Jessica Simpson shared some “dark details” of her divorce from Nick Lachey in an updated paperback edition of her 2020 memoir, Open Book.
The paperback version features a new introduction and handwritten diary entries. In one excerpt, Simpson documents the pain she went through when Lachey moved on with his now-wife, Vanessa Lachey less than a year after their divorce was finalized.
In a handwritten entry, Simpson wrote, “So, Nick, you’re with another already? Seems that you forgot the love you spoke to me. I’m saddened beyond belief. Alone in the dark, with no one to call my own.”
The new entries come less than a year after Simpson first opened up about the pair’s relationship in Open Book’s first release on February 4th, 2020.
In the book, Simpson admitted their marriage was “not perfect” although they had to make it appear that way for television.
A part of her book read, “I had the Instagram-girlfriend syndrome before it was a thing, and I wanted the world to see my husband in the best light because I was hopelessly in love with him.”
She went on to explain how her career success caused friction in their relationship. “I didn’t want to outshine him, because that just wasn’t what I knew,” she wrote. “He seemed so much older than me, my guide in everything. I want him to feel like he could show me all that he knew – about the business, about the world.”
Jessica Simpson said reality show Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica was not the cause of their divorce
While many fans assumed the MTV reality show Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica was behind the breakdown of their relationship, Jessica insisted that’s not what happened.
“I don’t believe that the show is what tore our marriage apart,” Simpson told Buzzfeed News’ AM to DM in 2020. “Nick and I were very great at being together publicly and on camera. We were best at our relationship when we were singing together. I felt like we were at home in that place. But as far as doing the reality show, we just kind of had fun with it until the end – until we started having marital problems, and I just can’t lie to people.”
Nick Lachey admitted he hasn’t read the book
In February 2020, the former 98 Degrees member addressed Simpson’s tell-all on the Today Show, alongside his current wife Vanessa Lachey.
“I’ll be honest – I obviously haven’t read the book so I don’t know what she said or what she revealed there, but I’m certainly happy for her and her life. I know she’s happy for us,” said Nick of her memoir. “There’s definitely a mutual respect there… obviously it was a long time ago; we’ve all moved on.”
The feeling appears to be mutual, as Simpson revealed to ET last year she holds no ill-will toward her ex-husband.
“We were both at fault in a lot of things, but I’m happy for him now,” she expressed. “He’s married with three beautiful children. He took heartbreak and made it into something beautiful.”