Nick Lachey says a recent flight to Hawaii turned into a six-and-a-half-hour reunion with Jessica Simpson, and not the awkward encounter many expected. Speaking Wednesday on Watch What Happens Live, Lachey said he and his former wife ended up on the same plane, with both of their families aboard, and that the encounter was “strangely okay.”
Lachey said he had not seen Simpson in 20 years, dating back to the end of their relationship. “It’s been 20 years since we’ve been [together], and we hadn’t seen each other in those 20 years,” he said. He added that “everyone was very cordial, very respectful” during the flight and that when he said they “spent” time together, he meant only “in the same vicinity.”
The plane carried more than just the former couple. Lachey said his wife, Vanessa Lachey, was on board, along with Simpson’s family, including her children and her mother, Tina. He also said Eric Johnson was on the plane, though he said he was “not familiar with where they stand at this point.” Simpson’s children were seated in a separate class of service from their mother, according to Lachey.
That matters because the sighting came after reports in April 2026 had suggested the run-in was awkward. Lachey’s version was far less dramatic. He said flatly that “it was fine.”
Lachey and Simpson were married from 2002 to 2006 and became a reality-TV fixation through Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica. He went on to marry Vanessa Lachey in 2011, and they now have three children. Simpson separated from Eric Johnson in 2025, adding another layer to a meeting that could easily have been uncomfortable but, by Lachey’s account, was not.
For now, the story is less about a confrontation than an unexpected moment of civility between two people whose split once played out in public. Lachey said the flight was long, the company was mixed and the tone stayed respectful. In the end, the answer to the question that followed the reports was simple: the encounter was awkward in theory, but on the plane itself, it was fine.
