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Nick Lachey's tearful testimonial to Rolling Stone about the end of his marriage—you know, the one that was poised to perfectly coincide with the release of his album and land him on the cover, but instead landed him on the front of RS sister publication Us Weekly working his best gay cruise billboard model look—has devastated ex-wife Jessica Simpson, according to an anonymous, yappy-mouthed "friend" of Lachey's:

Friends gathered at Simpson's house on the day the article came out to console her. And Lachey himself even called to check in. "He wanted her to hear it from him," says a Lachey friend. "He felt bad that she was upset. (But) Nick didn't apologize, because the things he said (in the article) only demonstrate that he loves her."

Simpson sees it differently. "What really upset her was the timing," says the insider. "Nick waited until two weeks before for his album to debut (Lachey's CD, What's Left of Me, will be released May 9] to tell a reporter that he loved Jessica. That's not cool." Furthermore, the insider adds, "he keeps saying, 'I'm sorry I couldn't make her happy,' but he is not choosing to say why."

"What's Left of Me"—could the guy have come up with a more castration-evoking album title? And the song titles are no better: "I Can't Hate You Anymore," "On Your Own," "Outside Looking In." We've got to hand it to Nick's team of songwriters: After just a few creative development meetings with Lachey and his team of handlers, they really managed to capture the desperate heartbreak the singer is looking to capitalize on with his latest release. But once they were going down that route, we can't help but wish they had gone all the way with it and made the first single a searing ballad of regret and shattered promises, titled "Beep! Jess...This is Nick...The Alimony Payment Hasn't Cleared Yet. Can I Get An ETA On That?"