Nick Lachey said his failed marriage to Jessica Simpson ultimately helped prepare him for his relationship with his wife, Vanessa Lachey, making the comment during the Season 11 premiere of Netflix’s “Love Is Blind” on Oct. 14.
Lachey, 52, was in the women’s lounge with Vanessa when contestant Erika Ellis told the hosts she had struggled with knowing when to disclose a previous marriage while dating. Lachey, who was married to Simpson from October 2002 to June 2006, responded by referencing his own history.
“Well, as some of you may know, I was previously married before I met my incredible wife. I would make the very unique argument that it gives you a leg up because you know from that experience what it is you truly want.”
Vanessa, 45, told Ellis that a prior marriage was nothing to be ashamed of, saying, “We all have messy pasts, all of us.”
Lachey and Simpson, 46, had chronicled their early marriage on the MTV series “Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica,” which ran from 2003 to 2005. Lachey has previously acknowledged the divorce left lasting effects. Speaking to a contestant on Season 3 of Netflix’s “The Ultimatum,” he said, “I, too, was previously married, divorced, so I understand the hurt, the scars that exist from that. Don’t let your past define your future. What I truly always wanted in my life, which 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 I have with this woman,” referring to Vanessa.
The Hawaii flight
The two exes had a notable encounter in March, when they ended up on the same flight from Los Angeles to Kauai, Hawaii. Lachey discussed the run-in on “Watch What Happens Live” in May, calling it “strangely OK” given that 20 years had passed since their marriage ended.
“We hadn’t seen each other in those 20 years, then spent six and a half hours on a flight to Hawaii together,” Lachey said, adding that the two were simply “in the same vicinity” and that “everyone was very, very cordial” and “very respectful.”
Lachey also said Simpson’s three children with her estranged husband, Eric Johnson — daughter Maxwell, 14, son Ace, 13, and daughter Birdie, 7 — appeared to be seated in a “separate class of service,” implying they flew economy while Simpson sat in first class. Simpson later said her mother, Tina Ann Drew, had purchased the tickets for the children.
Simpson announced her split from Johnson in January 2025 after 10 years of marriage and has since gone public with a new boyfriend, musician Thomas Eisenhood. Lachey, who married Vanessa in 2011, shares three children with her: son Camden, 14, daughter Brooklyn, 11, and son Phoenix, 9.
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