Nick Lachey Revisits Wedding Day With Vanessa On ‘Dancing With The Stars’: How MTV Fueled Their Love Story

Nick Lachey is looking back at his wedding day with wife Vanessa Minnillo Lachey. According to an ABC press release, the Dancing With the Stars contestant will dance a contemporary with pro partner Peta Murgatroyd as he pays tribute to his most memorable year and his 2011 wedding to Vanessa. Nick and Vanessa, who now have three children together, first met on the MTV countdown show, TRL, but their love story was a long time coming.

Nick Lachey’s first forays on MTV were when he was part of the boy band 98 Degrees. The lead singer visited the set of MTV’s Carson Daly-hosted Total Request Live with his bandmates before spinning off as a solo act in 2003. At the time, Nick Lachey was married to pop star Jessica Simpson and they starred in an MTV reality show, Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, which documented the early days of their marriage.

Meanwhile, Vanessa Minnillo was a TRL host, and her dealings with Lachey were strictly business as she often interviewed him with his Newlyweds wife by his side. Nick and Jessica even flew to Texas as part of MTV’s Super Bowl Sunday special in 2004 and posed alongside Vanessa and fellow TRL host Damien Fahey.

But after Lachey’s marriage to Simpson ended, the singer called on Vanessa to star in the video for his song “What’s Left of Me,” which was also shot for an episode of MTV’s Making the Video, and their chemistry was undeniable.

“Nick is awesome,” Vanessa said at the time. “He’s a gem. Mini crush.”

According to Billboard, Vanessa couldn’t even face Lachey when he stopped by TRL to promote the video that she starred in. Instead, co-host Lala Anthony filled in for a smitten Vanessa.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9BoHO2EBxU

Nick Lachey told Billboard that he saw Vanessa multiple times when he was plugging music and she was on TRL. But he jokes about his motive for getting her to star in his video.

“In my grand marketing scheme I thought if I get the girl who is on TRL to do my video, she’ll play it on the show,” Nick said.

“The video was the beginning of our relationship,” Vanessa told Billboard.

“That’s what made it no longer friends and it got romantic. when he came to premiere it, I was so nervous and so crushing him that I didn’t show up for work that day. I called in sick.”

Nick was disappointed Vanessa no-showed, so he went so far as to invite a fan onstage who was carrying a sign that said, “Move Over Vanessa, I’m here.”

Nick and Vanessa eventually hooked up—their first date was at the Cherry Lounge in NYC—and the rest is history. By 2006 they began dating, and Nick continued to appear on TRL when his new girlfriend was still host. Nick and Vanessa even shared a kiss during MTV’s 2007 New Year’s Eve special.

While they had a brief split in 2009, the couple married in 2011, The Lacheys had had their wedding filmed for a TLC special, Nick & Vanessa’s Dream Wedding, but they’ll always have MTV to thank for the early days of their love story.

Take a look at the music video that changed Nick and Vanessa Lachey’s relationship forever.

[Featured Image by Evan Agostini/Getty Images]