Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson, whose reality show Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica made them household names, got divorced in 2006 and, according to Nick, hadn’t seen each other since — until they ran into each other on a flight to Hawaii in April. But, maybe surprisingly, Nick said it wasn’t awkward.
“It was strangely OK,” Nick told Bravo’s Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live! “You know it’s been 20 years since — and so we haven’t seen each other in those 20 years and then spent 6 1/2 hours on a flight to Hawaii together.”
Nick then clarified that they were simply “in the same vicinity” on the flight, they weren’t sitting together.
“Everyone was very very cordial, very respectful,” Nick added, noting that he was with his wife, Vanessa Lachey, and their three kids. As for Jessica, she was sitting with her mom, Nick said.
Nick added that he believed that Jessica’s three kids and their father, Eric Johnson, were seated in another section of the plane, but noted that he was unsure of Jessica and Eric’s status; they’ve reportedly been separated since 2025.
Overall, Nick said, “It was honestly, it was fine.”
A source told People in April of the encounter, “They all had a nice conversation. Nick, Jessica and Vanessa. It was very amicable and cordial.”
Nick, a member of 98 Degrees, and Jessica, a solo pop star, tied the knot in 2002 and split after four years. Nick married Vanessa in 2011; Jessica wed Eric in 2014.
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