Jessica Simpson Says She Was “Saddened Beyond Belief” When Nick Lachey Moved On So Quickly

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With the release of her first memoir, Open Book, last year, Jessica Simpson has gotten candid about all kinds of experiences in her life, from surviving sexual abuse to big moments in her career and her high-profile relationships with fellow celebs including John Mayer, Johnny Knoxville, and her ex-husband, Nick Lachey. Simpson's memoir is now getting a paperback release, which includes a new introduction and the addition of handwritten journal entries from the pop star herself, sharing her real-time reaction to finding out that Lachey had moved on within a year of their split.

Simpson opened up about her marriage to the 98 Degrees frontman in Open Book, and the newly released journal entries shed more light on how she felt when he began dating his current wife, Vanessa Lachey, less than a year after they'd separated in 2006. Entertainment Tonight shared an excerpt from Simpson's diary entries in which she wrote that she was "saddened beyond belief" to learn about her ex's new relationship.

"So, Nick, you're with another already? Seems that you forgot the love you spoke to me," Simpson wrote, per Entertainment Tonight. "I'm saddened beyond belief. Alone in the dark, with no one to call my own."

Since releasing her book, Simpson has revealed more about her marriage to Lachey, sharing that the couple's MTV series Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica did not cause issues in their relationship. "I don't believe that the show is what tore our marriage apart," Simpson told Buzzfeed News' AM to DM in 2020. "Nick and I were very great at being together publicly and on camera. We were best at our relationship when we were singing together. I felt like we were at home in that place. But as far as doing the reality show, we just kind of had fun with it until the end—until we started having marital problems, and I just can't lie to people."

"I felt like I was being a phony, and I didn't want to continue on with that," she added. "It wasn't real anymore. It wasn't reality. It wasn't who we were. There was lots of eye-rolling and that was real stuff."

Simpson said she has no regrets about her time on reality TV, and she wishes Lachey the best. She shared, "That was my way to connect with people. I don't know why I would ever regret it."