Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica

Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica was a reality television show that was produced and aired by MTV. It followed the lives of then husband and wife Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson. The show first aired in August 2003 and ran for several seasons, with 41 episodes in total. The last season started on January 26, 2005, and the last episode aired on March 30, 2005.

Simpson and Lachey were married on October 26, 2002 and filed for divorce on December 16, 2005. On June 30, 2006 Jessica and Nick's divorce was finalized.

Part of the show's gimmick involved displaying Simpson's ignorance, playing on the popular stereotype of "dumb blondes." Perhaps the most famous example comes from the first episode, in which Simpson, confronted with a can of Chicken of the Sea tuna, asked Lachey "Is this chicken, what I have, or is this fish? I know it's tuna, but it says 'Chicken by the Sea'."

Origin and effects

The show was originally intended for Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley, but the couple decided not to continue with the project after the start of pre-production. It was shelved until 2002, when Jessica's father and manager, Joe Simpson, contacted MTV about producing a show starring his daughter and her new husband.

When Simpson was originally asked why she chose to do such a show for MTV, she replied that it was good promotion for her new album In This Skin. The reality show, which coincided with the release of the album, at first did not help Jessica's album sales, as it debuted at #10 on the Billboard Charts and quickly fell down.

However, over the span of the first season, Jessica's popularity began growing, as many of her 'dumb blonde' antics gave her much publicity. By the close of 2003, Simpson and Lachey had both become household names. Jessica's label decided to release the second single "With You" to see how it would do on radio now that Simpson had become an A Lister.

The single began climbing steadly up the charts, and Columbia Records took note of Jessica Simpson's sky rocketing popularity and decided to re-release In This Skin in early 2004. In This Skin reached #2 on the Billboard Charts, due in part to her show. "With You" had a Newlyweds themed video, which helped the single become one of the biggest hits of her career.

However, the couple experienced disadvantages as a result of their participation on the show. Because cameramen were constantly following the couple, there were several incidences during the production of the show that caused tension between the couple.^{[citation needed]} According to interviews with Nick and Jessica, the largest of these is the inability to be intimate with each other at certain times, or to have private conversations when they want to. It is also said that the reality show was partly responsible for the later divorce of the couple.

Cast

• Nick Lachey
• Jessica Simpson

Episodes

Season 1

The inaugural season aired from August 19, 2003 to October 14, 2003.

Season 2

Season 2 aired from January 21 2004 to March 24, 2004.

Season 3

Season 3 aired from June 16, 2004 to August 11, 2004.

Specials

• Happy Birthday Jessica, Love Nick