We’re now far enough away from the end of the brief, ill-starred marriage of Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey to subject Simpson-Lachey (or Nickica, as they were collectively known back when they were a bona fide celebrity supercouple) to the relationship multiplier.
For Lachey, who was second fiddle in a boy band that was briefly second fiddle to ‘n’ sync and, by the time he hooked up with Simpson, already down to third and heading quickly for complete post-celebrity quasi-obscurity, the marriage was and continues to be an obvious boost. Not only did he benefit from the greater fame of Simpson, who was thriving as the mildly more chaste-seeming alternative to Britney and Christina, but their parity on the show show made him, first, Simpson’s equal, and then over time turned him into, in certain ways, her better. He was the model of the nice young guy who chose a hot, but very vapid, wife and was now suffering for his bad (but understandable) judgement. She was just the vapid wife. When they finally broke up, Lachey came out of it looking better, and remains a B- (or maybe C-) list celebrity to this day despite having done nothing of significance since other than attach himself to a new woman who’s sufficiently beautiful for the tabloids to cook up stories about Jessica’s jealousy.
For Simpson, the marriage was a much more complicated affair. Initially, it vaulted her out of the shadow of Britney and Christina, and it’s unclear that she would still be the tabloid-worthy celeb she remains if not for that initial fame escalation. The sho also, however, made her an object of ridicule, something she’s remained ever since (except for the glorious few weeks when she was hot and heavy with the genuinely talented John Mayer and the public was forced to wonder whether there was actually something of substance there). It would require a reinvention that it’s unlikely Simpson is savvy enough to achieve in order for her to regain her former heights, but it’s also unlikely she would even have that chance left if not for the Lachey marriage.
