She was a woman who famously uttered a simple question while eating dinner one night in 2003. As she was cradling a bowl of tuna, she pondered her query: "Is this chicken I have, or is it fish?"
Her husband was taken aback, wordlessly staring. This scene does not sound any different from any exchange by a husband and wife, except the couple in question were both celebrities, and cameras were filming their conversation for millions to watch, and for millions to quote, even so many years later.
Jessica Simpson, then a famous pop singer, and former boy bander Nick Lachey, charmed the world with their adorable story of young love and were now living life together as a newlywed couple in front of cameras for a reality TV show dedicated to their young marriage, which fell apart only a few years later. We're exploring exactly what happened between the duo.
15 Nick And Jessica Played Nice On Camera
The story of Nick and Jessica's marriage, as told through tabloid headlines, went from the 'honeymoon phase' to constantly implying their relationship was suddenly in the hot seat. Negativity seemed to spew left and right wherever the couple went but in reality, the Lachey's marriage wasn't always awful.
The Newlyweds filming process eventually took a toll, but the beginnings were brighter for Jess and Nick.
14 Nick Was Insecure, Too
The narrative surrounding Jessica Simpson in the media has largely been negative since the With You singer entered the public eye in the late 1990s. Many outlets have strived to label her as the dumb blonde, who needed the guidance of her father and later her husband, Nick.
What many weren't talking about during the Lachey's Newlyweds fame; Nick Lachey felt insecure about success, too!
13 Jessica Announced Divorce Intentions At Dinner
The state of Nick and Jessica's marriage toward its conclusion was difficult, to the point where the world was able to tell when tension rose between them through body language and eye rolls via Newlyweds episodes.
What was really going on behind-the-scenes? The eye rolls got to be too much for Jess, where she couldn't ignore the tension; Jessica announced her divorce on Thanksgiving day.
12 Perfection Was Supposed To Look Pretty
Remember when Jessica tried to navigate household chores on episodes of Newlyweds and hijinks ensued after things didn't go as planned? Part of her actions may have been enhanced for television, but internally, Jessica was feeling the pressure.
Jessica was frank when she spoke about her feelings. She shared, "I didn't mind if I looked dumb, but I wanted people to see the fairytale..."
11 Nick Put A Relationship On The Line For Jess
The early days of Nick and Jessica's relationship seemed just as shiny as the glitter Jessica frequently wore. Jess talked publicly about her love for Nick, and the duo sang sweet duets together, but it wasn't always as sweet as we thought.
Before the pair began dating, Nick had a girlfriend! According to Us Weekly, Nick split up with her shortly after meeting Jess.
10 Jessica Said 'No' To A Narrative
The line between real life and reality often got blurry for Nick and Jessica in multiple ways from Jessica's "dumb blonde" act to the actual state of their marriage.
The actual happenings inside their marriage were blurred due to the fact they were a famous duo. Of the media's conditioning, Jessica described her personality as a "narrative to follow," and she didn't feel good.
9 Jessica Believed Fans Were Mislead
The eye-rolls from Nick. Jessica's pouts. There were multiple instances on Newlyweds that gave fans insight into the state of the Lachey's marriage, especially as the series progressed. Nick and Jessica were both growing agitated behind-the-scenes as the mood began escalating within their inner-circle.
There was a point in Jessica's head where she began to struggle with concealing the truth. It became impossible to act.
8 They Had Different Definitions For This Word
2006 was a monumental year in Nick Lachey's life. Not only was he embarking on life as a single man, but he was also breaking off from the artistic shadows cast by being in a boy band. He released his first solo album What's Left Of Me, inspired by his divorce.
It was later revealed Nick felt "blindsided" by Jessica's divorce request, but she perceived it differently.
7 Nick Had Strong Words To Describe Their Final Days
Sometimes we repeatedly hear sayings like "Pictures are worth one thousand words," but what if someone were to simply say a single word about a situation summing up their feelings, which could bring stronger insight into what is really going on.
We were able to watch Nick and Jessica grow steadily apart from one another on television, with Nick calling their marriage "suffocating."
6 Nick Liked To Complain About Household Items
One of Jessica's most memorable moments of her career may have been when she pondered the difference between chicken and tuna, but the early viral reality tv moment was in fact, not the only food-related discourse in the Lachey household.
The domestic duties regularly fell on the awkward side; Nick often complained about how Jessica took care of their house.
5 His Eyes Said It All
One of the biggest revelations in Jessica's 2020 memoir had to do with speculation floating around about the couple for years. Blaring headlines about cheating accusations buzzed around Jessica and Nick for a long time, and years later, Jessica revealed some insiders wanted to increase the cheating narrative.
The lines between truth and reality were so blurred, Jessica didn't know what to believe.
4 Nick Didn't Believe In Reciprocation
There were many real-life moments in the Lachey marriage that was perhaps a little too real for television. Jessica and Nick sincerely wanted to make their marriage work, by attempting to work through their problems in therapy.
Jessica was committed to doing the work. Nick, however, didn't show up to any appointments after their first; he didn't believe they needed to go through with it.
3 Jessica Was Used As A Guinea Pig
Nick's post-Newlyweds career was set up to show fans he was really feeling the effects of his personal and professional life changes. His demure presence in the promotional efforts for What's Left Of Me made Nick out to be eternally heartbroken.
The world seemed to forget Jessica was feeling heartbroken as well; Nick exacerbated her sadness by making Jessica listen to his record!
2 Jessica Spent Nights Alone Doing This
Jessica's feeling of inadequacy in her marriage to Nick, later on, began to manifest itself in her actions she began to feel after reaching her breaking point. To restore her sense of self, Jessica spent nights writing personal letters to her Dukes Of Hazzard co-star Johnny Knoxville.
The content of her letters slowly began to turn romantic, which was problematic for the still-married Jessica.
1 Simpson Was The Queen Of Salty Comebacks
Much has been revealed about Jessica and Nick's personal squabbles surrounding signing a pre-nuptial agreement since the publication of Open Book, but what we need a reminder over, is the amount of passion Jessica firmly held through the situation.
Jessica was absolutely against signing a prenup because she didn't believe in the fact they wouldn't divorce. She even got snippy with Nick over it!
References: Buzzfeed News, Us Weekly, Yahoo