Nick and Vanessa Lachey’s Relationship Timeline Involves ‘TRL,’ a Brief Breakup, and a Lot of PDA
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Vanessa and Nick Lachey have been dating since the dawn of time, aka 2006. And like most early aughts couples, their origin story involves TRL, a steamy music video, a public NYE kiss, and a slightly messy breakup—complete with a romantic reunion. In other words: There’s a lot to cover when it comes to these Love Is Blind cohosts, and we’re taking it all the way back to the beginning. The year? 2006. The vibe? Low-waisted jeans, platform sandals, middle-parted hair, and baby tees. So...basically the same as right now.
Circa 2006
Nick and Vanessa first met on TRL (reminder: Vanessa was a host!), but they didn’t start dating until she starred in his music video for “What’s Left of Me.”
As 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.”
Meanwhile, Vanessa noted, “It wasn’t until, coincidentally, I broke up with my longtime boyfriend 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.’ 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. But 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 on him that I didn’t show up for work that day. I called in sick.”
Obviously, they ended up connecting later that year!
October 12, 2006
Nick and Vanessa are spotted on a date night during their early days of dating.
December 31, 2006
And then they’re spotted sharing very public kiss on New Year’s Eve!
February 2, 2007
Paps were a big (and pretty toxic) thing at this time, and naturally they had their eye on Nick and Vanessa’s party PDA:
February 10, 2007
Pretttty sure this is their first red carpet together:
June 23, 2009
Nick and Vanessa briefly break up. Her rep tells People, “They have amicably split but remain good friends who still greatly care for one another,” while a source notes they are “still friends” and “it was the right thing for both of them to do.”
Vanessa gave Nick an ultimatum (which she later revealed on The Ultimatum, no less) saying, “We dated for five years. So I finally said, ‘What are we doing?’ 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.’”
Here they are mere days before their breakup on June 17:
September 4, 2009
Nick and Vanessa are spotted getting “cozy” post-split, but a source tells People, “Nick and Vanessa are not officially back together, but they’re hanging out. They’ll see what happens. Maybe a reconciliation will happen, but they’re not exclusive right now.”
October 8, 2009
Nick and Vanessa get back together, and Nick confirms as much in an interview with Good Day Philadelphia (via Us Weekly), saying, “I am happy in a relationship. I was single for a minute there, and then we’ve kind of patched things up.”
Meanwhile, a source tells People, “They’ve always had a lot of love for each other, but they took a little break, and now they’re working on their relationship.”
November 24, 2010
Nick proposes to Vanessa! People drops the news, with the couple giving a joint statement saying, “We’re excited and incredibly happy about our engagement and we look forward to a wonderful future together.”
Oh, and Nick also tweeted about it:
Hey all. If anyone's heard the rumors of my engagement, they are absolutely true! Vanessa and I couldn't be happier. Thanks for all the love
— Nick Lachey (@NickLachey) November 4, 2010
July 15, 2011
Nick and Vanessa get married during a small ceremony with just 35 friends and family in attendance.
Naturally, there was a TLC special:
September 12, 2012
Nick and Vanessa welcome their son, Camden! They release a statement, saying, “We are incredibly proud to announce the birth of our beautiful baby boy, Camden John Lachey. Born today at 6:54 p.m., he came into this world at 8 pounds, 9 ounces and 21 inches.”
January 5, 2015
The couple welcome their daughter Brooklyn Elisabeth Lachey, and they announce the news on Vanessa’s since-defunct website (per Us Weekly). “She’s HERE!!!! Nick, Camden, and I are SO excited to announce the birth of our sweet, beautiful baby girl, Brooklyn Elisabeth Lachey! She was born January 5, 2015 at 5:17 p.m. She weighed in at 7 pounds 15 ounces, is 21 inches long, and has already won over all of our hearts.”
Here’s Brooklyn celebrating her 7th birthday back in January!
October 2018
Nick and Vanessa film Love Is Blind together!
December 24, 2020
Nick and Vanessa welcome their third child, a baby boy named Phoenix Robert Lachey.
March 13, 2021
Vanessa reveals the secret to her marriage: spontaneous intimacy. “It’s always a secret to any marriage,” she tells Us Weekly. "Anytime that you can find spontaneous intimacy with your partner, I think, is a go! It will never backfire on you.”
Circa 2021
Nick and Vanessa move their family to Hawai‘i for Vanessa’s new role on NCIS: Hawai‘i. “I told the kids and they were gung ho because they think that Hawaii is water slides, play,” she tells Entertainment Tonight that September. “I ask them all the time, ‘Are you happy or no?’ And they’re like, yeah! So they’re very happy here, they love it here. They’re island babies. I didn’t even realize I had island babies until I brought them here.”
April 2022
While hosting Netflix’s Love is Blind spin-off, The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On, Nick and Vanessa discuss their own journey to getting married. While speaking with the show’s contestants, Vanessa confesses, “We dated for five years. So I finally said, ‘What are we doing?’” “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 adds.
Vanessa also opens up about the fact that the couple saw other people during their brief split early on in their relationship: “We both saw one other person and we realized that if we got out of our own way, we could be amazing together. 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.”
June 19, 2022
So what’s the vibe for Nick and Vanessa in 2022? Pretty much nonstop cuteness with their family. Ahem:
November 9, 2022
Matching b-days means that the Insta posts are truly top tier:
February 1, 2023
During an interview with E! News (per People), Vanessa reveals that her marriage relies on “constant communication” in order to be successful: “If people really turn toward each other and communicate, you will find that a lot of misunderstandings will get resolved. You will find that nobody’s a mind reader and you can actually really hear your partner out and understand where they’re coming from and maybe help cater to that.” Love, love, love this sentiment!
May 14, 2023
Nick posts a beyond sweet Instagram tribute to his wife in honor of Mother’s Day, calling her the “most amazing mother on the planet.”
“Our three kids are the luckiest little people on Earth to have you as their Mommy and I couldn’t imagine a better partner to go through this crazy journey with!!” the celeb adds. “We all love you so very much. You awe me every, single day. We love you!!”
I’m not crying, you are!
July 15, 2023
Nick and Vanessa celebrate their 12th wedding anniversary with touching posts about one another on Instagram.
“Twelve years ago, I said I Do to this incredible woman. In the years since, we’ve created a beautiful life together with three amazing kids. Vanessa, not a day goes by that I’m not grateful for your love, your patience, your understanding, your fight and determination, your support, and your willingness to always work through the tough times. While we don’t always have it all figured out, nor claim to, we know that together we can find our way. I love you, baby!! Thanks for twelve incredible, exciting, unpredictably wonderful years together. Here’s to many, many more…,” Nick pens alongside a series of throwback images with his wife.
Vanessa, for her part, takes a hilarious approach by writing, “17 years together, 12 married! I LOVE growing old with you! Happy Anniversary, Baby!” with a truly laugh-out-loud-worthy filtered video of the couple.
And with that, I’m gonna go rewatch The Ultimatum (pray for me!).
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