How was it when Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson came face-to-face for the first time in 20 years?
Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson hadn't seen one another since their divorce until a chance encounter on a flight to Hawaii last month.
Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson hadn't seen one another since their divorce until a chance encounter last month.
The former couple - who were married from 2002 to 2006 and famously starred together on reality TV show Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica - enjoyed a "cordial" and "respectful" meeting on a plane to Hawaii with their respective families a few weeks ago.
Nick said of the encounter on Watch What Happens Live: “You know it's been 20 years since… and so we haven't seen each other in those 20 years and then spent six and a half hours on a flight to Hawaii together."
He clarified that when he said “spent”, he meant they were simply in the “same vicinity.”
He added: “Everyone was very very cordial, very respectful. It was honestly fine."
Nick, 52, noted his family - which includes wife Vanessa and children Camden, 13, Brooklyn, 11, and nine-year-old Phoenix, were on the plane, while Jessica sat next to her mother and her three kids with estranged husband Eric Johnson, Maxwell, 13, Ace, 12, and seven-year-old Birdie, sat elsewhere on the flight.
Jessica previously described Nick as her "first love" and insisted it was important for her to be "very respectful" towards him in her 2020 autobiography Open Book.
She told People magazine at the time: “We meant a lot to each other and we always will.
"I want to be very respectful because I married him for a reason and we were together for seven years for a reason. He has a family now and I would never say anything to disrespect that.”
Meanwhile, Nick recently reflected on the huge success of Newlyweds and admitted he had "no idea" it would become such a big deal in popular culture.
He told Richer Lives: "'Newlyweds' obviously became a huge reality show. 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.
"You know, my ex-wife had an album coming out, [I] had an album coming out, I’ll do a little six-episode thing to promote the album. 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."
Nick initially struggled to adjust to being followed by cameras.
However, the 98 Degrees star ultimately developed a strong bond with the camera crew, likening them to "family".
He shared: "I remember at first they were like, ‘Don’t talk to the crew. They’re a fly on the wall!’ And I was like, ‘Guys, if this is ever going to work, that’s just not how I’m wired. 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 got to get past that right now.’ So I actually came to really love the crew.
"I remember crying the day we shut down because you develop relationships with them. They really became [a] family."
