Nick and Jessica: All smooth?

New York, Oct. 7 (AP): When is a denial not a denial? Life as a Hollywood couple means perpetual breakup rumours ? which means perpetual insistence that “things are good”.

But sometimes those denials simply mask the truth ? which inevitably emerges in full view.

Just one day before Renee Zellweger filed for an annulment from Kenny Chesney, she said their marriage was fine. One month before Jennifer Lopez announced that her engagement to Ben Affleck was kaput, Affleck said “everything is fine... everything is good”.

And one wonders why Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie would initially deny what now seems obvious.

The latest question of plausible deniability concerns Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey.

The couple’s publicists responded to magazine reports on Wednesday with a statement claiming “Nick and Jessica have not separated. Rumours to the contrary are simply not true”.

The three-year-old Newlyweds may well be doing fine, but the US Weekly (which first reported the split on Wednesday) stands staunchly by its story.

“I expect an announcement,” said US Weekly editor-in-chief Janice Min.

But why would they delay it? “Nick and Jessica have been a huge business,” Min said.

“They’ve performed duets together, they’ve recorded together, Newlyweds is one of the most widely successful reality shows of all-time.”

There have also been grumblings that confirmation of the split has been delayed because Simpson reportedly has been paid to break the news only with OK! magazine.

Marisa Schneer, a publicist for the American version of the British magazine, said OK! doesn’t disclose the details of their arrangements with celebrities ? but that no story was “in the works” on Simpson.

Hmmm. Sounds like a denial. What’s undeniable is the short shelf life of past denials.