JEWEL - JEWEL TAKES SIMPSON UNDER HER WING

Singer JEWEL has become JESSICA SIMPSON's guardian angel, as she battles her way through her split with husband NICK LACHEY.

Last week (ends25NOV05), Simpson and Lachey ended months of relentless speculation when they announced that they were going their separate ways after three years of marriage.

And as the tabloids continue to pick her private life apart, Simpson is leaning on INTUITION singer Jewel as a confidant.

She says, "Jewel said to me, 'I want to shield and (protect) you.' She wanted to take care of me, and everybody needs someone like that.

"I can talk to my parents, but they will never understand what it feels like to be the one booed. (My sister) ASHLEE and I are closer than we've ever been in our lives because of that. We have this way to relate to each other that brings us closer."

Simpson is also jotting down her thoughts each day in a diary.

She explains, "It's a way for me to know myself, my problems and my issues. If I don't do this, I'll push everything back until I explode."