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Nick Lachey Details Run-In With Ex Jessica Simpson on Flight 20 Years After Divorce
When Nick Lachey quipped that marriage "is always better the second time" during the Love Is Blind third season reunion in November 2022, that could've just been a bit of throwaway banter. But it caught viewers' attention.
Because they remember Lachey's first time. And don't we all, for that matter?
It's been almost 24 years since he wed Jessica Simpson and, even though they've both long since moved on—and seeing each other for the first time in 20 years on a recent flight to Hawaii was, according to Lachey, "strangely OK"—the energy they once sparked in the celebrity universe remains. And thanks to TikTok, everything retro is new again.
"It's amazing what publicity can do," Simpson cracked to Bustle in 2023 about the Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica clips being shared at the time, ripe for a closer look.
But to be fair to all still-obsessed parties, Lachey and Simpson intentionally invited a lot of people to go on their journey with them, and millions merrily RSVP'd.
Theo Wargo/WireImage
Because, once upon a time, it didn't automatically feel like the worst idea ever for couples to do a reality show about their lives.
And Simpson and Lachey, who tied the knot on Oct. 26, 2002, were instrumental in ushering in a whole new genre of entertainment—for the world and for MTV—when they agreed to star in Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica.
They weren't exactly newlyweds anymore when the show premiered on Aug. 19, 2003, with gauzy images of their wedding and sexy shots from home unfolding to the strains of 98 Degrees' "I Do (Cherish You)." But close enough—and what doesn't scream "till death do us part" like immediate synergy in the form of the groom singing the theme song?
Fast-forward just a few years and they would become the poster exes for why it's almost never a good idea for couples to do a show that's going to focus mainly on the inner workings of their relationship (the stories of emerging unscathed from such a venture are now the exception).
But though Simpson has said she doesn't regret doing Newlyweds "at all," their oft-televised union (remember the Nick and Jessica Variety Hour?) has suffered in the retelling, becoming a marriage of moments: Chicken of the Sea; "Sweetest Sin," Jess' musical ode to losing her virginity; her Friday night divorce filing in December 2005; etc.
"It was the most amazing moment of my life," Simpson told Blender about their wedding night. "I'm so lucky I didn't lose my virginity in the back of a Jeep or something. Instead, I had this amazing, elaborate wedding and I topped it off with that."
Scott Gries/ImageDirect/Getty Images
Sex can be a great motivator, as can an unparalleled opportunity to build a brand and earn some money, but Simpson and Lachey—for all the show revealed them to not have in common—did originally intend to live happily ever after.
They started dating in 1999 after falling for each other on tour, and Lachey later told CBS News, in a joint interview with Simpson, "The first time I ever heard her sing, I got chills. And I told the guys [in 98 Degrees]...'I'm going to marry that girl one day.'"
Simpson chimed in, "We definitely knew—no ifs, ands or buts—we're totally in love." To which Lachey added, "You know, it sounds kind of hokey and cheesy, but at the same time, it's cool."
So why not share all that hokey, cheesy love with the world?
It was the blushing bride's father and then-manager, Joe Simpson, who brokered the deal for their show with MTV (and would continue, along with Jess' mom, Tina, to be really involved in the couple's life), and Jessica readily admitted she thought it would be a good way to promote her new album, In This Skin.
MTV
And it was apparent that Nick and Jessica were stronger together, at least at first. Of course their fans wanted to know more about their sex life, not to mention watch it play out in PG-rated form in music videos, see inside their spacious Calabasas home, and Simpson's closet in particular, and watch them playfully bicker and make up. Nick also always seemed to be carrying her around—they were so hot!
All of that translated into more opportunities outside the marriage, especially for Simpson, who launched her edible beauty line Jessica Simpson Desserts and started formulating what would eventually become her booming, billion-dollar fashion and lifestyle brand.
But the whole incompatibility thing soon got in the way. Though the phrase "reality TV curse" is often invoked, according to observers at the time, their marriage would have unraveled anyway—and possibly faster if they hadn't let the cameras, which gave them a common purpose, into their lives.
"We were young and pioneering our way through reality television, always miced and always on. We worked and we were great at it but when it came time to being alone, we weren't great at it anymore," Simpson wrote in her 2020 memoir, Open Book. "We really got crushed by the media and by ourselves. I couldn't lie to our fans and I couldn't give somebody hope that we were this perfect golden couple."
MTV
Remember the time Lachey got mad at Simpson for spending $750 on La Perla lingerie, or $1,200 on sheets? Or wasn't all that welcoming to her BFF CaCee Cobb when she was around? Or the two of them not being able to agree—after all that damn exposition—on how often they should have sex? In one episode, Lachey tried to negotiate three times a week, and Simpson looked rather, um, put out by that prospect.
"You could feel there was tension between the two of them. They were very different people," Newlyweds producer Sue Kolinsky recalled in a 2017 interview with Complex that proved folks were still interested in a little dirt on the long-defunct Simpson-Lachey marriage.
"He was a blue collar guy—he did a lot of things himself, like he and his brother would build things," Kolinsky said. "He was frugal, and she had excessive taste. In the end they weren't suited for each other. The only thing they really had in common was their music. She was really young; I think he's seven years older than her. He wanted a family, and her father thought maybe she was too young. Her father was very involved in her life. "
When Simpson later joked that her first marriage was her "biggest money mistake," she wasn't talking about extravagantly priced panties. (And Simpson made that crack in a 2015 interview on CNBC's Closing Bell—an indicator all on its own of financial success.)
She said on Dr. Oz in 2020 that Nick had suggested they sign a prenup, "but I was, like, so offended." Basically she did not like the implication that they weren't really in it to win it forever.
Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage
During the marriage, their careers and personal brands did not seem to be taking off at the same rate. Lachey was still the hunky 98 Degrees singer, but Simpson, the breakout star of Newlyweds, was fast becoming more than a pop star. (And she could have been in The Notebook, she divulged in Open Book, but "turned it down because they wouldn't budge on taking out the sex scene.")
But while their show is remembered more as a recipe for divorce court, there was a real relationship at its core. One that many fans also mourned after it ended.
While Simpson confidently built on the starry-eyed early days of their marriage, Lachey scored a hit with the tear-jerker title track of his 2006 album What's Left of Me, which is still the biggest single of his solo career.
"It's not in any way vindictive or an assault on her," Lachey explained the album in the companion MTV special What's Left of Me, which aired in April 2006, five months after Simpson filed for divorce. "In a lot of ways, it's more of an assault on me."
Acknowledging how broken he sounded in some of the songs on the album, which came out that May, Lachey said he felt "blindsided," but hopeful that he'd find love again.
"Do I believe that I'll fall in love again one day? I certainly hope so. I certainly hope I'm not going to be the jerk, uncle, bachelor the rest of my life," he promised. "You know, it's not what I envisioned for myself, but at the same time, when I got married, that was it for me, you know, that was my life."
Simpson put her side of the story to productive use as well.
In August 2006, she released her album A Public Affair, which would have been really disappointing if none of the songs had anything to do with her divorce.
"'A Public Affair' is a play on words; it's not about what you think it's going to be about," Simpson explained the title track to MTV News. "People probably expected [it to be about Lachey] because of everything going on in my life, but it's not about him at all. It's about me going out with my girlfriends and forgetting everything that's around me, which is paparazzi, and just having a fun night. Because [paparazzi] can ruin a night."
Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage.com
But her cover of Patty Griffin's "Let Him Fly" did have a particular meaning.
Simpson recalled listening to the song with sister Ashlee Simpson (now Simpson-Ross) in December 2005, as her marriage was unraveling, and the effect it had.
"We laid there listening to the song and just cried and cried like babies," she said. "In a lot of ways, my sister really gave me the strength to pull through this really hard time. And it was just lying there and being with her that got me through it. I knew everything would be OK. The song is about how sometimes you just have to know when to let something go. And that was that moment. And I had to sing it."
Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Jessica Simpson Collection
Simpson went on to high-profile relationships with John Mayer and Tony Romo before meeting former football player Eric Johnson, in 2010. They wed in 2014 and share daughters Maxwell Drew, 14, and Birdie Mae, 7, and son Ace Knute, 12, but Simpson confirmed in January 2025 that they had separated.
Though she called the split the "deepest heartbreak" of her life, she also approached her next chapter with positivity, telling People that February, "I’ve grown up so much. I can handle so much. Maybe I’m just meant to love a lot of people in my life."
Lachey, however, came face to face with his wife of now almost 15 years just months after the divorce.
There was a little off-and-on turbulence before he and Vanessa Lachey (née Minnillo, her name back when she was hanging out with her future husband and his then-wife as a host of TRL) tied the knot in 2011. But their instant connection when she starred in his "What's Left of Me" video prompted Lachey to bounce back pretty quickly from the depths of his woe.
"It's life, man," he told Access Hollywood in 2009 about the breakup of his marriage to Simpson. "Why does any marriage end? There are probably more reasons than either one of us will ever understand or want to talk about. Sometimes people are in your life for a period of time for a reason and… that situation changes."
Lachey noted at the time that he and Simpson were no longer in touch—but when he and Vanessa got engaged the following year, Simpson told Ryan Seacrest on KIIS-FM that she was "extremely, extremely happy for him."
As for the instantaneous rumors that she was actually quite saddened by the news, she pleaded ignorance.
"You know, our relationship was over a really long time ago, so it would be nice if everybody could move on with us and really just celebrate the love between him and Vanessa," Simpson said. "I do, and I wish them nothing but the best."
Lachey confirmed on SiriusXM's Andy Cohen Live in November 2021 that, almost two years after its release, he'd never read his ex-wife's book nor was it on his to-do list.
"I lived it," he pointed out. "I know what the truth is, so I don't need to read it, read someone's version of it in a story."
Lachey, for his part, is living a whole other existence now as Vanessa's husband and dad to sons Camden, 13, and Phoenix, 9, and daughter Brooklyn, 11.
"I am thrilled to be where I am in life," he told Andy Cohen. "[Marriage to Simpson] was 20 years ago. It's honestly the last thing on my mind these days except when someone brings it up...I understand why people want to ask, but it's just so not a part of my life anymore that it's not even on my radar. She is doing her thing and I am doing mine and that's the way it should be."
Seriously, isn't it the worst when someone brings it up?
But while Simpson and Lachey actually had a much easier time of it than some stars who parted ways and yet remain haunted by their exes in headline form, the reminders continue that audiences once fell in love with Newlyweds—and they committed for the long haul, even when the newlyweds themselves realized it was time to move on.
And they're hardly alone. See which other former couples may have been cursed by doing reality TV:
Bravo
Jules and Michael Wainstein, The Real Housewives of New York City
Jules' first season on The Real Housewives of New York City, the show's eighth, hadn't even hit its midway point when news broke that husband Michael had filed for divorce after eight years of marriage. In a very suspicious bit of timing, that new episode airing that very evening showed the first hit at marital discord between the Bravo newbies.
Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Cynthia Bailey and Peter Thomas, The Real Housewives of Atlanta
When Real Housewives of Atlanta viewers first met Cynthia in season three, she got engaged to, planned a wedding with, and got married to Peter all in one fell swoop. And all against the wishes of her family. (Remember watching her mom and sister hide the marriage license on the day of the freaking wedding?! Savage AF.) The union was always a rocky one, with Peter's financial issues and sketchy behavior continually coming between the two. By season eight, Peter wasn't even living at home anymore and after the season wrapped, the two announced plans to separate.
MTV
Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, Newlyweds
Arguably the first iconic couple of reality TV, the pop singer and 98 Degrees frontman won viewers' hearts in 2003 with their MTV show that showed off the couple's, especially Jessica's, realness. (Remember her infamous is it chicken or is it fish query?) Alas, after three years of marriage and 41 episodes, the couple split.
Tom Briglia/FilmMagic
Lynne and Frank Curtin, The Real Housewives of Orange County
When Lynne and Frank joined The Real Housewives of Orange County in season four, they were gleefully spending money like it was going out of style. By season five, Frank's mishandling of their finances blindsided Lynne to the point that she received an eviction notice on camera. The couple called it quits shortly thereafter.
Amy Sussman/WireImage for Discovery Communications
Jon and Kate Gosselin, Jon and Kate Plus 8
Back in the day, innocent and unkempt Jon and Kate Gosselin were just normal people who bickered like any crazed parents of eight kids under age 8. When the fame of Jon and Kate Plus Eight got ahold of them, Kate ditched her signature business-in-the-front, party-in-the-back hairstyle for long blonde extensions and a fake tan, while Jon started wearing a lot of Ed Hardy and partying with co-eds, and their marriage was over a few ugly months later. The media couldn't figure out who we were rooting for anymore, and the family slowly faded from the spotlight. (Until now...)
Rachel Murray/Getty Images for Celebrity Fight Night
Yolanda and David Foster, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
This one stings. Yolanda and David Foster were still in their first year of marriage when she joined Bravo's bevy of Beverly Hills beauties and, in the last three seasons, we've watched them in what appeared to be wedded bliss, even as she's openly struggled with a debilitating Lyme disease diagnosis for much of that time. That's what makes the recent news that the pair are planning to divorce after four years of marriage and nine as a couple so painful and baffling. What went wrong here?
Bravo
Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, Being Bobby Brown
Hell to the no! At least the tumultuous couple's shortlived 2005 Bravo reality series gave us that catch phrase? The late icon was hesitant to appear on the series following her husband's career, but later told Oprah she agreed to do it for Bobby. "It was just like, 'OK, I'm your wife. What do you want me to do?'" Ripped apart by critics, the show wasn't renewed for a second season after Whitney wouldn't agree to appear again. After 14 years of marriage, the couple filed for legal separation in September 2006.
Chris Weeks/Getty Images
Camille and Kelsey Grammer, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
When Camille Grammer joined the inaugural season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, she brought with her the arguably the franchise's most high-profile spouse: Beloved sitcom star Kelsey Grammer. But things in their marriage seemed strained from the jump, with Kelsey hardly ever on camera or in Los Angeles. That the two were in a bitter divorce by season's end was no surprise. That Kelsey was such a jerk? Well, that was surprising.
Carley Margolis/FilmMagic
Hulk and Linda Hogan, Hogan Knows Best
Arguably one of the most famous professional wrestlers in pop culture, late wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan invited viewers into his home for four seasons to meet his quirky family, including animal-loving wife, Linda, wannabe pop star daughter, Brooke, and troublemaking son, Nick. Soon after the series' 2007 cancellation, however, Linda filed for divorce, with the fallout being shown on the spinoff, Brooke Knows Best.
Bravo Photo: Brett Ascarelli
Tamra and Simon Barney, The Real Housewives of Orange County
When Tamra joined The Real Housewives of Orange County in season three, she was married to second husband Simon. In the three seasons that ensued before their eventual divorce, viewers watched as the union disintegrated in a truly nasty fashion, leading to Tamra declaring a desire for a divorce on camera in the season five finale. This one was not pretty. Here's hoping third time's the charm for Tamra, who rebounded in season six with Eddie Judge, before tying the knot between seasons eight and nine.
Bravo
Bethenny Frankel and Jason Hoppy, Bethenny Ever After
We all rejoiced when our favorite RHONY Housewife finally found love with super sweet normal dude, Jason Hoppy, and success with her spinoff shows, Bethenny Getting Married and Bethenny Ever After. But Bethenny's issues with her own broken family led to insecurities that drove a wedge between the couple, ending in a nasty custody battle for their adorable daughter, Bryn.
And despite the divorce drama and the recent cancellation of her talk show, Bethenny seems to be taking it all in stride. "I'm in a good place," she recently said. "Life is a journey, not a destination. I'm on the road. And the road is paved with good intentions!"
Mitchell Haaseth/BRAVO
Vicki and Donn Gunvalson, The Real Housewives of Orange County
Original OC Housewife and workaholic Vicki's second marriage to the boring and often unemployed Donn wasn't quite filling up Vicki's "love tank" so the couple called it quits.
MTV
Britney Spears and Kevin Federline, Chaotic
Holy trainwreck, Batman! Five episodes of the 2005 mini-series produced more than enough evidence to show that Chaotic was a more than fitting title for the UPN series...and the relationship it followed. Featuring home videos shot by the pop icon and her backup dancer husband, Britney opened up a little too much about her sex life and left us cringing, wondering how in the world no one told her that this was a no-good, very-bad idea. After two years of marriage and the birth of their two sons, the couple split, leading to a nasty divorce and the start of Britney's downward spiral.
At least Britney later recognized the error of her Chaotic ways, saying, "That was probably the worst thing I've done in my career." Agreed, y'all!
Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage
Ramona and Mario Singer, The Real Housewives of New York City
Ramona and Mario Singer had the relationship that all other NYC Housewife couples were compared to. No, seriously, Ramona often rubbed her happily married life in the face of her divorcing co-stars. After six seasons of that, it would've been easy to revel in the schadenfreude of Mario's affair and their eventual separation if Ramona didn't seem so deeply wounded by the betrayal. In hindsight, his sleaziness does throw the six seasons of in-your-face wedded bliss—including season three's big vow renewal—into the realm of "The lady doth protest too much," if you know what we mean.
Jeff Vespa/WireImage.com
Dave Navarro and Carmen Electra, ‘Til Death Do Us Part
More like 'til divorce do us part, right?! The rocker and Baywatch star's super gothic and creepy wedding was documented by MTV in a seven-episode series that aired in 2004. But after less than thee years of marriage, Carmen filed for divorce in 2006.
PARAS GRIFFIN/Landov
Porsha Williams and Kordell Stewart, The Real Housewives of Atlanta
Talk about airing your dirty laundry! The nasty fallout from the reality star and ex-NFL player's split, which came after two years of marriage, has been well-documented by Bravo's cameras. (Porsha even admitted to finding out about Kordell's filing on Twitter. Yikes.)
Giovanni Rufino/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Luann and Count Alexandre de Lesseps, The Real Housewives of New York City
Has any Real Housewives star more treasured their status as wife than Luann? When The Real Housewives of New York City premiered, she was happily living life as The Countess, cultivating an entire image based around the class that came along with her title. She may have lost the husband in 2009 after his alleged affair with Ethiopian Princess Kemeria Abajobir Abajifar, but she's never stopped calling herself The Countess.
Krista Kennell/Sipa Press
Clint and Dina Eastwood, Mrs. Eastwood and Company
Many in Hollywood were surprised when it was announced that revered actor and director Clint Eastwood would be appearing on an E! reality show. Of course, his wife, Dina, a band manager, and their daughters, Francesca and Morgan, were the real stars of the short-lived show, with Clint making a rare appearance here or there. Married for 17 years, Dina filed for divorce in October 2013 after filing for legal separation only to withdraw the request earlier that same year.
Chris Weeks/WireImage.com
Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler, Meet the Barkers
Yet another MTV-documented couple bit the dust after starring in a reality show for the network. The tumultuous side of the Blink 182 drummer and former Miss USA's on-and-off-again relationship was nowhere to be seen on the two seasons of Meet the Barkers, which also starred their three children. After the show finished in 2006, Travis filed for divorce, but the two continued makin' up and breakin' up (with Shanna infamously throwing a divorce party in 2006) until 2009.
Prince Williams/FilmMagic
Phaedra Parks and Apolla Nida, The Real Housewives of Atlanta
When Phaedra Parks joined the Atlanta ladies in season three, she was pregnant and happily married to ex-con, and former client, Apollo Nida. The way the two met may have raised some eyebrows, but the two seemed genuinely happy together until Kenya Moore arrived on the scene in season five. The bizarre flirting between Apollo and his wife's new enemy was only the beginning of the marriage, however. His conviction of bank fraud in between seasons six and seven proved that Phaedra really wasn't a stand-by-your-man type of gal.
Jae Donnelly/INFphoto.com
Corey Simms and Leah Messer, Teen Mom
The young couple's rocky romance was well-documented on 16 and Pregnant, before continuing on Teen Mom. Still, despite their tension, Corey and Leah, who have two daughters, said "I do" in front of MTV's cameras in 2011. Alas, Leah filed for divorce after just six months, with rumors circulating that Corey drained their savings account to buy a truck. (Youth, you know?) Both are now remarried.
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
Adrienne Maloof and Paul Nassif, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Married since 2002, the former Real Housewife and the successful plastic surgeon, who appeared on E!'s Dr. 90210, the couple's separation was shown on the Bravo reality hit after Paul filed for divorce in 2012.
Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic
Christopher Knight and Adrianne Curry, My Fair Brady
One of the rare couples on our list actually to meet on reality TV, The Brady Bunch actor and America's Next Top Model winner fell for each other (after Adrianne, um, aggresively pursued Christopher) when they competed on The Surreal Life in 2005, leading to a spinoff series, My Fair Brady. After Christopher proposed in the season one finale, the second season documented the couple's wedding prep and season three focused on their differing opinions on having children. But after five years of marriage, the couple opened up about their marital problems on Dr. Phil before divorcing in 2011.
(Originally published July 11, 2017, at 1:34 p.m. PT)
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