Nick and Vanessa Lachey have become such a power couple in Hollywood that sometimes people forget the two had love lives before tying the knot in 2011. The 98 Degrees singer was previously married to singer and fashion brand owner, Jessica Simpson. Lachey and Simpson’s stardom catapulted to even greater heights due to their MTV reality series Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica. But after three years of marriage, they split in 2005. Simpson has since married Eric Johnson, and the two have three children together. The Lachey’s are now a fan favorite, but it wasn’t always that way.
In the early days of dating, Vanessa says constantly hearing about Nick’s ex was hard. The couple are the hosts of Netflix’s new reality dating show The Ultimatum. In one episode, Vannesa is honest with the contestants about how his split from Simpson caused a rocky start for the two. “He was literally in a very public marriage and a very public divorce, and I had to go through all that s–t very publicly, and it was very hard for us,” she admitted. But she says, it eventually drew them closer together.
Videos by PopCulture.com
“It wasn’t until the moment that he was like, ‘I’m gonna let it go,’ and I said, ‘I’m gonna let it go,’ and we truly committed to each other,” she explained. “We literally fell deeper and harder than we ever could.” Nick agreed, telling the contestants, “I think we got perspective.”
But still, their relationship has endured other hardships. They were casual friends and knew one another through the business as Vanessa was a host on MTV’s TRL. They reconnected on the set of Nick’s music video for his 2006 single “What’s Left of Me.” Sparks flew and they were nearly inseparable, sharing a kiss for the first time in public on New Years Eve on TRL. But they split briefly in 2009.
The Lachey’s are now parents to two sons – Camden, 9, and Phoenix, 5, as well as their daughter Brooklyn, 7. Outside of The Ultimatum, the couple also hosts the Netflix reality dating experiment phenomenon, Love Is Blind.
