LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, who turned mid-level music careers into a Hollywood star-spangled marriage, have separated following months of persistent breakup rumors.
The couple announced their separation Wednesday.
"After three years of marriage, and careful thought and consideration, we have decided to part ways," they said in a joint statement released by their publicists. "This is the mutual decision of two people with an enormous amount of respect and admiration for each other."
Calls seeking further comment from publicists Meredith O' Sullivan and Rob Shuter were not immediately returned early Thursday.
The couple have been dogged by rumors that their marriage was in trouble -- Us Weekly reported that they split in an Oct. 17 issue -- but Simpson, 25, and Lachey, 32, brushed the speculation aside and insisted they were still together.
In the December-January issue of Teen People, which went on newsstands earlier this month, Simpson denied rumors that the marriage was kaput.
"Hopefully mine and Nick's story will continue for the rest of our lives, like what we vowed, through sickness and in health," said Simpson, who famously professed that she remained a virgin until she got married.
The couple wed in October 2002, back when they were known simply as pop singers. But Simpson hadn't achieved the multiplatinum successes of peers Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, while Lachey was a member of the boy band 98 Degrees, which sold far fewer albums than such acts as 'N Sync and Backstreet Boys.
The couple's reality show, "Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica," which chronicled their daily lives in a new California home, turned them into stars. The show, which ran for three seasons, made Simpson infamous for her dippy-blonde moments, including the time she confused the tuna she was eating for chicken, or when she eschewed Buffalo wings because "I don't eat buffalo."
Simpson's star status has begun to outshine Lachey's. She played Daisy Duke in this summer's hit movie "The Dukes of Hazzard," and she endorses "Dessert," a beauty line that includes flavored body creams. Lachey, whose solo album has had disappointing sales, appeared in some episodes of the sitcom "Charmed."
Besides appearing in "Newlyweds," the couple entertained U.S. troops earlier this year in the ABC special "Nick & Jessica's Tour of Duty," and last year they hosted the ABC variety special "Nick & Jessica's Family Christmas." A coffee table book, "Jessica Simpson I Do: Achieving Your Dream Wedding," also was released last year.
Although it's not a shock, it's still sad.
I still had hopes them getting ti together and looking as love as they did when they were first married, but obviously it was not meant to be.
The stupidest thing about this split, is that they asked for people to "respect their privacy" during this hard time for them. Respect their privacy? You can't flaunt your life in public everyday for money and then think you can just cut the line when you need the privacy.
EXACTLY! That's what I'm talking about... they put their life on camera, almost 24/7 and they said, "Give us our privacy!" Ummmmmmmmmmm, they should have NEVER done that show, and worked on a marriage instead. You don't go into a brand new marriage, at a young age, and have cameras with you all the time.
:::>^..^<::: ~*~The Journey is more important than the end or the start~*~ :::>^..^<:::
What ever happened to counselling? They never should have done the show. Marriage is something you have to work at daily. It just seems to me that hollywood people take their vows too lightly.
Yeah... a lot of 'em do. I mean, I KNOW that they are under the public eye, and everything... but, there are A LOT of couples, in hollywood, who do make it. They don't air their lives though. Jessica and Nick did the wrong thing... they should have concentrated on their marriage, and learning each other, and growing in love.... instead of these cameras following their every single move.
:::>^..^<::: ~*~The Journey is more important than the end or the start~*~ :::>^..^<:::
Money can be a powerful motivator though. And even if their relationship suffered, it did great things for both their profiles and careers. More so for Jess than Nick, but there's always someone who wins a bit more. I think we'll be seeing plenty of Jess and Nick will gradually fade away.
11-24-2005 06:02 PM
