Gen Z are just discovering who Nick Lachey was before Love is Blind and Millennials are stunned

Many millennials have been realising to their horror, that to most of Gen Z, Nick Lachey is just the host of the smash hit dating show, Love Is Blind.

Reality TV icon and former boyband star Nick now hosts the show alongside his wife, Vanessa Lachey, but it seems the younger generation don't realise he's got a very famous ex.

One shocked millennial posted on X: "A woman posted a clip from Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey’s reality show, and there are Gen Z commenters who have no idea about this part of his life."

One Gen Z TikTok user exclaimed: "WAIT... Nick from Love Is Blind?!?!"

Another added: "So he was famous before Love Is Blind?"

One disgruntled millennial pointed out: "He was even famous before Jessica Simpson, 98 Degrees yo," referring to the boyband he starred in.

Before Love Is Blind, Nick starred in a whole other reality show and was in a boyband (Theo Wargo / Staff / Getty Images)

If you're one of the Gen Z uninitiated, let this millennial explain: Nick was one of the most popular from the group, who formed in 1997.

Their biggest hit was 'Thank God I Found You,' a collaboration with Mariah Carey and Joe, which reached number 1 in the US back in 2000.

They also reached number 3 with 'Because Of You', but fans were thrilled when they reunited and released an album in 2025 called Full Circle, where they re-recorded their classic hits in order regain control of their masters.

The band also went out on an anniversary tour.

Nick married fellow popstar Jessica Simpson on October 26, 2002, and they hit the big time when they starred in a reality TV show, Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, which premiered on August 19, 2003, until March 30, 2005.

Nick Lachey starred in Newlyweds with his fellow popstar wife, Jessica Simpson (MTV)

Reality TV was still a new thing then, after being spearheaded by The Osbournes.

The very first episode turned Jessica into a laughing stock, as she didn't know the difference between chicken and tuna, and it became an overnight sensation.

The couple had never lived together before getting married, so the series showed them adjusting to married life and co-habiting.

Jessica, who was 22 at the time, had grown up living in hotels and being cleaned up after since her first recording deal at just 14, so she had to learn to be tidier.

She soon became the bigger star of the two at the time, and the cracks began to show, causing them to split in November 2005.

Nick first met his now-wife Vanessa on MTV's Total Request Live when he went on to promote the show.

They maintained a professional relationship until after his divorce, and he then asked her to star in the music video for his song, 'What's Left Of Me'.

Nick and Vanessa married in 2011 and have three children together (Instagram/Nick Lachey)

The couple began dating soon after, and married in 2011.

They share three children together, and now both host Love Is Blind.

Make sense?

Another millennial joked about the chicken/tuna meme: "The concept of an entire generation knowing nothing of the infamous, 'Chicken of the Sea' moment in human history."

Someone else quipped that all's fair: "I don’t know what Love is Blind is so I guess me and the Gen Z’s are even."

"Watching Gen Z discover Nick Lachey had a whole pop star marriage with Jessica Simpson is hilarious," added another.

"Nick Jessica Vanessa drama had me clutching pearls at 10 years old, peak reality tv" recalled one, while someone else grumbled: "I'm feeling old!"

Well, now you know.