OK! Magazine has been pretty much floundering since they canned their editor, hired a bunch of consultants, and tried to become more youth and lifestyle-focused earlier this year. They ran that obnoxious cover photo of dead intubated Michael Jackson (link does not lead to photo) in the ambulance, for which they received a lot of well-deserved flack. Their latest cover seems old and like a rehash of the much-denied US Weekly cover from three weeks ago about how Jessica and Nick had another chance now that they’re both single. Nick denied that he was reconciling with Jessica, and said that he wished her well but hadn’t spoken to her in a couple of years.

Star Magazine claimed a couple of weeks ago that Jessica was reaching out to Nick and that he was being supportive but firm in letting her know he wasn’t interested in giving their long-over relationship another chance. It could have been a completely fabricated story, considering the source.

Now OK! is stretching it to claim that Jessica’s more than coincidental meetup with John Mayer was planned to make Nick Lachey jealous because Jess would like nothing more than to have her ex husband back. Oh really?

While Jessica Simpson is going out and having fun with her sister Ashlee Simpson and ex-boyfriend John Mayer, showing off how happy she is might be serving another purpose — to make her ex-husband Nick Lachey just a little bit jealous.

Although John may be the perfect Mr. Right Now — the two recently hung out at Katsuya — she knows her Mr. Right was, is and always will be Nick. As every woman knows, having a public affair with a sexy rocker would make any man jealous. And Jess’ night with John, who has a habit of broadcasting his affairs to the press and on Twitter (hello, Jennifer Aniston!), just might make Nick — who has been spotted with Jess look-alike Holly Letchworth — take notice.

“Nick is the guy Jess knew she should be with, but they were too young and their lives catapulted so quickly into fame that they never seemed to be able to catch up,” a pal says of the Newlyweds co-stars, who ended their three marriage in 2005. “She’s changed so much since they split and found out a lot about herself.”

That includes realizing she still has feelings for Nick.

“He’ll always hold a special place in her heart. It was her first love,” the pal says of their marriage. “Jess isn’t sure if Nick would give her a chance at this point, but she’d love to be friends. She says a part of her will always love him.”

[From OK! Magazine]

Jessica seems like an untethered boat when she’s without a man, like she’s just drifting around hoping for someone to take over and help her out. She’s so effusive about her relationships and has a tendency to overshare to the press to the point of embarrassment. I buy that she wouldn’t mind getting back with Nick and she’s probably idealizing her failed marriage now that she’s fresh out of another relationship. She told Glamour that she “loved everything about marriage.” It’s doubtful that OK! has much to go on other than tabloid reports and interviews, though.

Nick would be much better for Jessica than John Mayer, but it seems like only Mayer is willing to sleep with her and string her along. Nick got burned badly in his marriage and he’s not about to consider taking Jessica back. He’ll find another longterm girlfriend probably soon – he’s already dating, but it will be someone new. Jessica needs to focus on herself and work on being single for a while. So much for that story that she’s sworn off men. All she wants is another boyfriend to take away the pain, and that strategy hasn’t worked out for her at all in the past. You would hope she knows better than to get involved with Mayer again, but we all know that she doesn’t.