If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, SheKnows may receive an affiliate commission.

In February, Jessica Simpson set the internet ablaze when she published her short story, Movie Star: They Always Say They’re Single, and claimed that she had an affair with a “massive movie star” in 2006. The Twitter sleuths looked at the clues and it seemed to point to Mark Wahlberg.

Wahlberg hasn’t said a word about the gossip, but the 42-year-old star broke her silence to Bustle on who the mystery man’s identity might be. Simpson was asked if she’s heard from Wahlberg since the first-person essay came out.

Her response was curious… she gave a laugh that was described as “a deafening, throw-back-your-head-and-cackle laugh.” She refused to name her fling, and then gave fans a twist they weren’t expecting. “There’s a lot of Catholics out there,” she said.

Mark Wahlberg launches F45 Training’s free week of fitness classes by sharing details of his gym routine

Mark Wahlberg launches F45 Training’s free week of fitness classes by sharing details of his gym routine
Wahlberg, who is a devout Catholic, had other clues that pointed to him in the essay, including references to the gym, an entourage, and at the time of the alleged tryst, he was filming an A-list movie with a celebrated director, The Departed with Martin Scorsese.

Is Simpson trying to throw everyone off the trail? Or was the affair, that she described as “demeaning,” with someone else? That news should get the internet detectives back on the case to double and triple check those clues.

Simpson probably doesn’t want to reveal the identity of the celeb because at the time, he had a girlfriend — a very important fact that he forgot to mention to the “With You” singer while they were rolling around in bed.

Once Simpson found out that she was the side chick, she promptly ended the fling. The public may never know the true identity of her 2006 affair, but it’s hard not to side-eye Wahlberg even if she’s hinting it’s not him.