Nick Lachey Shares Rare Comments About Jessica Simpson Divorce

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Nick Lachey made a rare comment about his divorce from former pop star Jessica Simpson.

In the third season of The Ultimatum, which premiered on Netflix on Wednesday, December 4, the former 98 Degrees singer, 51, opened up about his divorce. He was married to Simpson from 2002 to 2006, with their life depicted in their MTV reality TV show, Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica.

While speaking with a contestant about their fear of marriage, Nick said, “I, too, was previously married, divorced, so I understand the hurt, the scars that exist from that.” He shared that in order to end up with the wife and family he has now, he had to put aside those fears.

“Don’t let your past define your future,” he advised. “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.”

Nick hosts the popular dating show with wife Vanessa Lachey, whom he married in 2011. The couple, who share children Camden, 12, Brooklyn, 9, and Phoenix, 7, often talk about their relationship on The Ultimatum, and the other Netflix hit they host together, Love Is Blind.

While explaining the inspiration for The Ultimatum to contestants, the couple shared how they had broken up for a period before making the choice to commit to each other. That anecdote lays the format of the show, which sees uncertain couples split and date other people before deciding in the end if they want to finally tie the knot or split for good.

Though Nick doesn’t often talk about his relationship with Simpson, he has made little jabs here and there, like when he joked on the third season of Love Is Blind that marriage “is always better the second time,” per E! News.

The fashion designer, however, has previously said she doesn’t regret their marriage or putting their relationship in the public eye. “I don’t regret that at all. I mean, if anything, it was great TV,” Simpson said on The Real in 2022 of their reality series, which ran for three seasons. “It was very real, and Nick and I actually had a lot of fun.”

Simpson filed for divorce from Nick in November 2005, after three years of marriage, citing “irreconcilable differences.” She went on to marry former NFL player Eric Johnson in 2014, and the pair share children Maxwell “Maxi” Drew, 12, Ace Knute, 11, and Birdie Mae, 5.

Fans have been speculating as of late that Simpson and her husband may be headed for divorce, citing a number of Instagram posts as clues.

In one from November 11, fans pointed to Simpson’s caption, which read, “Interviews in my Nashville music room where I unearthed my singular magic. This comeback is personal, it’s an apology to myself for putting up with everything I did not deserve 🎶 🎼 🤍🖤.”