From co-hosting multiple hit Netflix reality shows to raising their three children together, Nick and Vanessa Lachey are an impressive pair.
The longtime couple first met on the set of MTV’s Total Request Live. Vanessa, born Vanessa Minnillo, was a host on the show, while Nick regularly made appearances with his band 98 Degrees. At the time, Nick was still married to his first wife, Jessica Simpson, whom he separated from in 2005.
Nick and Vanessa started dating in 2006, and their romance quickly turned serious. The MTV veejay announced she was leaving TRL in 2007, shortly after moving in with Nick.
After a brief split, the pair tied the knot in 2011 and have since welcomed three children. While raising their family, the couple have used some unorthodox conflict resolution techniques to help them communicate better.
As Vanessa told PEOPLE Now in February 2020, “I don’t let it fester, he doesn’t let it fester … We speak our minds. Sometimes you have to walk away.” Nick interrupted to explain that a simple game helps the couple delegate daily household tasks, saying, “Don’t lie, it’s all about rock, paper, scissor.”
From competing against one another on season 25 of Dancing with the Stars to co-hosting Netflix’s reality hits Love Is Blind and The Ultimatum, the duo continues to show their support for one another.
Here’s everything to know about Nick and Vanessa Lachey’s relationship.
2003-2006: Nick and Vanessa meet on TRL
Nick first met Vanessa on the set of MTV’s TRL, when Vanessa was a veejay on the long-running show.
In 2017, Nick told Billboard, “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. I saw her multiple times throughout the years when she was on TRL.”
At the time, Nick and his then-wife Jessica were the stars of MTV’s Newlyweds. After three years of marriage, Nick and Jessica announced their split in November 2005.
February 2006: Vanessa stars in Nick’s music video
Despite meeting at TRL, things didn’t turn romantic for the pair until Nick invited Vanessa to play his love interest in the music video for “What’s Left of Me.”
In a 2017 interview with Billboard, Vanessa shared how the music video marked a turning point in their relationship.
“[The] video, which was on TRL, was the beginning of our relationship. That’s what made it no longer friends and it got romantic. To the point that if you go back and look at the video, when he came to premiere it, I was so nervous and so crushing him that I didn’t show up for work that day. I called in sick,” she explained.
March 2006: Nick and Vanessa are spotted in New York together
After he was briefly linked to Kristin Cavallari in early 2006 (Cavallari later said the two were just friends), Nick was spotted with Vanessa in New York City that March. A source told PEOPLE that the pair were allegedly getting up-close-and-personal at W Union Square’s Underbar. The following evening, they were seen dining with friends at Flamma in Soho and then went on to hotel 60 Thompson until almost 1:30 a.m.
December 2006: Nick and Vanessa celebrate New Year’s Eve
In what would become an iconic moment in the couple’s courtship, Nick and Vanessa rang in 2007 together at MTV’s live New Year’s Eve party in Times Square. They were seen on camera kissing at midnight and then moved on to New York’s Marquee club after-party.
“Vanessa always looks gorgeous,” the former 98 Degrees frontman told PEOPLE at the time.
March 2007: Vanessa credits “privacy” with making her relationship with Nick work
After nearly a year of dating, Vanessa opened up to PEOPLE about her relationship with the singer. “[Nick] is a nice guy. He’s in the studio recording right now [in] L.A., Nashville, New York. All over, with something for everyone to look out for,” she shared.
As for what makes the couple click, Vanessa said, “I think the thing that makes it work is our privacy.”
