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During Season 3 of The Ultimatum, the singer opens up about his split from Simpson, while his wife, Vanessa Lachey, recalls the time she gave Nick "an ultimatum" before they were married.
Nick Lachey is reflecting on his marriage to Jessica Simpson and their subsequent divorce.
On a Season 3 episode of The Ultimatum, which he hosts with his wife Vanessa Lachey, the 98 Degrees singer made a rare comment about his first marriage, sharing how their divorce ultimately impacted him.
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View Story"I, too, was previously married, divorced, so I understand the hurt, the scars that exist from that," Nick told a contestant, per E! News.
"Don't let your past define your future," he continued, before sharing how understanding that belief led to his marriage to Vanessa in 2011.
"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," he added.
Nick and Jessica tied the knot in 2002, before calling it quits in 2005. Their divorce was finalized in 2006. Five years later, Nick married Vanessa. The couple shares son Camden, 12, daughter Brooklyn, 9, and son Phoenix, 7. Simpson, meanwhile, married Eric Johnson in 2014, with whom she shares kids Maxwell, 12, Ace, 11, and Birdie, 5.
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Meanwhile, also in Season 3 of The Ultimatum, Vanessa, 44, opened up about her relationship with Nick, revealing that she gave him an "ultimatum" at one point, according to E! News.
The actress said she gave Nick an ultimatum to either propose or call it quits after they had been dating for five years. Looking back, however, Vanessa admitted that she believes their seven-year age gap could have contributed to why Nick hadn't prosed yet, as she was in her 20s at the time.
"I've talked about the fact that I've given an ultimatum," she said. "But what I’ve never talked about is what I actually truly did."
Vanessa pointed out that her behavior at the time may have also been a factor in Nick's apparent hesitation.
"There's an age gap," she said, "and I was still going out and partying with my girls, and I'm telling him I want to be a mom? He's like, 'Cool, OK, so I'll see you at 2:30 when you get home?'"
Despite 14 years of marriage, the couple admitted that they aren't experts.
"We are both Scorpios, we're stubborn," Vanessa joked, adding, "Same birthday, so you can imagine the therapy sessions."
Nick jumped in, admitting, "We sit up here, we don’t have it figured out. We struggle all the time."
Vanessa then revealed, "We had a fight last night, getting ready for here, but we had to clear the air."
