Nick Lachey looked back on his divorce from ex-wife Jessica Simpson, implying that he is still affected nearly two decades after their split.
While appearing on season 3 of The Ultimatum, Nick, 51, revealed during a Wednesday, December 4, episode that he could sympathize with the reality stars when it came to their fears about marriage.
“I, too, was previously married, divorced, so I understand the hurt, the scars that exist from that,” he said, referencing his relationship with Jessica, 44.
The former couple tied the knot in 2002, and they eventually called it quits in 2006.
Despite having fears that stemmed from his failed marriage to Jessica, Nick told the contestants that he ultimately put his concerns aside in order to find love with his current wife, Vanessa Lachey.
“Don’t let your past define your future,” he urged the reality stars. “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.”
Nick married Vanessa, 44, in 2011, and they currently cohost The Ultimatum together. The Netflix show follows couples facing issues that must decide if they will marry each other or break up.
While Nick is seemingly happy in his relationship with Vanessa, the same likey can’t be said about Jessica and her husband, Eric Johnson.
The couple – who tied the knot in 2014 – have been facing split rumors after Jessica noticeably didn’t wish Eric, 44, a happy birthday on social media in September. Speculation that there was trouble in paradise continued to swirl when the “Irresistible” singer shared a cryptic post via Instagram on November 11.
“Interviews in my Nashville music room where I unearthed my singular magic,” she wrote alongside sultry photos of herself posing in a chair. “This comeback is personal, it’s an apology to myself for putting up with everything I did not deserve.”
Shortly after Jessica uploaded the post, several fans rushed to the comments section to wonder if the caption was alluding to their possible split. “Is this J Simp saying she’s single?” one person asked.
While neither Jessica nor Eric have publicly commented on the status of their relationship, an insider exclusively told Life & Style that “Jessica and Eric have been butting heads and living separate lives for an extremely long time.”
“They have a ton of unresolved issues in the marriage that have been simmering for years and now seem to be reaching a boiling point,” the source continued.
The latest update comes after an additional insider told Life & Style in October that “Jessica has been reevaluating her happiness, her marriage and her business empire, and she is ready to start fresh.”
“It’s pretty much over between her and Eric; it’s only a matter of time before she files for divorce,” the source continued.
The insider said that Eric has “always been supportive and an amazing father,” adding that he and Jessica have put in the work to save their marriage. “They tried couples counseling, which worked for a while, but then things went back to the way they were,” the source explained. “They don’t spend nearly as much time together as they used to, and they’ve just grown apart.”
