A hard pass. Nick Lachey isn’t picking up a copy of his ex-wife Jessica Simpson’s new book anytime soon.
The singer, 46, paused and adjusted his glasses before answering a question about the candid tell-all at Michael Rubin’s Fanatics Super Bowl Party at Lowes Miami Beach Hotel on Saturday, February 1.
“Well, no, I have not read a single word,” he told Us Weekly exclusively before referring to his wife of eight years, Vanessa Lachey. “Both of us have not read the book, and no, she did not reach out before it was published.”
Nick was married to Simpson, 39, for four years before their divorce was finalized in 2006. The pair costarred in the reality TV series Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica before going their separate ways.
In her upcoming memoir, Open Book, due out on Tuesday, February 4, the singer and fashion designer described the 98 Degrees member as “my first love.”
“Nick loved the fact I was so strong in my faith and that I had this wide-eyed innocent approach to life. When he proposed in 2002, I said yes,” wrote Simpson, who previously revealed that she was a virgin before their marriage.
The “I Wanna Love You Forever” singer, who shares three kids with her husband, former NFL star Eric Johnson, added that she “very much” respects Nick.
“I was really young and my success hadn’t really begun,” she wrote. “He knew me as this young, innocent 18-year-old that had never been introduced to the world in so many ways. I went straight from my father to him. Nick’s very smart. He was eight years older than me, but he was also young.”
“We meant a lot to each other and we always will,” she continued. “I want to be very respectful because I married him for a reason and we were together for seven years for a reason. He has a family now and I would never say anything to disrespect that.”
In her book, Simpson also reflects on her relationship with John Mayer, who she claims told her “he was obsessed with me, sexually and emotionally.”
The “In This Skin” singer admitted that anxiety over their relationship and the worry that she “wasn’t smart enough for him” had her turning to alcohol to cope.
“I would pour another drink,” she recalled. “It was the start of me relying on alcohol to mask my nerves.”
She has been sober since November 2017.
With reporting by Kara Lederman
