Nick Lachey Opens Up About 'Scars' from Divorce with Jessica Simpson: ‘I Understand the Hurt’

Mar. 15, 2025

Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson.Photo:Santiago Felipe/Getty; Jim Spellman/Getty

Santiago Felipe/Getty; Jim Spellman/Getty

Nick Lacheyis opening up about past hurts.

Speaking to a contestant on season three ofThe Ultimatum, released on Netflix on Wednesday, Dec. 4, the host, 51, said he understands the pain of divorce following his 2006 split fromJessica Simpson.

“I, too, was previously married, divorced, so I understand the hurt, the scars that exist from that,” Nick, who married Simpson in 2002 said, perE! News.

“Don’t let your past define your future,” he continued onThe Ultimatum,which follows couples as they interact with potential partners before deciding whether to continue or split from their existing relationships.

Speaking about his new marriage toVanessa LacheyNick added, “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.”

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Nick and Simpson, 44,met at the Hollywood Christmas Paradein Los Angeles in 1998. They then reconnected a month later at a party for Teen PEOPLE in Florida and began dating soon after.

In November 2005 they announced they’d split and Simpson filed for divorce the month after. Their separation was then finalized in 2006.

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Vanessa Lachey and Nick Lachey at the Marquee Nightclub at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on February 10, 2024.Kevin Mazur/Getty

Kevin Mazur/Getty

Simpson has since moved on with former NFL starEric Johnson, whom she has been married to since 2014. The pair also share daughter Maxwell “Maxi” Drew, 12, son Ace Knute, 11, and daughter Birdie Mae, 5.

Nick also shares sons Camden, 12, and Phoenix, 7, and daughter Brooklyn, 9, with his wife Vanessa, 44.

source: people.com