Meet ‘Love Is Blind’ Hosts Nick and Vanessa Lachey

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Love Is Blind hosts Nick and Vanessa Lachey have been married for 12 years. The two celebrities share quite the love story, albeit not anywhere close to the reality show they’re famous for hosting together. We’re used to seeing them interview contestants who are isolated in their pods, meticulously analyzing other potential love interests based on “blind” phone calls. Nick and Vanessa also met on TV — but in a much different way.

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They met when Nick Lachey was the lead singer of 98 Degrees and Vanessa (née Minnillo) was a host on MTV Total Request Live. The early 2000s sweetheart celebrities ignited gossip when they began dating due to Nick Lachey’s previous marriage to Jessica Simpson. But 15 years later, they’ve proven they’re a solid couple. They share three children and co-host two reality shows together.

Vanessa Lachey Rose to Fame as an MTV VJ

Vanessa Lachey was born Vanessa Minnillo on November 9, 1980. Her mother Helen is from Manila, Philippines, and her father Vincent is from Ohio and worked for the Air Force. As a military family, the Minnillos relocated constantly to new U.S. states and foreign countries. Vanessa’s parents divorced when she was young. She and her brother lived with their mother at first but moved in with their father and his new wife in South Carolina in 1991. Vanessa has referred to her childhood as “very rocky” and “tumultuous.”

In 1998, Vanessa Minnillo was crowned Miss South Carolina Teen USA and Miss Teen USA. In 2003, she became a host on MTV The Morning After and Total Request Live, the latter which she became known for until 2007. She served as the New York City correspondent for Entertainment Tonight from 2005 to 2007 and then began modeling for Bongo Jeans and Flirt! Cosmetics. Vanessa has also been featured on numerous magazine covers including Maxim, Shape, and People.

Although Vanessa Minnillo initially launched to stardom via her beauty and TV personality, she’s also a seasoned actress. Her first credited role was in The Bold and the Beautiful in 2001. She’s starred in films and shows including Disaster Movie, Once Upon a Main Street, and most recently as the lead in NCIS: Hawaii. Vanessa has remained an iconic reality show host over the years. She hosted True Beauty from 2009 to 2001 and currently hosts Love Is Blind and The Ultimatum with her famous husband Nick Lachey.

Nick Lachey Rose to Fame with Multi-Platinum Boyband 98 Degrees

Nick Lachey, like Vanessa, was born on November 9! However, he is seven years older than his wife. Lachey was born in Kentucky but raised in Ohio with his younger brother Drew. Nick, Drew, and two friends (Jeff Timmons and Justin Jeffre) started their band 98 Degrees in 1997. Nick and Justin had previously sung together in a quartet at Kings Island amusement park in Mason, Ohio, in the mid-90s.

The rest is pretty much history. 98 degrees released four studio albums between 1997 and 2013 and have sold over 10 million albums to-date. Lachey launched a solo career in 2003 and has released four more studio albums, with his most successful being What’s Left of Me, released in 2006.

Nick Lachey rose to further fame when he began a high-profile relationship with singing sensation Jessica Simpson in 1999. The couple dated for over two years and then split up for five months. They got back together after the 9/11 attacks and became engaged in February 2002. Lachey and Simpson married from October 2002 but again separated in November 2005. Simpson filed for divorce in December 2005 and the divorce was finalized in June of 2006.

Vanessa Met Nick While Interviewing Him With His Then-Wife, Jessica Simpson

Lachey and Simpson starred in the reality show Newlyweds together from 2003 to 2005. The show was a smash hit, but unfortunately trouble was brewing. The two separated almost as soon as the show concluded its final season. Prior to their separation, the couple went on MTV Total Request Live together to discuss their show during the 2004 Super Bowl. That’s when Nick Lachey met Vanessa Minnillo.

Nothing happened between Vanessa and Nick, but the timing of their first introduction and later relationship led to “dramatic years of tabloid scrutiny.” In 2005, Vanessa herself covered the Lachey-Simpson breakup. One year later, they were dating.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say TRL brought us together, but that was definitely part of our time together — me being a musician and her being on-air talent,” Nick Lachey told Billboard. “I saw her multiple times throughout the years when she was on TRL.”

“It was always about business, and it was always nice to see him,” Vanessa told Billboard. But a twist of fate changed all of that.

Nick Asked Vanessa to Star In His Music Video

In the midst of his tumultuous divorce from Jessica Simpson, Nick Lachey was working on his second solo album, What’s Left of Me. The album’s titular song needed a leading lady for the music video, and Lachey had an idea.

“It wasn’t until, coincidentally, I broke up with my longtime boyfriend [baseball player Derek Jeter] and he was getting divorced that we ended up reconnecting. He did a solo album and he asked me to do the video for ‘What’s Left of Me,’” Vanessa told Billboard. “And he’ll joke, “In my grand marketing scheme I thought if I get the girl who is on TRL to do my video, she’ll play it on the show.” Little did he know I had no pull! My joke is I never got paid to do the video. And of course, he’s still paying to this day, if you ask him.”

That’s right. Nick Lachey’s emotional song about heartbreak and feeling uncertain about his future starred his future wife. It was while they were filming that sparks started to fly, but no one had made a first move yet. By the time the music video was set to premiere — yes, on TRL — Vanessa was so nervous that she called in sick. They started dating that summer.

They Went Public in 2007

One thing led to another and by New Year’s Eve of 2007, Nick and Vanessa were in love. They made the very public announcement by sharing a kiss on MTV’s live NYE television special.

Lachey and Minnillo broke up in June 2009 but got back together by September. “We’re trying to figure things out,” Nick told Us Weekly (via E!News). “I don’t pretend to know what the future holds, but everything’s good. Vanessa’s a good girl, and I care about her a lot.”

Nick Proposed to Vanessa in 2009

Lachey popped the question that November. He got down on both knees — in what he referred to as “full begging position” — and presented her an Asscher-cut diamond. They were somewhere by a beach in California.

Vanessa officially became Vanessa Lachey on July 15, 2011. She and Nick tied the knot on Richard Branson’s private island. Guests were sent plane tickets with a vague message to come with “island casual” attire but had no idea that they were about to go celebrate a wedding ceremony. The “dream wedding” was covered on TRL.

Nick and Vanessa Lachey Have Three Kids

Vanessa and Nick have since had three children. Their eldest, son Camden John Lachey, was born on September 12, 2012. Daughter Brooklyn Elisabeth Lachey was born on January 5, 2015. Their youngest, son Phoenix Robert Lachey, was born on December 24, 2016.

Vanessa has hinted at the possibility of having a fourth child, but it hasn’t happened yet. Since mentioning getting pregnant again, the world went through the COVID nightmare and she wrote a cook book, Life From Scratch, which she’s endearingly referred to as her “fourth baby.”

The Lacheys Say Their Relationship Has Survived Due to Communication, Sex, and Rock, Paper, Scissors

While the road to true love wasn’t easy for the Lacheys, they’ve certainly learned some things along the way. Vanessa told People that the number one key to a healthy relationship is communication.

“I don’t let it fester, he doesn’t let it fester,” she said. “We speak our minds. Sometimes you have to walk away… He’s literally like, ‘I wanna be there for you, but I don’t know how.’ And I’m like, ‘Let me tell you what’s going on right now. I have this going on with this, I feel this from the kids, and I want this from you.’ And he’s like ‘Okay, let’s work on this’. Otherwise, how is he supposed to know that? And vice-versa.”

When that doesn’t work, the couple also relies on the age-old game of Rock, Paper, Scissor.

“I’ll be like, ‘Who’s going to pick him up today? All right, you got it,’ ” Vanessa told People.

Vanessa has also sworn by the power of trying to squeeze in shower sex when their kids are at school.

Whatever they’ve been doing, it’s worked. Vanessa and Nick Lachey are a power couple made in heaven. Whether they’re competing against each other on Dancing With the Stars, raising their kids, or co-hosting reality TV shows about finding and keeping love, these two know how to keep it together. Their relationship is a far cry from Love Is Blind, but there you have it.

Read More: Vanessa, Nick Lachey Do What They Can To ‘Put Family First’

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