Jessica Simpson's friends fear her new boyfriend is using her to get famous.

The singer-and-actress began dating ex-NFL player Eric Johnson last month but her pals are worried he is just using Jessica so he can raise his profile.

Speaking about Eric - who graduated from the prestigious Yale University - a friend of Jessica's said: "I don't care if he's so smart and all that, I get the sense he's more interested in people knowing he's dating Jessica Simpson rather than truly caring about Jess and her needs."

According to the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper, another friend insists he is a "fame whore... the kind of guy who is really into dating famous women".

Eric further raised suspicions among Jessica's pals by dropping out of a two-year MBA business course at the University of Pennsylvania to study the prestigious Wharton school so he could spend more time with Jessica.

However, friends of Eric - who split from his wife earlier this year and filed for divorce in February - insist his feelings are genuine and he is smitten with the blonde star.

One pal argued: "Bulls**t! That's totally ridiculous and wrong. He is a really good guy and he's as nuts about Jessica as she is about him."