Vanessa Minnillo and Nick Lachey haven’t been on vacation for a while, or if they have they decided not to invite photographers after that pesky hot tub incident, so we haven’t heard much about them. Both have jobs now, which could also explain why they’re not holed up drinking margaritas at some tropical resort. Nick, 34, is hosting the teen reality competition show “High School Musical: Get in The Picture,” which airs on Mondays on ABC. The ratings have been poor and it’s likely the show isn’t going to stick around after this season. Vanessa, 27, has a role in the film Disaster Movie, which is out on Friday. She’s talking about her relationship with Nick in relation to her cheerleader character’s boyfriend, and says that Nick is open emotionally and was the first to say “I love you.”

In Disaster Movie, hitting theaters Friday, Minnillo’s cheerleader character just can’t get her boyfriend to say “I love you.”

“He just can’t drop the L-word,” Minnillo, 27, tells PEOPLE of her character’s commitment-challenged boyfriend. “And what a girl wants more than anything in the world is for their boyfriend to say ‘I love you.’ ”

But, says Minnillo, her real-life beau Nick Lachey, 34, doesn’t have any similar hang-ups: “The L-word is not thrown around by men as easily as it is by women – but I didn’t say it first! He’s very loving. We’re very open and vocal.”

[From People.com]

I remember Nick on that Newlyweds show, and he arranged an incredibly romantic anniversary night for his then-wife Jessica Simpson. They had a private dinner at a NY city restaurant, then retired to a hotel suite decorated with candles and rose petals. It ultimately didn’t last for them, but it seemed like Nick did his best. You would expect him to be the type to say “I love you” first, and he seems like the rare type of guy who is thoughtful and loyal without being sappy about it. Minnillo is lucky to have landed him.

I asked my husband if he remembered who was the first one of us to say the L word when we first got together and he couldn’t remember! I think it was him, but I’m not sure. It really doesn’t matter considering the outcome. Do you remember who was the first to say “I love you” in your relationship? Maybe it depends on how momentous it was at the time, if you both waited a long time for it, and how long you’ve been together.

Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo are shown outside Crown Bar on 7/16/08. Credit: Revolutionpix/Fame Pictures

Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo have been dating for what seems like a celebrity eternity – about two years. Minnillo has long been reported to be nearly desperate to marry Lachey, especially since the pair moved in together last year. Accounts that she’s putting pressure on Lachey are heating up – but Nick is said not to be interested, at least for the time being. There are also a lot of stories floating around about Minnillo’s immature behavior, comparing her to a high school drama queen. Lachey has generally been portrayed as a pretty mature, sensible guy, and they seem mismatched in a lot of ways.

Nick Lachey and girlfriend Vanessa Minnillo are on the verge of splitting. The couple has been trapped in a break up-to-make up cycle, and now Nick is fed up with Vanessa constantly pressuring him to marry and give her children. And he came unglued with the former MTV host accused him of still being in love with ex-wife Jessica Simpson, pals reveal.

Their problems were on public display March 25 at the trendy restaurant Katsuya when they “sat in stone silence for more than 30 minutes after having what appeared to be an argument,” according to an eyewitness. “As they left that night, Vanessa was in tears sitting next to Nick who was gripping the steering wheel of the car.”

Three nights earlier, at a birthday bash for basketball star Baron Davis at the Stone Rose Lounge. Vanessa “had a good bit to drink, and she turned into a bitchy high school drama queen,” said an eyewitness. “She was rude to some people and then flirted with a bunch of athletes, partying like a single girl. She was hanging all over other guys. Vanessa was rude to fans who wanted her autograph. She spent half the evening sneering at other female guests. From what I saw, it’s not wonder Nick is sick of her.”

[From the National Enquirer, April 14th 2008 print edition]

The Enquirer goes on to talk about how desperate Minnillo is to “get a ring on her finger” and “have Nick’s babies.” I get really tired of the way they portray women as thinking about nothing but marriage and babies… but to be fair, that seems to be most of what you hear about in Minnillo’s case. Whatever career she had as an MTV VJ has totally died out, and her acting career hasn’t exactly taken off. The only thing she’s notable for anymore is dating Nick. Given all that, it makes sense that she’s pressuring him into marriage – what else has she got to focus on? According to the Enquirer, Nick is not giving in. He’s not in love with ex-wife Jessica Simpson anymore, but he’s still stung by their divorce, and remarriage is the last thing on his mind right now. Something tells me one of them will be giving the other an ultimatum pretty soon.

Here’s Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo at Vanessa’s Birthday Celebration at Lax Nightclub in Las Vegas on November 17th. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Fox News reported that Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo were in the Bahamas at one of the Carlyle Hotels to have a secret wedding this weekend. “Fair and balanced” Fox seemed to think that they had everyone else scooped.

He may have been a “Newlywed” once before, but it seems Nick Lachey is ready to march down the aisle again … this weekend. Pop singer Lachey and his MTV star girlfriend Vanessa Minnillo will be married in a secret ceremony at one of the Carlyle Hotels in the Bahamas this weekend, a source told FOXNews.com’s Pop Tarts columnist Hollie McKay.

Minnillo’s entourage arrived at the dazzling digs Friday afternoon, the source said. Reps for the comely couple could not be reached.

[From Fox News]

The story made waves this weekend, with excited bloggers buzzing. I always find it funny how often the line “Reps for _____ did not immediately return our calls” appears in articles. When you really pay attention, it seems half of the articles you read carry this little caveat, essentially saying, “Reps for ___ didn’t call us back within ten minutes, so we went ahead and printed the story.” After reaching most of the major gossip blogs, Lachey and Minnillo’s reps did manage to get a hold of Fox News, and told them their story was bunk. Interestingly, they still haven’t taken it off their site.

Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo are not getting hitched this weekend, his rep tells Usmagazine.com exclusively. FOXNews.com’s Pop Tarts columnist Hollie McKay had quoted a source saying that Lachey, 34, and Minnillo, 27, were expected to tie the knot in a secret ceremony at one of the Carlyle Hotels in the Bahamas this weekend.

But a rep for Lachey tells Us the singer is in his hometown of Cincinnati working on his new NBC show Clash of the Choirs, as well as another show he is producing for MTV.

[From Us Weekly]

Minnillo was also supposedly spotted several times in Los Angeles over the weekend. I am kind of surprised these two haven’t gotten married yet. They seem really into each other, and Vanessa is supposedly bugging Nick about it constantly. She seems the type that could definitely annoy a guy into marriage. He didn’t rush into marriage with Jessica Simpson – they dated for four years before they walked down the aisle. Regardless, it makes sense that Nick would be cautious. Some places insist on a blood test before they’ll issue a marriage license. I think in Nick’s case – given his history – he should insist on an I.Q. test. If that checks out, go forth and marry.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo are shown at Vanessa’s Birthday Celebration at Lax Nightclub in Las Vegas on 11/17/07, thanks to PRPhotos.

Vanessa Minnillo is hardcore. She’s got a reputation as being a bit of a diva – supposedly that’s why she was axed by MTV and “Entertainment Tonight” – and apparently she’s bringing that same diva mentality to her relationship with Nick Lachey. She’s told him that he’s got to marry her by next year or she’s out the door. I think Vanessa Minnillo has an inflated sense of self. When she worked for “Entertainment Tonight” she was supposedly a total bitch when she had to actually work, and thought she’d become enough of a celebrity that she shouldn’t have to interview people… which was her job. Ahh, to be paid to stand there and look pretty. Pretty much what I do here at Celebitchy.

“Vanessa Minnillo has hit Nick Lachey with a wedding ultimatum - marry me by next year without a prenup or I’m gone! ‘Vanessa loves Nick, but she’s prepared to walk if he’s not willing to marry her,’ an insider told The ENQUIRER. ‘And she’s not going to get involved in a prenuptial agreement. She feels marriage is forever, and she doesn’t want to begin a lifelong commitment by signing an agreement that’s just an out for a divorce.’ Ex-boy band member Nick, 33, and the 26-year-old beauty are spending time between homes in Los Angeles and New York - and are nearly ready to seal the deal, say sources.

“As the Enquirer recently revealed, Vanessa has picked out an engagement ring - a platinum band with a large emerald-cut diamond in the center and two smaller emerald-cut stone on each side. She first spotted the sparkler at the Kentucky Derby in May. ‘But all bets are off in Nick forces a prenup on her,’ said the insider.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, October 8, 2007]

My favorite part is just how worried Nick is about his money. Supposedly the “Enquirer’s” source said, “‘Nick wants the prenup, mostly because he saw what happened with his first marriage to Jessica.” Um, isn’t that exactly how he got all his money that he’s worried about? When he was with Jessica, their net worth was around $50, but he was only responsible for $5 million – so 10%. Yet he ended up with about half of their net worth, which means he gained about $20 million just for being married to Simpson. I’m not arguing whether he did or didn’t deserve it, but I just think it’s really ironic that he’s so worried about losing it in the exact same way he won it.

Picture Note by Jaybird: Here’s Vanessa Minnillo at the launch for her “limited edition” of Flirt cosmetics. “Limited edition” meaning it won’t sell well so they’re planning on canceling the line from the get-go. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Nick Lachey has moved on in style after his high-profile divorce from ditsy singer Jessica Simpson. There are reports that he is engaged to his girlfriend, MTV’s Total Request Live hostess Vanessa Minnillo, and that the cute couple plans to tie the knot this April.

Speculation is that they’ll marry in Mexico, where they shared a romantic vacation together last June. There’s a quote from someone who’s supposedly close them who claims that Nick wants a low profile wedding, because he and Jessica had a huge ceremony and reception and that didn’t work out so well:

“They’re moving forward with plans for an April wedding,” a close friend told The Enquirer.

The engagement comes slightly more than a year after Nick, 33, and Jessica Simpson announced their split. Now Nick and Vanessa are mulling destinations for their wedding and honemoon, disclosed a friend.

“Since they both love Baja, Mexico, it will probably happen south of the border, where the first fell in love.”

[From The National Enquirer print edition, January 29, 2007]

The article says that Nick is urging 26 year-old Vanessa to design the kind of engagement ring she wants and says they’ve seen a jeweler who is working on it.

That’s good news for Nick and is sure to be depressing for Jessica. Nick’s ex doesn’t seem to be in a new relationship apart from a dalliance with John Mayer, who only seems to throw her a bone when he feels like it. There were rumors that Jessica was drunk dialing Nick last year and that she was prank-calling Kirsten Cavalleri back when Nick was dating her.

There’s a story that Jessica is taking secret cooking lessons and will attempt to make John Mayer a romantic dinner before he goes on tour around Valentine’s day. From what I remember of Newlyweds, she could use some help in the kitchen. This news seems to be based on an earlier report that Jessica received the cooking lessons as a gift from someone who worked for her, so if it’s true that she showed up for them, it’s not like it was her idea.

Still, maybe Jessica has some time left before her ex ties the knot again, and doesn’t have to be so eager to latch on to a new guy. Lachey said just a short while ago that he and Minnillo “are not dealing with marriage yet.”

Vanessa Minnillo made boyfriend Nick Lachey go get his hairy chest waxed at a Beverly Hills Spa. It hurt so bad that he screamed in pain and insisted that the esthetician stop right there. I wonder if he’s still got those landing strips on his chest:

In a scene that was sorta “40-Year-Old Virgin” meets “Fur,” NICK LACHEY’s sexy squeeze VANESSA MINNILLO – itching to control his chest hair, which sprouts like scratchy sawgrass, according to pals – dragged “Gorilla Guy” off to a BevHills spa to get his man-thatch wax-snatched! But after just two wax strips were ripped from his manly man-boobs, Nick emitted a nearly-girly shriek and yelled, “NO MORE!” With half his chest bare as a baby’s bottom – and the other half sorta bear-y – Nick hopped off the table and split for the changing room, ignoring Vanessa’s please to lie down and get waxed like a man!

That goes to show that men can’t hack what we women go through for the sake of beauty. I once took my husband to get a manicure with me and the ladies painted his nails with that clear nailtiques polish. I took it off for him when we got home, but he won’t get his nails done again. The nail technicians must have been laughing about it afterwards.

Jessica Simpson claims her one-time chairty work in Africa for Operation Smile, in which she was sick most of the time and spent just 2 out of 10 planned days visiting children, gave her the perspective she needed to dump her husband, Nick Lachey. She told Jane magazine that her brief visit with children with facial deformities made her want to change her life:

If that was true, why didn’t Jessica do any more high-profile charity work after that one visit to Africa? She could have gone back or worked with charities in the states. You know that if she did more charity work we would have heard about it. She did show up at Congress one day with her hairdresser, Ken Paves, but if she wanted to change her life so badly she should have stuck with the great guy she had and done something meaningful with her time.

Meanwhile Jessica is getting blasted for her increasingly poor taste in clothing. US Weekly notes that her style is erratic and frumpy lately and that she needs to get a new stylist or some taste stat.

One can hardly blame her for not looking polished all the time. Nick is happy in a new relationship with MTV VJ Vanessa Minnillo while Jessica is still single and lonely and telling everyone about it. His album is also selling much better than her latest breathy pop offering. “What’s Left of Me” has sold twice as many copies as “A Public Affair.”

Update: Thanks to Starfruit gossip for Jessica’s entire wacky explanation of how she realized she would leave Nick:

Here is Jessica in what could be a new photoshoot, I have no idea, found on SweetKisses.net.

Jessica Simpson’s new line of boots is god-awful. She doesn’t make it any better by dressing like this when she goes out. Maybe these big tan monstrosities would look ok with a short skirt and some boho jewelry, but when paired with tight jeans, a white polo top, and a baseball cap over messy hair you can see just how ugly they are.

Hollywood Tuna says there’s no question that Ashlee is the hotter sister now, and unfortunately we have to agree. Get your act together, Jess, hit the gym and get a new stylist. Don’t talk to Rachel Zoe, though, she’ll just make you into a pencil thin clone.

In related news, Nick Lachey says he’s not sure why his nearly 4-year marriage with Jessica ended, and gives a diplomatic answer when questioned:

That’s quite classy of him. In my opinion, Jessica was just too immature to handle the ups and downs of a long term committed relationship.

Here is Jessica out shopping for groceries on 9/13. [via]

Update: You guys are right, I shouldn’t have told Simpson to “hit the gym,” it was an offhand comment and she is in no way fat. I still am not fond of her style, though.

Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson’s divorce was finalized in early July. Nick was offered an insulting $1.5 million settlement by Jessica’s creepy father, Joe Simpson, in early June. The couples joint assets are valued at well over $30 million, so that was truly a piss poor amount. (Albeit one that would change most anyone else’s life.)

Nick was said to be holding out for a relatively paltry $8 million, which he lowered to just $5 million.

Now Nick and Jessica have reached an undisclosed settlement, but Nick’s share is said to be well less than half of the couple’s assets:

Lachey’s people could have leaked that news to make him seem like a good guy, but he is a good guy. There’s no blaming Simpson, since she generally seems to do what people tell her and simple math is probably way above her head. Now she’ll have more cash to buy terrible ill-fitting fashion thanks to her daddy playing hardball.

Here is Jessica in NY yesterday. Photos courtesy of SweetKisses.net

We weren’t holding our breath, but we were kind of hoping Nick and Jessica would get back together. Jessica wore her wedding ring around her neck for a while, and Nick told Rolling Stone that he still loved his wife of two years, but ultimately Jessica’s immaturity and Nick’s wild oats won out and now the two are officially divorced. The divorce was made final on June 30. No word yet as to the settlement amount. Jessica’s dad tried to low-ball Nick into accepting a $1.5 million settlement, while Nick is said to have asked for a more realistic $8 million that he lowered to $5 million.

Nick is dating MTV VJ Vanessa Minnillo while Jessica may be with her co-star in the upcoming film “Employee of the Month,” comedian Dane Cook. Cook was involved with someone else at the time of filming, but is now single and said to be getting cosy with Jessica.

This is sad news for Nick and Jessica fans, and should serve as a warning to all women who try to hold out before marriage and then get married young because they can’t wait.

Here is Jessica in NY on 6/28. She’s wearing the deadly long jeans/platform sandals combo that caused Britney’s near baby-drop. Nick Lachey is shown performing a private concert for Q-100 listeners on 6/29.