And it was apparent that Nick and Jessica were stronger together, at least at first. Of course their fans wanted to know more about their sex life, not to mention watch it play out in PG-rated form in music videos, see inside their spacious Calabasas home, and Simpson’s closet in particular, and watch them playfully bicker and make up. Nick also always seemed to be carrying her around—they were so hot!
All of that translated into more opportunities outside the marriage, especially for Simpson, who launched her edible beauty line Jessica Simpson Desserts and started formulating what would eventually become her booming, billion-dollar fashion and lifestyle brand.
But the whole incompatibility thing soon got in the way. Though the phrase “reality TV curse” is often invoked, according to observers at the time, their marriage would have unraveled anyway—and possibly faster if they hadn’t let the cameras, which gave them a common purpose, into their lives.
“We were young and pioneering our way through reality television, always miced and always on. We worked and we were great at it but when it came time to being alone, we weren’t great at it anymore,” Simpson wrote in her 2020 memoir, Open Book. “We really got crushed by the media and by ourselves. I couldn’t lie to our fans and I couldn’t give somebody hope that we were this perfect golden couple.”
