Jessica Simpson is pregnant, but she wouldn’t confirm anything to anyone until she had a magazine deal — for a fee of up to a half-million dollars. Sources told Page Six that Simpson, with the help of her father/manager, Joe Simpson, refused to say she is expecting until she had a deal in place.

The the singer/fashion designer and mentor on NBC’s “Fashion Star” had been shopping a deal to the celebrity weeklies to announce the news and sell the eventual baby photos. We’re told the Simpsons were asking up to $500,000 to close the deal. And Jessica has been hiding an obvious bump in recent photos to keep showbiz’s worst kept secret.

Jessica is engaged to former NFL star Eric Johnson, but the wedding date hasn’t been revealed. “We’re enjoying our commitment to each other,” Simpson said recently. “We want to take our time … We might elope if it gets to that point.” A rep for Simpson had no comment.

I say, of course she’s asking for half a million dollars to confirm her pregnancy. Her fiance is unemployed, so she’s got to pay sugar-mama somehow! Plus, the pregnancy-craving grocery bill has GOT to be tough on the pocketbook!