Jessica Simpson is still revealing details about her marriage to Nick Lachey years later. Here's a timeline of their relationship. (2024)

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1998: Simpson and Lachey met at The Hollywood Christmas Parade.

Simpson and Lachey were introduced to each other by the manager they shared. At the time, Lachey was part of the boy band 98 Degrees and Simpson's first album hadn't been released yet.

Lachey later told People that after they met, he "found myself looking through the crowds for her all night."

January 2000: They reconnected at a Teen People party.

According to People, the next time the two were seen together was at a Teen People party in Florida. They started dating and bought condos two stories apart in the same high-rise building back in Los Angeles.

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2000: They collaborated on one of Simpson's singles and she went on tour with his band.

Lachey was featured on "Where You Are," the second single from Simpson's debut album, "Sweet Kisses." The music video featured the two singing to each other.

That year, Simpson was also the opening act for 98 Degrees' North American Heat It Up tour.

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2001: Simpson broke up with Lachey and they got back together a few months later.

Two years into their relationship and right around the release of her second album, "Irresistible," Simpson ended things with Lachey.

Sccording to E!, on a later episode of their MTV show "Newlyweds," Simpson explained that she wanted to focus on her album and thought she needed "to date other guys and see what else was out there."

According to Entertainment Weekly, on Simpson's now-defunct website, the singer wrote that after the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001 she knew "that I never ever wanted to be away from Nick ever for the rest of my life."

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February 2002: Lachey proposed to Simpson.

According to People, Lachey chartered a yacht and proposed to Simpson during the sunset in Hawaii.

She told People, "I was wearing a huge sweat-shirt that came down to my knees. If I had known he was going to propose, I would have at least dressed up cute."

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October 26, 2002: They got married in Austin, Texas.

Simpson and Lachey tied the knot with a traditional Christian ceremony in Simpson's native Texas.

According to Popsugar, there were 350 guests and a bevvy of cameras present. Simpson wore a custom gown by Vera Wang and 98 Degrees serenaded them at the altar and performed their hit "My Everything." During the ceremony, the couple wrote and performed songs for each other.

The wedding was recorded and televised on VH1's "All Access Celebrity Weddings" special in 2003. One entire episode of "Newlyweds" also featured footage from their wedding.

Simpson had also spoken about waiting until marriage to have sex due to her religious background.

"I was 22, and I had just pledged my life and destiny of this man. And I don't regret it," Simpson later wrote in her 2020 memoir "Open Book" about her wedding night, according to UsWeekly. "Nick was meant to be my husband. No one else was supposed to have my virginity."

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August 19, 2003: Their show, "Newlyweds," premiered on MTV.

"Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica" was the reality show that catapulted both Simpson and Lachey into fame. The show focused on their "odd couple" relationship, showing Nick as neat and orderly and Simpson as a "dumb blonde."

It lasted for three seasons.

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November 2003: Simpson said she said she thought they would "last forever."

During an interview with Rolling Stone, Simpson said, "I believe that Nick and I are going to last forever. And if we don't, it'll make a good reality show."

Simpson's father, Joe, spoke about the Simpson family dynamics — "We're Southern and we're spiritual, and we're really close." Lachey replied, "I think it's weird."

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Summer 2005: There were rumors that the pair was getting a divorce and Simpson was having an affair with Johnny Knoxville.

While Simpson was filming "The Dukes of Hazzard," rumors spread that she was cheating on Lachey with Knoxville, her costar who was married to his first wife at the time.

The rumors were denied and Knoxville asked the press to stop publishing them, saying it was upsetting his family.

In Simpson's 2020 memoir, "Open Book," she wrote that she had an "emotional affair" with Knoxville during the summer of 2005, and she "felt a force drawing [us] together." She wrote that they also exchanged "love letters."

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November 23, 2005: Simpson and Lachey announced their divorce.

After three years of marriage, the couple released an official statement saying they were ending their relationship.

In a statement released to UsWeekly and reported on by MTV, they wrote, "This is the mutual decision of two people with an enormous amount of respect and admiration for each other. We hope that you respect our privacy during this difficult time."

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February 2006: Lachey released "What's Left of Me," a song about his divorce.

Lachey's single "What's Left of Me," with lyrics that were seemingly about the pain he felt after splitting with Simpson, became the biggest hit single of his career.

In an interview with Access Hollywood, reported by Today, Lachey said he recorded the song the day they decided to get a divorce. He said that he hadn't "completely let go" of the relationship.

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April 2006: Lachey said he hadn't wanted their marriage to end.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, reported by E!, Lachey spoke about the split, saying that he was "told" they were ending things.

He added, "I never wanted to be a divorcé. I wanted us to be happy. I guess we differed on strategy."

Lachey also denied the rumors that Simpson's father, Joe, had a hand in ending their marriage.

"Do I think Joe drove a rift between us? No," he said. "Was he an influence in our marriage? Absolutely."

He added that he still loved Simpson and would marry her again if he could.

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November 2010: Within days of each other, both Simpson and Lachey got engaged to other people.

On November 4, Lachey and former "TRL" host Vanessa Minnillo announced their engagement. The two had started dating in 2006 shortly after she appeared in his "What's Left of Me" music video.

Ten days later, on November 14, Simpson and football player Eric Johnson confirmed their own engagement.

When asked about the timing of Simpson's engagement being so close to his own, Lachey told UsWeekly, "I will say the same thing I always say: I wish her the very best."

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May 2013: Lachey made a controversial joke about Simpson's father that Simpson later criticized.

When Lachey made an appearance on "Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen," Cohen asked him what the best thing was about not having Joe Simpson as a father-in-law anymore.

Lachey replied, "I don't have to play grab-ass under the table on Easter Sunday."

In 2020, Simpson responded to the joke in an interview with Cohen for a SiriusXM Town Hall about her new memoir.

She made it clear she wasn't happy about it, calling it "low," and saying Lachey had no business discussing her family because "he's not connected with us at all anymore."

She added, "He was just bitter, you know? He was just trying to take a dig."

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September 2015: Simpson said that marrying Lachey was one of her biggest financial mistakes.

During an appearance on CNBC's "Closing Bell," Simpson was asked about her biggest financial mistakes. She replied, "I don't know. For some reason I thought of my first marriage."

Simpson and Lachey did not sign prenuptial agreements prior to getting married — in 2020, Simpson said Lachey had wanted one and she refused because she never thought they'd break up.

Simpson reportedly had to pay Lachey millions of dollars following the divorce.

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January 2020: Simpson spoke about her marriage to Lachey and said they weren't speaking during season three of "Newlyweds."

While promoting her memoir, "Open Book," Simpson spoke to People about her marriage to Lachey.

She said that while the two looked great on camera, they weren't OK when they were alone together. She added, "I couldn't lie to our fans and I couldn't give somebody hope that we were this perfect golden couple."

According to the Daily Mail, in an interview on the Australian program "Sunrise," Simpson said that by the third season of "Newlyweds," the two weren't even speaking to each other.

She added, "You got it authentic for sure in the first two, but the third one we were definitely trying too hard to be the perfect couple."

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February 2020: Lachey reacted to Simpson's book revelations and there was a bizarre discourse about a gift.

During an interview on the "Today" show alongside his wife Vanessa, Lachey was asked for his reaction to the revelations in Simpson's book. He said that he hadn't read it and didn't know what was in it.

"But certainly happy for her in her life and I know she is happy for us," he added. "There is definitely a mutual respect there. Obviously it was a long time ago and we've all moved on."

Host Hoda Kotb told them that Simpson said that Lachey and Vanessa had "sent me something beautiful when we had our children." Simpson and her husband Johnson have three kids.

Confused, Vanessa said they hadn't sent anything and she didn't know Simpson's address. She added, "I feel bad, I'm sorry, you said somebody sent her cause … it wasn't us, but thank you, whoever sent it."

Simpson later said in an interview with Andy Cohen that she had never received an actual gift.

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March 2021: Simpson published a new version of her memoir that includes past journal entries about Lachey.

Simpson told People that the new paperback version of "Open Book" includes pages from her old journal when she was ending things with Lachey.

According to People, the entries include things like "So Nick, u r with another already? Seems that you forgot the love you spoke to me…" and "I didn't want to be married any longer but I was also afraid to be alone with 'no one to call my own but the night.'"