- 2004
Screen Time
Lachey tests his acting chops, guest-starring as singer Tom Jones on American Dreams in February and later playing a love interest on the WB's Charmed. In April, the eternally "newlywedded" couple draws an audience of 11.5 million to The Nick & Jessica Variety Hour TV special.
- 2005
Standing by the Troops
Lachey and Simpson team up to perform for U.S. troops abroad. But, soon after another kind of duty sends them off in different directions with Simpson doing reshoots for her upcoming film The Dukes of Hazzard, while Lachey puts in time working on his new album in Sweden.
Sports Guy
A diehard Cincinnati sports fan, Lachey writes two columns for The Cincinnati Enquirer in the summer and then debuts on ESPN's College Gameday for a stint. "I'm living out the dream for a lot of my friends," Lachey says to PEOPLE.
European Getaway
Despite being spotted without their wedding rings, Lachey and Simpson take an early anniversary trip to Italy. Lachey tells PEOPLE there is "no shortage of romance." Soon after, Simpson travels to Africa without Lachey.
It's Over
A day before Thanksgiving, the couple announce their separation. "This is the mutual decision of two people with an enormous amount of respect and admiration for each other," a statement says. A source close to Lachey tells PEOPLE, "I think their lives were pulling them in different directions, and they kind of had different ideas of what their marriage should be." Weeks later, Simpson files for divorce and the couple puts their 6,500-sq.-ft. Mediterranean-style home on the market.
- 2006
Nick's Cause
Lachey helps launch www.yfly.com, a safe Internet chat and networking site created for teens. The following month, the singer becomes Uncle Nick for the first time when his brother Drew and wife Lea welcome daughter Isabella.
New Life, New CD
Written during his split from Simpson, Lachey's second solo album, What's Left of Me, debuts at No. 2 on the Billboard charts. "It was inspired by what I'm going through," Lachey tells a Canadian TV show. The new bachelor is also linked to several women, including Dancing with the Stars' Cheryl Burke, stylist Kim Kardashian and Laguna Beach's Kristin Cavallari.
Divorced and Dating
Lachey's romance with MTV VJ Vanessa Minnillo proves to be sticking after she appeared in Lachey's music video "What's Left of Me." Minnillo becomes Lachey's constant companion, whether it's a summer trip to Mexico or a Labor Day visit to Lachey's hometown, Cincinnati. Meanwhile, his divorce to Simpson becomes final on June 30.
Fast Ball
Always a sports fan, Lachey becomes part owner of the Triple-A baseball team, the Tacoma Rainiers – affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. On his love of baseball, he tells PEOPLE, "Clearly I'm not going to be playing for anybody in my lifetime, so to be involved on the ownership level is the next best thing."
- 2007
Moving In Before Scandal
Lachey and Minnillo take their one-year-relationship to the next level, moving into a two-bedroom condo in Manhattan together. By the summer, scandal hits when risqué photos of Minnillo and Lindsay Lohan hit the Internet and paparazzi photos of Lachey and Minnillo nude while on vacation in Mexico surface. The pair responds to OK! magazine, where Lachey says, "Everybody said it was a scandal. Where's the scandal? I was in Mexico with my girlfriend of a year, celebrating our anniversary on a private vacation. It's not like I was caught with a Mexican hooker."
Photo Credits
BIOGRAPHY (top to bottom): Paul Drinkwater/NBC; Neal Preston; Mike Drazdzinski/ESPN; Fame; Chris Weeks/WireImage; Tom Locks/Splash News Online; Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage
- Name
- Nick Lachey
- Real Name
- Nicholas Scott Lachey
- Birth Date
- November 09, 1973
- Birth Place
- Harlan, Ky.
- Heart Monitor
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Vanessa Minnillo, girlfriend (2006 to present)
Kim Kardashian (dated briefly in 2006)
Jessica Simpson, ex-wife (1999 to 2005)
