Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson (now Ashlee Simpson Ross) are ancient history. The celebrity couple split up almost four years ago- since then she's remarried (hence the Ross in her name) and Wentz has had two kids with his girlfriend Meagan Camper.
But they're back in the news, thanks to Wentz- he appeared on Howard Stern's XM radio show this week, with plenty of info on just why this couple broke up- the first time Wentz has shared this personal stuff on a public level.
Stern (via E! News) asked the Fall Out Boy bassist if Wentz had any idea that his marriage was headed for disaster.
"Did you think you would be married forever or did you know it was going south?"
Wentz, to his credit, answered honestly.
"I thought it was forever," the rocker replied. "My parents have been married, I think, 35 years. I don't really know. Forty years, this year, maybe? But no, I didn't. At the same time, we were both very young."
Us Magazine has more from the musician, who explains just how his marriage went down the tubes.
"At 31, we'd had all these great years as a band, and then we took time off, and I basically became Mr. Mom," said Wentz. "I had the beard, the flannel shirt. I didn't know what my identity was. That factored in. When your identity is what you do, it's hard when you stop doing it."
"It was the first time where I was like, 'Well, no one's really taking my picture. I'm just basically hanging out with my kid all day. Who cares?' I think when you stop caring about your personal appearance, your personal hygiene, it makes you even more depressed, but it makes you do it more. It's like a vicious cycle."
While this may seem depressing, there's a silver lining to all of it- according to Enstarz, Wentz and Simpson remain friends to this day. So while their marriage might not have survived the years, their relationship still has.
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