Vanessa and Nick Lachey may be the perfect role model couple for The Ultimatum cast members, but it hasn’t always been an easy journey for the Netflix hosts. In fact, they had to make a tough decision once.
They are hosts of the streaming platform’s new dating show. Couples enter with an Ultimatum, and have to then date someone else for three weeks to see if they are a “better fit”, as revealed by Nick himself.
Along the way though, dramatic scenes unfold at the table, with Vanessa sharing that Nick’s ex-relationship was public. However, she added that she chose to move forward with him and let go of his past.
We can detail all the events of his first wife, their split, and how Nick and Lachey initially met. Now, they are known as one of the most relationship goals-esque couples out there – but has it always been an easy ride?
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Vanessa gave Nick an Ultimatum
Vanessa revealed to The Ultimatum stars that Nick’s “very public” divorce was “hard” for her. She added on the series that she “had to go through all that s**t very publicly”, and she even gave him an Ultimatum herself.
Five years after they began dating, she was living with Nick and ready to start a family. During the first episode of the Netflix show, Vanessa said they split, dated other people and then got back together. She said:
We both saw one other person and we realized that if we got out of our own way, we could be amazing together. But it took seeing somebody else and me realizing I don’t mind the things that I thought bugged me or were holding me back. I don’t mind all that.
Giving the cast members a perspective on how effective it could be for them to date someone else and then revaluate if they still want to marry their significant other, the couples now look up to Vanessa and Nick
How did the Netflix couple meet?
At the time they initially laid eyes on each other, Vanessa was hosting Total Request Live (TRL) on MTV. Nick, a member of the band 98 Degrees at the time, was a frequent guest – so they met on camera, and still share camera time now!
Nick and Vanessa Lachey also co-starred in his 2006 music video What’s Left Of Me, shortly after his split from Jessica. After a brief breakup in 2009, they later reunited and then decided to tie the knot in 2011.
Nick’s first wife was Jessica Simpson, 41, who he was married to from 2002 to 2006. Their relationship hit tabloids after they co-starred in the MTV reality show Newlyweds, before their split dominated headlines.
During the sixth episode, Vanessa spills on how tough Nick’s romantic past was for her. She said:
He was literally in a very public marriage and a very public divorce, and I had to go through all that s–t very publicly and it was very hard for us. It wasn’t until the moment that he was like, ‘I’m gonna let it go,’ and I said, ‘I’m gonna let it go,’ and we truly committed to each other.
Nick agreed, saying that he “thinks they got perspective” during that part of their relationship.
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The Lacheys: Relationship timeline
Nick and Vanessa have been married for over ten years, and celebrated their wedding anniversary in 2021. They now share sons Camden John, nine, and Phoenix Robert, five, as well as daughter Brooklyn Elisabeth, seven.
The married couple, who began a family the year after their marriage, have since become known for their strong, picture-perfect relationship, and together host TV shows like Netflix’s Love is Blind and The Ultimatum.
His ex-wife Jessica went on to marry NFL player Eric Johnson in 2014. They are also parents to three children, including daughters Maxwell Drew, nine, and Birdie Mae, three, and son Ace Knute, eight.
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