? And while she is now able to laugh off Mayer's comments about her, she neither confirmed nor denied that she's romantically involved with Corgan when she stopped by "The View" on Monday (March 15).

"Yes, my phone has been ringing. It's more embarrassing 'cause I'll walk into a restaurant or something and I'll notice more men are looking at me," she said of the response to Mayer's comments, which included calling her "sexual napalm." "And he'll never have this napalm again. Well, [I don't need to curse him out], that's why I do shows like this!"

She added that while they were dating, the only "stupid" comment he made to her was that they should break up. "He did apologize, but I mean, at this point it doesn't really matter," she said. "I mean, I only thought he was stupid for breaking up with me."

So with her romance with Mayer behind her, is she dating Corgan, who helped her on the track for her new VH1 show, "The Price of Beauty"? "I can't meet anybody! I'm marrying them the next week," she said. "Billy is one of my dear friends and he did help arrange the song. He understands my heart and knew what I wanted to do."

Simpson also addressed her weight — "I don't want to be [very thin] ... it's not worth it." — as well as her new TV show, she also looked to the future, which she hopes will include kids. "I can't wait to have kids. Well, honestly, if I don't have kids by the time I'm 40, my best friend [and hairstylist] Ken Paves and I are going to have children," she said. "Oh no! I'm not pregnant!"

• A Look Back: John Mayer And Jessica Simpson

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Billy Corgan
Photo: Jason Merritt/ FilmMagic

Billy Corgan may have admitted his love for Jessica Simpson to Rolling Stone, but it seems he's also dishing to the magazine his distaste for John Mayer after Mayer's controversial remarks about Simpson in Playboy magazine.

"He's trying to destroy his career," Corgan told Rolling Stone. "Rather than take a year off or change his musical direction ... some part of it is irritating his soul to the point where he's trying to blow it up."

Corgan further said of his fellow musician, "Certainly a talented guy, but empathetically, standing on the sidelines, it's hard to watch someone literally burn their career to the ground. Speaking as somebody who's done it."

In the same interview, the Smashing Pumpkins founder revealed that he's got feelings for Simpson. The two recently collaborated on the theme song for Simpson's new VH1 reality show, "The Price of Beauty."

"If I go, 'Oh, we're just friends,' then it's like, 'Did they go out, did he dump her or she dump him, what happened?' It has nothing to do with any of that. Sometimes people just like being around each other, and good things come out of that," he told the magazine about the nature of his relationship with Simpson. "My goal in life is to love whoever I think is worth loving, and I think if people knew her like I knew her, they would love her like I do. It's really simple."

Simpson seems to be taking this all in stride. She laughed off Mayer's comments when she appeared on "Late Night With David Letterman" on Wednesday night.

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Jessica Simpson (file)
Photo: Mark Davis/ Getty Images

Jessica Simpson stopped by "Late Night With David Letterman" on Wednesday night and chatted a bit about her ex-beaus Tony Romo and John Mayer. And even when Letterman's questions got a bit personal, Simpson laughed off the interrogation and even dished a bit about her relationships with the two superstars.

"Tony is great, still a dear friend of mine," she told Letterman when she stopped by to promote her new show "The Price of Beauty." "My dad introduced us. I told you that we're big Dallas Cowboys fans. I'm still a fan. I still look at his cute butt in the outfits ... uniforms."

While she went on to describe Romo as "a fine breed," she had a less positive review of her other ex, Mayer, who very famously revealed details about their sex life in Playboy. "Normally, you would think that somebody you care about would keep those intimate details to themselves, It was definitely compliment ... in a way. But I don't really want people to know that about me. It's like, I'm the good girl, and then that happens. That's the thing I am, but he gave away my game [details about her sex life].

So, does she still talk to any of her exes? "No I have not talked to him since. I will always care about him, but I was disappointed about the article," she said about Mayer, adding, "I will always adore Tony. He's going to be one of my friends for life."

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Billy Corgan (file)
Photo: MTV News

While Billy Corgan was mum about his relationship with pop star Jessica Simpson when he spoke to The Chicago Tribune last month, the Smashing Pumpkins frontman was a bit more forthcoming to Rolling Stone about Simpson, who recently appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and discussed ex-boyfriend John Mayer's controversial comments about her in Playboy.

"If I go, 'Oh, we're just friends,' then it's like, 'Did they go out, did he dump her or she dump him, what happened?' It has nothing to do with any of that. Sometimes people just like being around each other, and good things come out of that," he told the magazine. "My goal in life is to love whoever I think is worth loving, and I think if people knew her like I knew her, they would love her like I do. It's really simple."

He had harsher words for his former bandmates in the Smashing Pumpkins. "Rather than break up the band, what I should have done is chuck James [Iha] out," Corgan explained. "I should have just said to Jimmy [Chamberlin], 'You go to rehab, and we'll continue, and James, get the f--- out of here.' Instead, I fell on my sword for James, for what I thought was a friend."

He also opened up about his career now and his ongoing work on the Pumpkins' Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, a planned 44-track collection he's gradually releasing over the course of three years via free download from his Web site.

"There's a lot of days where you feel forgotten," he said. "Do I belong in the conversation about the best artists in the world? My answer is yes, I do. I've been too productive for too long, and despite what anybody wants to strip away from me, I am influential. I am. So all the Pitchforks in the world [referring to the popular indie-rock Web site] can try to strip me of every ounce of dignity, but I belong."

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Jessica Simpson on "Oprah" on Wednesday
Photo: HARPO

When Jessica Simpson sat down with Oprah Winfrey on her talk show Wednesday (March 3), she addressed everything from criticism about her weight to her relationship with John Mayer to her new VH1 show, "The Price of Beauty."

"I'm doing very good," she told Oprah, who she last sat down with five years ago, adding that the criticism she faces in the tabloids is always with her. "I can't say that I've allowed myself to ignore it, because it's everywhere. Those voices are inside my head, sometimes when I fall asleep."

As for Mayer and his comments in Playboy, in which he referred to his ex as "crack cocaine" and "sexual napalm," Simpson said, "I'm not angry. I'm not angry. I'm — well, I'm a little bit angry. ... I'm a little bit angry. Um ... well, I don't want people to know how I am in bed. I guess it could have been a lot worse. ... My phone is ringing off the hook, I have to say."

While Mayer's comments left her feeling "betrayed," she said it was more difficult when people started saying that she had gained weight, noting that the "mom jeans" photo taken while she was performing was her lowest point. "People [were] talking about my weight for an entire year," she said. "It's like people just couldn't stop talking about my weight fluctuating.

"It would bother any woman, I would think," she added. "I had to get to a place where I had to guard myself. The fact that I was famous last year for gaining 10 pounds, it's ridiculous, and it's really sad."

Although she doesn't feel it's fair that she's received so much negative attention, she does say she "opened myself up to the world of judgment and of people's opinions" after her reality show "Newlyweds" with ex-husband Nick Lachey. "The sad part about it is, when everything came out, I didn't want to say anything about the weight, because I felt guilty," she said. "I felt like if people look at me and maybe they're a size bigger and they think they're fat because of what the media says, I didn't want to feed into it. I didn't want to let people know it was affecting me."

Now, however, she said she loves her curves and is ready to expose the world's ideas of beauty on her new reality show, "The Price of Beauty," set for a March 15 debut. "I'm interested in learning more about myself and what I value in myself and letting that be the beautiful part of me, rather than putting on the makeup or wearing the right designer," she said. "It really is about the heart of a woman that makes her beautiful."

Calling the pressure from the media to be thin "disgusting," she said that's why she decided to make the show. She added that her strength comes from her family. "I have an incredible family. They are my backbone," she said. "And then I have my best friends that I surround myself with. I just try to journal and try to discover how I can fight this on my own, as well.

"Nobody else can [define] beauty but myself," she continued. "Nobody's words, nobody's compliments, nobody's love, none of that. ... It's all what I have within myself. Every day will continue to be a journey. Every day, we'll find something new out about ourselves that is authentic and is unique, but I really just finally relaxed. I don't care what people have to say about my weight. I really don't, because I think I look great."

• A Look Back: John Mayer And Jessica Simpson

• Jessica Simpson

Jessica Simpson and Oprah Winfrey on "The Oprah Winfrey Show"
Photo: George Burns/Harpo Productions

In an episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" set to air on Wednesday (March 3), Jessica Simpson opens up about ex-boyfriend John Mayer's controversial comments about her in Playboy, where he described her as "sexual napalm" and other colorful terms. And, although he called her to apologize, she didn't accept it.

"I tried to read the article, and I was so disappointed in him," she says on the show, according to UsMagazine.com. "It made me so sad, and it was really discouraging because that's not the John that I knew. ... I hope he gets his life together. He did apologize. I don't accept it. It's just one of those things that ... I don't resent him. I'm just going to let that go. That part of my life is over.

"I'm not angry," she continued. "I'm not angry. I'm — well, I'm a little bit angry ... I'm a little bit angry. Um ... well, I don't want people to know how I am in bed. I guess it could have been a lot worse."

In the magazine, Mayer also discussed his relationship with Jennifer Aniston. "It would bother any woman, I would think," Simpson said of his comments. "I had to get to a place where I had to guard myself."

During the episode, Simpson, whose new reality show "The Price of Beauty" is set to debut March 15 on VH1, also talks in depth about the criticism she received last year over her appearance and reported weight gain. "I fluctuate from [size] 4 to 6," she explained. "I'm not going to ever be size 0, and I don't want to weigh 90 pounds. ... It's a really hard thing for me to talk about because I celebrate women of all sizes. I think that we're all beautiful."

Adding that she's "absolutely" comfortable with her body, she says that her once pin-thin frame came at a different time in her life. "I love my curves," she said.

"I didn't weigh 90 pounds," she continued. "But I was — I was definitely smaller. But that was Daisy Duke, that's a role. I was playing a role. I don't want to look like Daisy Duke every day. I don't want to wear a bathing suit every day."

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