“We hadn’t seen each other in those 20 years,” Lachey said.

Nick Lachey reveals what really happened when he saw ex-wife Jessica Simpson on flight to Hawaii: ‘It’s been 20 years’

"We hadn't seen each other in those 20 years," Lachey said.

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May 14, 2026 8:47 a.m. ET

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Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey in 2003. Credit:

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- Nick Lachey has revealed what really happened when he ran into ex-wife Jessica Simpson on a recent six-hour flight to Hawaii.

- "It’s been 20 years since we’ve been [together], and we hadn’t seen each other in those 20 years," Lachey said on *Watch What Happens Live*.

- Lachey said he was with his wife Vanessa Lachey and Simpson was with her family.

98 Degrees pop star Nick Lachey has opened up about what really happened when he encountered his ex-wife, recording artist, and his *Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica *costar Jessica Simpson on a recent flight to Hawaii.

The singer fielded a question Wednesday from host Andy Cohen on *Watch What Happens Live* about the reported run-in, which made headlines in April.

"It was strangely okay," Lachey said. "It’s been 20 years since we’ve been [together] and we hadn’t seen each other in those 20 years, then spent six-and-a-half hours on a flight to Hawaii together."

Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson in 2004.

Frank Micelotta/Getty

He clarified that the pair were simply cordial co-passengers and didn't interact much at all.

"When I say 'spent,' [I mean] in the same vicinity. Everyone was very cordial, very respectful," Lachey, 52, said of Simpson, 45, to whom he was married from 2002-2006.

Lachey told Cohen that their respective families were aboard the airplane with them, including Simpson's children and her mother, Tina.**

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Cohen referred to Simpson's mom as Lachey's "former mother-in-law" — a phrase Lachey repeated, before telling Cohen that he's "not familiar with where they stand at this point," but that Simpson's husband Eric Johnson, from whom she separated in 2025, was on the plane as well, and stated that "it was fine."

Lachey also suggested that Simpson's children were on the plane, but separate from their mother, which Cohen asked about. Lachey then said that the children were seated in a "separate class of service" than Simpson.**

Reports initially suggested that Lachey and Simpson's run-in was "awkward," though Lachey's account differs from that classification.

** has reached out to representatives for Simpson for comment.

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After divorcing Simpson in 2006 following their successful run on the aforementioned MTV reality series *Newlyweds*, Lachey married former *TRL* host Vanessa Lachey in 2011. Together, the couple, who have three children, now host the popular reality series *Love Is Blind* on Netflix.

Watch Lachey recount his experience with Simpson on the flight in the *Watch What Happens Live *clip above.

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