Jessica Simpson appeared on CNBC’s Closing Bell Thursday for a sit-down with Kelly Evans. During the chat, the entertainer turned business mogul revealed that marrying her former husband, Nick Lachey, was her biggest financial mistake.
Divorces are often costly for those, who make a lot of money, and this week the Internet got another confirmation. Fashion designer Jessica Simpson sat down with CNBC’s Kelly Evans, co-anchor of the Closing Bell, for an interesting interview on Thursday.
Simpson, a mother of two, who married ex-NFL tight end Eric Johnson in 2014, was asked to share some of her biggest financial mistakes in business or her personal life. The Employee of the Month actress answered jokingly:
“The biggest money mistakes? I don’t know. For some reason I thought of my first marriage!”
The 35-year-old TV personality, who said during her appearance on the program that she is “all about taking a risk,” was married to Nick Lachey for four years from 2002 to 2006. However, they never signed a prenup because Lachey, who was on top as the lead singer of 98 Degrees, was the biggest earner in the couple when they got together.
Things did not stay like that for very long thanks to Simpson’s then-burgeoning career as a fashion designer. At the time of their divorce, Simpson was worth more than $35 million, while Mr. Lachey was worth “only” $5 million. Under California divorce laws, the couple had to split their fortune in half. It seems clear that the Big Morning Buzz Live host walked off the relationship with a pretty decent amount.
Nick Lachey is now married to Vanessa Lachey, a former Miss Teen USA turned TV personality, and together they have two children. In 2014, Lachey talked about Simpson saying that they were no longer in touch. He explained:
“I wouldn’t say it’s friends and I wouldn’t say it’s enemies — there is just no contact. We both moved on with our lives. It’s not animosity, it’s not friendship, it’s just kind of nothing.”
Although they are not in contact, it appears that Lachey was on Simpson’s mind during her big moment on Closing Bell. But then again, without their marriage and the success of MTV’s reality show Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, she may have never made it so far in the business world. The divorce may have cost her a lot, but their marriage probably brought in more money.
