Nick and Vanessa Lachey have carried out their relationship in the public eye. The couple, who celebrated their 10-year wedding anniversary last year, literally met on camera. Vanessa was hosting TRL and Nick, then a member of the band 98 Degrees, was a frequent guest.
Today, the Lacheys are the hosts of the Netflix shows "Love Is Blind" and "The Ultimatum," and are often spotted holding the show's signature metallic cups.
Their role as dating show hosts often require the Lacheys to open up about challenges they faced in their own relationship (and occasionally spar with contestants).
In the sixth episode of "The Ultimatum," Vanessa used a difficult moment in her relationship with Nick to connect with the couples.
Like the cast of "The Ultimatum," Vanessa said she and Nick had to consider the relationships they had with other people before going all-in on their own. She was specifically referring to Nick's marriage to singer Jessica Simpson.
"He was in a very public marriage and a very public divorce, and I had to go through all that s--- very publicly. It was very hard for us," Vanessa said.
Nick was married to Simpson from 2002 to 2005. They documented their marriage on the show "Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica," which aired on MTV from 2003 to 2005.
Vanessa and Nick started dating in 2006, not long after he and Jessica split in a public divorce. To move forward with their own connection, Vanessa said, they had to leave the past behind.
"But it wasn't until the moment he was like, 'I'm going to let it go.' And I was like, 'I'm going to let it go.' And we truly committed to each other, we literally fell deeper and harder than we ever could," Vanessa said.
It appears the couple's commitment to staying in the present still stands: Speaking to TODAY, Nick said that he didn't read Simpson’s memoir, "Open Book," which mentions him. However, he says he and Simpson are on good terms.
"There's a mutual respect there. It was a long time ago. We've all moved on," Nick told TODAY's Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager."
This wasn't the first time Vanessa got real about their relationship. In the first episode of "The Ultimatum," Vanessa spoke about the marriage ultimatum she gave Nick five years into dating.
At the time, she was living with Nick and felt ready to start a family. “I have now moved in with him, I renovated his entire bachelor pad, there was a bar in the pool. I’m like, ‘Whatever you want!’ Now I’m like, ‘Okay, well, I want to put kids in the pool,'" she said.
Like the couples on the show, Vanessa and Nick decided to split up and see other people, before reuniting.
“We both saw one other person and we realized that if we got out of our own way, we could be amazing together,” Vanessa said. “But it took seeing somebody else and me realizing I don’t mind the things that I thought bugged me or were holding me back. I don’t mind all that.”
Given that "The Ultimatum" and "Love Is Blind" are guaranteed for future seasons, we can stay tuned for more revelations about the Lacheys relationship.