Jessica Simpson told a concert audience that her ex-boyfriend, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, recently contacted her family to arrange the sale of a boat they once owned — and rewarded her with plastic cups after she signed over her share of the title.
"A couple weeks ago, my mom got a phone call, and he's like calling my mom saying, 'Well, Tina, I'm selling the boat,'" Simpson said onstage, according to published reports. Simpson said her mother told Romo that her daughter was still listed on the title, prompting Simpson to sign paperwork to clear the way for the sale. "And guess what he gave me as a thank you? Plastic cups," she added. "Honestly, plastic cups. I'm like, 'Wow, I'm glad we didn't work out.'"
Simpson and Romo dated from November 2007 to July 2009 in a relationship that attracted sustained public and media attention. Their coupling drew commentary beyond entertainment and sports circles; at the time, then-President George W. Bush was reported to have quipped that Simpson was a factor in Romo's on-field struggles.
The revelation about the boat and the plastic-cup "thank you" prompted reactions on social media, where some Cowboys fans mocked the singer. One post read, "Romo stays winning lol take your cups and be happy," while another said, "That's my quarterback," echoing loyalty to the former signal-caller. Other posts speculated about the circumstances of the sale and Romo's motives.
Reports note that Simpson, 45, made a recent return to the MTV Video Music Awards with an attention-grabbing performance. Coverage of the boat exchange also recalled that Simpson and Romo did not part on the best of terms; a friend of Romo's told Us Weekly at the time that the relationship had been marked by frequent arguments and tension, saying, "It's been a long time coming. They go from one fight right into another, without a second break. It's always something with Jessica."
Simpson's onstage disclosure adds a new, personal coda to a relationship that has remained a point of public fascination more than a decade after it ended. Neither Simpson nor Romo has issued further public comment about the boat transaction or the remarks made at the concert.