Nick Lachey and Vanessa Lachey's relationship timeline

Despite Nick Lachey and Vanessa Lachey's famous on-screen hosting partnership, Netflix's Love is Blind and The Ultimatum hosts' relationship hasn't always been smooth sailing.

The couple – who were recently caught up in some controversy surrounding Love Is Blind season 4's reunion – even split up in 2009 after three years of dating.

However, the NCIS: Hawai'i actress and the former 90 Degrees singer successfully patched up their differences soon after, and have gone on to marry and start a family since.

Join HELLO! as we explore all there is to know about this TV famous pair's love story.

How did Nick and Vanessa Lachey meet?

The former Miss USA hosts met while filming for the same MTV show in New York in 2003. Vanessa, who was known as Vanessa Minnillo, was working as a host of the Total Request Live (TRL) at the time.

MORE: Vanessa Lachey and husband Nick mark bittersweet career milestone

Speaking to Billboard magazine in 2017, Nick explained more about how he first met Vanessa. "I wouldn't necessarily say TRL brought us together," he said, "But that was definitely part of our time together — me being a musician and her being on-air talent. I saw her multiple times throughout the years when she was on TRL."

However, back in 2003 Nick was also the star of MTV's Newlyweds with his then-wife Jessica Simpson. Therefore, his and Vanessa's relationship remained just a friendship for several years, until the The Masked Singer winner's first wife filed for a divorce in 2005.

When did Nick and Vanessa start dating?

Following the then-32-year-old's divorce, in February 2006 Vanessa starred in one of the singer's music videos. The NCIS actress played Nick's love interest in the video for 'What's Left of Me', and later revealed to Billboard in 2017 that their chemistry there almost immediately led the two to start dating.

DISCOVER: Inside NCIS star Vanessa Lachey's stunning Hawaiian home

"[It] was the beginning of our relationship. That's what made it no longer friends and [when] it got romantic… When he came to premiere it, I was so nervous and so crushing [on] him that I didn't show up for work that day. I called in sick!" the Philippines-born star revealed.

The pair, who share a November 9 birthday, went official with their relationship soon after, even welcoming in the New Year together with a kiss live on TV during MTV's New Year's party.

In August 2008, Vanessa gushed about her partner of two years to People magazine, saying: "He's very loving. We're very open and vocal," and revealing: "The L-word is not thrown around by men as easily as it is by women — but I didn't say it first!"

However, in June 2009, the couple split and decided to see other people. Thankfully this bump in their relationship didn't last for long, and by October, Nick and Vanessa were back together.

Speaking in 2020 on their show Ultimatum: Marry or Move On about their split, Vanessa revealed: "We both saw one other person and we realized that if we got out of our own way, we could be amazing together. But it took seeing somebody else and me realizing I don't mind the things that I thought bugged me or were holding me back. I don't mind all that."

READ: The Ultimatum: which couples are still together from the Netflix show?

One year on from their split, Nick proposed to his partner of three years. "We're excited and incredibly happy about our engagement and we look forward to a wonderful future together," wrote the happy pair in a joint statement.

When did Nick and Vanessa Lachey get married?

Following an engagement which lasted one-and-a-half-years, Nick and Vanessa married on July 15, 2011. The pair tied the knot to celebrate their already long-lasting love with a relatively small ceremony attended by only 30-or-so of their closest friends and family.

The popular on-screen pair chose Richard Branson's private Necker Island as the location for their nuptials and reception. And for the celebrity couple, privacy was super important on their special day.

"We don't want it to be a circus," Nick said on their TLC wedding special in 2011. "Helicopters and paparazzi around the island… for us that’s a nightmare scenario. We really don’t want that to happen."

Do Nick and Vanessa have a baby?

The television personalities have three children together: Camden, ten, Brooklyn, eight, and six-year-old Phoenix.

The couple's first child was born in September 2012, and both Vanessa and Nick were immediately besotted. "@NickSLachey and I are honored and humbled to introduce you to the new love of our lives," Vanessa wrote on Twitter, along with a photo of newborn Camden held in her arms.

The proud parents then went on to welcome Brooklyn in January 2015 and Phoenix in December 2016. "One of the things I think that really drew us to each other is we both really value family and how important family is," Nick told People magazine following the birth of their third child."

While the couple appear to be content at settling as a family of five, Vanessa did recently joke about feeling broody about baby number four. Nick, however, did not appear so sold on the idea.

Are Nick and Vanessa Lachey still married?

Yes, 13 years on since they tied the knot on Necker Island in 2011, Nick and Vanessa are still very much husband and wife.

While the last year has brought some difficulties for Nick, his wife appears to be remaining firmly by her partner's side as he works through the fallout from an incident involving an altercation with a photographer in 2022.

Speaking in 2020 to Us Weekly, Vanessa revealed some of the secrets behind the couple's continued close relationship despite what she described as their "lowest lows".

MORE: NCIS Hawaii's Vanessa Lachey's husband Nick 'ordered to complete anger management'

"I think we've had our highest highs and our lowest lows as a couple, and it’s forced us to communicate better and things that we thought we kind of had under control or tools we used to use in our relationship," the 42-year-old said.

How long have Vanessa and Nick Lachey been together?

Having started dating all the way back in 2006, Nick and Vanessa have now been together for 17 years. And while the pair did split back in 2009, their separation was short lived and so doesn't mark much of a dent on their relationship's longevity.

The Love is Blind co-hosts have also now been married for almost 12 years. In 2020, in order to celebrate the couple's ninth wedding anniversary Vanessa took to Instagram and posted a beautiful tribute to her husband.

"14 years ago today, you said 'I Love You'," it began. "9 years ago today, we said 'I Do'. Today, I say 'Thank You'. Thank You for this Beautiful Life & Marriage. Thank You for the unconditional Love you give to me and our 3 crazy kids. Thank You for the hard work you put into Us and yourself daily… Thank you for it ALL," the Jane Tennant actress penned.

READ: Nick Lachey pens heartfelt message to wife Vanessa following major NCIS: Hawai'i news

Nick returned the favor in a post he shared for their eleventh anniversary in 2022. "It’s hard to believe I’ve spent 11 years married to this wonderful woman," he wrote. "V, I love you more now than the day we said 'I Do'. The life we’ve built together is more than I could’ve ever dreamed of. Thank you for your unconditional love and thank you for being YOU!"

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