Nearly 20 years after he and Jessica Simpson divorced, Nick Lachey has opened up about the “scars” the famous marriage left on him.
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During a recent episode of the Netflix series The Ultimate: Marry or Move On, Lachey, who hosts the show with his now-wife, Vanessa Lachey, made a rare comment about his marriage with Simpson while empathizing with a cast member.
“I, too, was previously married,” Lachey explained. “Divorced. So I understand the hurt, the scars that exist from that.”
Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson first started dating in 1998 after meeting through their mutual manager. They had an on-and-off relationship before getting married in October 2002. The star-studded couple threw their marriage into the spotlight by starring in MTV’s hit reality show Newlyweds in 2003. The show lasted for three seasons.
However, things came crashing down for the couple in 2005 when Simpson officially filed for divorce from Lachey. The divorce was finalized the following year.
Nick responded to the divorce by releasing his hit ballad “What’s Left of Me.” Vanessa, who was a model at the time, starred in the song’s music video.
Not long after the music video, Nick and Vanessa started dating. They were married in 2011 and share three children.
Vanessa Lachey Explained How Nick’s Divorce From Jessica Simpson Impacted Their Relationship At First
While continuing the conversation on The Ultimate: Marry or Move On, Vanessa Lachey explained how Nick’s divorce from Jessica Simpson impacted their relationship in its early stages.
“Maybe you have heard, I did issue an ultimatum to Nick. We dated for five years,” Vanessa shared with the cast. “And so I’ve talked about the fact that I’ve given an ultimatum. But what I’ve never talked about is what I actually truly did.”
Vanessa noted that she kept pointing the finger, only to end up taking that finger and pointing it at herself. “And then I had to say, ‘What am I not giving him?’ I’m not giving him the respect that I’m asking. I’m not giving him the communication that I want.”
She acknowledged that is a seven-year age gap, and when they first started dating, she was still going out and having fun. “And I’m telling him I want to be a mom. He’s like, ‘Cool. OK. So I’ll see you at 2:30 when you get home?’ We are both Scorpios. We’re stubborn. And we were not getting anywhere.”
Nick then pointed out that his relationship with Vanessa is far from perfect.
“I just want to encourage you all, don’t let your past define your future,” he continued. “What I truly always wanted in my life was to have a beautiful marriage and a beautiful family. If I hadn’t retained my belief in that, I wouldn’t have ever realized the beautiful life that I have with this woman. And we sit up here, we don’t have it figured out.”
The 98 Degrees bandmate added, “But when you love each other, you believe in each other, and you’re aligned.”