Nick Lachey is still wrapping his head around how big Newlyweds became.
The 98 Degrees frontman and ex-husband of Jessica Simpson never expected their simple reality TV idea to turn into one of MTV’s biggest early hits. Back in 2003, they thought they were just filming a low-stakes show to boost their music careers. “’Newlyweds’ obviously became a huge reality show,” Nick shared in a candid chat with Richer Lives. “The only one that had come out before that was The Osbournes, which was also a massive show. But that show was created as a vehicle to promote music.”
Nick explained that he and Jessica were both about to release new albums when the show launched. “My ex-wife had an album coming out; I’ll do a little six-episode thing to promote the album,” he said. What they didn’t plan on was the show exploding into a cultural phenomenon. “We had no idea it was going to take on this other life of being this reality fly-on-the-wall type of show. So that was totally unexpected.” No surprise Nick Lachey was shocked by Newlyweds’ success, he really didn’t see it coming.
Even though it turned into a major hit, adjusting to being filmed constantly wasn’t easy. Nick confessed he struggled in the beginning with the whole “don’t talk to the crew” rule. “I remember at first they were like, ‘Don’t talk to the crew. They’re a fly on the wall’!” But that didn’t sit well with him. “Guys, if this is ever going to work, that’s just not how I’m wired,” he recalled saying. “You’re not going to be in my house and watch my every move, and we’re not going to talk to each other. We’ve got to get past that right now.”
So instead of keeping it distant, he got close with the crew, like really close. “I actually came to really love the crew,” Nick said. “I remember crying the day we shut down because you develop relationships with them. They really became a family.” It’s clear that behind the scenes of the drama and comedy the show delivered, real bonds were formed.
Of course, not everything about Newlyweds ended on a high note. His marriage to Jessica Simpson, one of the biggest pop couples of the early 2000s, collapsed shortly after the third season wrapped. The two had tied the knot in 2002 and officially divorced in 2006. Still, Nick doesn’t seem bitter about the experience. In fact, he credits the show for helping people get to know the real him. “What reality TV did for me is it allowed me to introduce myself as Nick Lachey, the person, to the world,” he explained.
And that public perception shift mattered to him. “Even guys around me [were like], ‘He’s kind of cool. I’d have a beer with that guy’.” It also helped him get comfortable just being himself, even with cameras rolling 24/7. “It allowed me to become very comfortable being myself,” Nick said.
Since those wild MTV days, Nick has completely turned the page. He’s been married to actress and TV host Vanessa Lachey since 2011, and the couple now co-hosts Netflix’s breakout dating show Love Is Blind. He’s found a whole new wave of fame, this time on his own terms.
So yeah, Newlyweds may have started as a quick six-episode gig to plug a couple of albums, but it ended up changing the game, for reality TV and for Nick personally. From unexpected fame to emotional goodbyes with the crew, and from a very public breakup to rediscovering himself on screen, Nick Lachey’s journey through Newlyweds was anything but ordinary.
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