Nick Lachey Bounces Back

After leaving college at Miami University in Ohio to pursue a music career, Nick Lachey hit it big as the lead crooner of the boy band 98 Degrees. On Oct. 26, 2000, the group arrives at the GQ Men of the Year Awards at the Beacon Theater in New York. From left to right: Justin Jefferies, Nick Lachey, Drew Lachey and Jeff Timmons.

Nick Lachey performs with then-girlfriend and fellow pop star Jessica Simpson on Jan. 19, 2001, a few months before the two got engaged. The "Celebrating America's Youth" concert in Washington was part of the inaugural festivities in honor of President-elect George W. Bush.

After getting engaged in February 2001 (the same month that 98 Degrees announced they would be taking a break), Nick and Jessica wed on Oct. 26, 2002. Their MTV reality series, "Newlyweds," documented the ceremony as well as much of their three-year marriage. The two kissed at a press conference in New York on Feb. 9, 2005, that was held to launch Jessica's new line of body fragrances.

Nick Lachey is pictured as part of the Simpson family at the Los Angeles premiere of Jessica's film, "The Dukes of Hazzard," on July 28, 2005. Nick and Jessica pose with her parents, Joe and Tina Simpson, and her younger sister Ashlee Simpson, who has followed in her big sister's musical footsteps with her own pop music career.

In rehearsal — GETTY IMAGES/Kevin Winter

Nick and Jessica called it quits on June 30, 2006, after after more than three years of marriage. Nick's reaction to the painful divorce was recorded in his hit album, "What's Left of Me," a powerful reflection on the experience. He's shown rehearsing for his first solo tour in Burbank, Calif., on Sept. 8, 2006.

Nick's career success with "What's Left of Me" was quickly matched by personal success. He is now dating Vanessa Minnillo, a former Miss Teen USA and host of MTV's "Total Request Live." Minnillo interviews Lachey about his latest album on TRL at MTV's Times Square studio in New York on July 26, 2006.

Nick Lachey, right, and Vanessa Minnillo — AP Photo/Danny Moloshok

Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo arrive for the Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Party in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Feb. 10, 2007. Breaking up with Jessica Simpson may not have been so bad for Nick after all: "What's Left Of Me" has gone gold, selling more than 500,000 copies, since its release on May 9, 2006.

Nick Lachey is presented with an early birthday cake on Nov. 8, 2006, before judging the three finalists of the Snickers national songwriting contest Satisfaction Sing Off at The House of Blues in Los Angeles. Lachey's 33rd birthday was the next day.

Nick Lachey performs at Z100's Jingle Ball in New York's Madison Square Garden on Dec. 15, 2006. He has come a long way since beginning his musical career at the School for the Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati.