The Love month is about to end, but I won’t let it slip without featuring one of my favorite couples in the early 2000s, Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey.
It’s been three weeks since Jessica released her memoir, Open Book, but it’s still making waves, as Jessica tells-it-all. According to the reviews, the book is just superb, with no holds barred. The release also coincided with Nick and his wife, former MTV Vj Vanessa Minnillo’s stint at the new Netflix reality show, Love is Blind, along with an upcoming 98 Degrees world tour.
Even though Jessica and Nick have moved on to different lives (they both are happily married with three lovely children), the media and fans have not gotten over them entirely. Their divorce in 2006 was one of the most-talked-about news, not just during that time, but still even years after. This is because of their highly-rated reality show, Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica on MTV, that run from 2003-2005, spanning three seasons.
I have seen some episodes on Seasons 1 and 2 during its original run (when I was in 2nd year of high school), but then I got busy with school and some creative ventures that I missed out on some episodes and the full 3rd season. However, I really enjoyed the show, so I am currently watching it again. It’s as entertaining as I first watched it, but since I was still young when I first did, I didn’t have a clear understanding of relationships.
Related: 98 Degrees, our favorite
soulful boyband, and the songs we
want them to play in their upcoming
Ph tour.
Nick and Jessica were completely different people. I believe they’re both genuinely good people, and they loved each other, but if you watch the Newlyweds, you won’t have a hard time predicting their divorce. Nick was very self-sufficient. He would do homey stuff by himself or with the help of his brother Drew (also from 98°) instead of paying people to do it for him, while Jessica was completely the opposite. Jessica was also still a baby, and at the same time, Nick was still into parties. They married after 4 years of being in a relationship, and it is said that they never had premarital sex (as a Southern girl, Jessica grew up to be very conservative, and her father was also a pastor). Nick waited for Jessica, so he definitely loved her so much.
During the start of their relationship, it was Nick earning a lot more than Jessica, but when Newlyweds went on air, Jessica’s career soared so high that even Nick can’t reach it. The Newlyweds reality show was, in fact, Jessica Simpson’s father’s idea as a marketing tactic to further Jessica’s career. Thanks to her candid and funny personality, her career indeed blossomed. According to one of the show’s producers, Jessica’s “confusion” about tuna, chicken, and buffalo wings was real.
Nick and Jessica’s relationship was also bound to be broken because of Jessica’s parents’ complete intervention, both in her career and married life. In all of Jessica’s tours, her parents are always with her. Her parents would almost always be in her and Nick’s home, and if Nick was on tour, instead of staying home, Jessica would sleep in her parents’ house. This might also be the reason why Jessica fired her father as her manager later into her career.
It was also said that their divorce was too sudden. Although their marriage was already on the rocks during Newlyweds’ third season, Nick wanted to fix it, but Jessica already wanted a divorce. As bad as it is, both singers banked on their whole relationship (even until today). It’s a great thing that both of them have mutual respect for one another (as Simpson has always said during interviews).
I’ve been a huge fan of Nick and Jessica, first with 98°, then with Jessica Simpson’s first appearance (yes, I even have each of their albums when I was still a kid). I have learned to accept that they weren’t made for each other, but I can’t deny that that disheartened me, and several media and their other fans as well. Hence, their breakup will be one of those breakups that pop culture peeps like me can’t get over. Nevertheless, I’m super happy about each of their lives now. They’re more peaceful but still successful. I’ll continue to support them individually (and still as an ex-couple by tirelessly watching their classic hit series, Newlyweds). ❤
NeP-C Ledesma is a millennial writer and entrepreneur full of curiosity about our abstract world. She devours Psychology, food, Philosophy, and prefer cats as her all-time company. Pop Culture is her kryptonite.