Nick Lachey Reveals When He Knew Vanessa Was "The One"
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below."
98-Degrees singer Nick Lachey and television host Vanessa Lachey have been married for 10 years and have 3 children.
The couple first started dating after filming a music video for Nick Lachey's "What's Left of Me" in 2006.
The dynamic duo recently cohosted the hit Netflix series Love is Blind together and Vanessa just landed a lead role on the TV series NCIS: Hawai'i.
Nick Lachey is best known as the lead singer of the boyband 98 Degrees — one of the late 90s/early 2000s singing groups that became heartthrobs around America, while Vanessa Lachey (née Minnillo) is an actress, model, and TV host on shows like Entertainment Tonight. With similar, fast-paced lifestyles, the two were destined to meet eventually. Similar to your favorite romantic comedy movie, the path to their decade-long marriage wasn't quite a straight and narrow path.
As a matter of fact, Nick was previously married before dating Vanessa. In December 1998, he was introduced to fellow singer Jessica Simpson at a Christmas event. They dated on and off until they tied the knot in October 2002. MTV even documented the newlyweds' lives in a short-lived reality television show called Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica. The show concluded in March 2005, just months before they filed for divorce. The news shocked everyone as their relationship seemed like a pop culture match made in heaven.
Fast-forward to November 2010 and Nick proposes to Vanessa after years of knowing each other. Here are the cinematic details to how the two met, as well as how the dynamic duo finds balance between marriage, family, and stardom.
How did Nick and Vanessa meet?
As the host of MTV's Total Request Live, Vanessa met tons of early 2000s pop culture icons, and one of those was Nick. Because his band was a pretty big deal, Nick would be a frequent guest on the show. As a matter of fact, Vanessa would often report on his and Jessica's relationship as that was THE hot topic of the time (can you say awkward?).
"I wouldn’t necessarily say TRL brought us together, but that was definitely part of our time together — me being a musician and her being on-air talent. I saw her multiple times throughout the years when she was on TRL," said Nick in an interview for Billboard.
What Vanessa dubbed as the beginning of their relationship was the shoot for Nick's music video titled "What's Left of Me." The hit song was about his past relationship with Jessica, but on set, a new relationship was blooming.
In an interview with Billboard, Vanessa said,"But the video, which was on TRL, was the beginning of our relationship. That’s what made it no longer friends and it got romantic. To the point that if you go back and look at the video, when he came to premiere it, I was so nervous and so crushing him that I didn’t show up for work that day. I called in sick."
The New Year's kiss that sealed the deal.
On New Year's Eve 2007, Nick and Vanessa took their relationship public on live television. Although they were spotted together previously, they left no more speculation when they went in for a smooch on MTV's New Year's Eve special. *cue the awws*
In 2009, the couple broke up for about a month or two, but they couldn't stay away from each other. Call it fate or destiny. After some time apart, they decided that being "just friends" couldn't work because they were head-over-heels for each other.
When did Nick and Vanessa tie the knot?
In a 2010 interview with CNN, Nick had these kind words to say about his wife: "I think I knew pretty early on that we would be a good match, that I loved her. So I would say, within the first six months we dated, I probably knew that was the one I wanted to be with."
The couple threw a small, intimate wedding on a private island in the British Virgin Islands. Rather than wedding invitations, the couple sent plane tickets to their guests as if for a surprise trip. Needless to say, we're definitely jealous of those guests, but fans got an inside look into the special day with the TLC-special Nick and Vanessa's Dream Wedding.
The couple has 3 children together.
Nick and Vanessa currently have three children together:
Camden John Lachey (born Sept. 12, 2012)
Brooklyn Elisabeth Lachey (born Jan. 5, 2015)
Phoenix Robert Lachey (born Dec. 24, 2016)
In 2020, Vanessa told US Weekly in an exclusive interview that she's open to the idea of having a fourth child with Nick.
Nick and Vanessa are booked and busy, including a new role on NCIS: Hawai'i.
The married couple are no strangers to lights, camera, and lots of action. Having children and raising a family didn't slow them down one bit. Less than a year after their third child, both Nick and Vanessa were announced as cast members on the hit ABC show Dancing With The Stars in 2017. The husband-wife duo were paired with another husband-wife duo, professional dancers Peta Murgatroyd and Maksim Chmerkovskiy. "I'm definitely glad that [Vanessa and I] did it together," Nick told Country Living. "But for me, it's obviously one of those things you check off the list and [say], 'I'm good.'"
Nick and Vanessa later went on to to yet another hit show — Netflix's Love is Blind. No, they weren't contestants trying to find love without seeing each other until a proposal. They were cohosts. They admitted that they could relate to the show's concept since the beginning of their relationship involved long distance and spending hours on the phone getting to know each other.
Fast forward to now and Vanessa shared with fans on Instagram an emotional video of her learning that she got a new leading role on NCIS: Hawai'i. She captioned the video: "I remember the day I got the call 'You got the job!' I will never forget it! Dreams do come true. One week from today, our show premieres and I’m beyond grateful for this opportunity. My life is changed forever. ❤️"
The 40-year-old actress scored the lead role of Jane Tennant in the CBS series, which premieres September 20. This spinoff set in Hawaii will have the first female lead in the long-running franchise.
Nick also has a brand-new gig this fall: he stars alongside Alanis Morissette, Grimes, and will.i.am as a judge on the brand-new Fox singing competition Alter Ego! Episodes begin on September 23.
We're so happy that more than a decade later, Nick and Vanessa remain one of pop culture's most enduring couples. Here's to many more years of happiness for the duo and their family.
You Might Also Like
