It's hard to not miss the simpler times of
reality TV, back when Newlyweds showcased the lives of two young pop stars who were
crazy in love — and seemed a little clueless about the real world from time to time. "Is this chicken, what I have? Or is this fish. I know it's tuna, but it says 'chicken.'" *belch* Fun times. Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey divorced more
than a decade ago and have since moved on to make new families of their own, but remembering
all of the good, goofy times of their honeymoon docuseries, we have to wonder: What was really
behind their split? *belch* Right, but besides that. Here are some of the reasons the lovebirds'
perfectly imperfect relationship fell apart. Dukes of betrayal Rumor has it, Simpson may not have been loyal
during the pair's four-year marriage. Jackass star Bam Margera reportedly told Howard
Stern that he and Simpson had sex during the filming of Dukes of Hazzard in 2005. He told Stern he "wound up at her parent's
house drinking margaritas and it went from there" and that he left Simpson's house at
eight the next morning. Simpson denied the two ever hooked up, and
Margera later apologized to her for the blurt. But then Steve-O seemingly corroborated the
story. And the fact that she and Lachey called it
quits so soon after the supposed rendezvous certainly had people talking. Of course, it's not like Jessica didn't constantly
expose her own jealousies on the show... "He didn't even say 'I'm leaving, walk down
with me,' no, he's got two Pussycat Dolls on his arm." Lachey himself later admitted that he wasn't
sure if his former wife ever cheated on him but that his uncertainty about that fact wasn't
the only reason they split. Even so, trust was clearly not always at a
premium between these two. The dadager Another factor that may have driven Nick and
Jessica apart was the fact that Jessica's father-slash-manager Joe Simpson reportedly
never really warmed up to her blue-eyed hunk during the course of their marriage. Lachey himself indicated as much in a 2006
interview with Rolling Stone in which he declared, "I don't pretend to understand Joe. I don't know if he ever liked me. To this day I couldn't say. It was painful. Do I think Joe drove a rift between us? No. Was he an influence in our marriage? Absolutely." So while Joe may not have single-handedly
ended the marriage, his constant presence definitely put on a strain on the young couple's
relationship. And Lachey certainly doesn't miss his former
father-in-law either. "The best thing about not having Joe Simpson
anymore as a father-in-law is I don't have to play grab-ass under the table on Easter
Sunday." 98 degrees of discord Jess and Nick also never really seemed to
be on the same page when it came to starting a family together. Even so, after they divorced, Lachey told
Jenny McCarthy on her Sirius XM show Dirty, Sexy, Funny that he was ultimately happy he
never had kids with Simpson, saying, "In our situation, that was probably the best thing
that could have ever happened that we didn't have kids. And look, you're always going to love your
kids no matter how you feel about their other parent, but all things being equal, it was
the best thing probably for both of us that we went on with our lives." Bad investment Another constant issue between Nick and Jessica
during their marriage was the matter of their finances. Jessica reportedly made much more money than
her husband, but he still constantly berated her for her lavish taste, particularly when
it came to costly clothing items. "Anyone in their right mind would tell you
that that's a little too much for bras and panties. Especially when you just want them to come
off anyway." After their marriage came to a close, however,
it was Jessica who flipped the script and started complaining about the cash aspect. In 2015, when asked what her biggest money
mistake was, she told CNBC's Closing Bell: "The biggest money mistakes? I don't know. For some reason I thought of my first marriage!" She was probably referring to the fact that
her divorce from Lachey was quite costly, as she had to pay him a cool $12 million in
the settlement. But who knows? Maybe Nick was secretly a big spender. Reality or reality TV? Even though Nick and Jessica were the picture-perfect
pair, Newlyweds definitely showcased some of the major differences the two came to experience
once they got married and moved in together. "There was a lot that was revealed when we
began living together. He is very clean and he's a perfectionist." According to Nick, though, the show kind of
resulted in the pair playing their quirky parts instead of enjoying an authentic new
marriage together. After their divorce, Lachey said in an interview
with Rolling Stone that he and Simpson had a hard time getting back to reality once the
cameras weren't rolling. The former boy bander said, "Jessica and I
began playing these parts even when we were by ourselves. It became a really blurred line. There was a question about what truly was
our reality." So having a new marriage taped for all the
world to see isn't a great idea after all? You don't say. These boots are made for walking Apparently Lachey didn't have much of a say
when it came to the termination of his marriage. He's since admitted that he was shocked when
Simpson told him she was ready to pull the plug on their union and that he asked her
to "sleep on it," but she her mind was already made up and wouldn't be changed. Her attitude about him hasn't changed much
since. When Simpson was asked in 2015 how she'd feel
about re-watching Newlyweds all over again, she said bluntly, "I would have a panic attack." So clearly those memories aren't happy ones,
even if fans of the show wax nostalgic about all the goofy goodness we got to watch unfold
on-screen. For what it's worth, Lachey seems to carry
a similar sentiment as Simpson, too. He recently said, "I've moved on, clearly
she's moved on, and we've taken the kind of attitude now, at least I have, where I'm just
not going to talk about this anymore. I mean, it's time for everyone to kind of
move on and let that be a thing of the past." Indeed, their short-lived marriage is now
but a chapter in their personal history books as she married former NFL player Eric Johnson,
with whom she has two children. Meanwhile Lachey married Vanessa Minnillo
in 2011 and has three children with his second wife. But for fans of the Newlyweds, their televised
marriage will always be something to look back on fondly, no matter how problematic
it might have been all the while. Thanks for watching! Click the Nicki Swift icon to subscribe to
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