Nick and Jessica’s debut episode aired 20 years ago today, which is worth commemorating.
The MTV reality show featured popstars Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson as they adjusted to married life.
Jessica, now 43, said some legendary comments in the opening episode, only minutes into the series, that will go down in reality TV history forever.
While tucking into her tuna dinner, she innocently asked her new husband: ‘Is this chicken, what I have, or is this fish?’
Nick, now 49, stared blankly at her, so she added: ‘I know it’s tuna, but it says chicken… by the sea. Is that stupid?’
He explained that ‘Chicken of the Sea’ is the brand name, but what she was eating is actually tuna.
‘I understand now. I read it wrong,’ Jessica responded before bursting into laughter.
To be truthful, the brand name is a little perplexing!
Jessica will be permanently identified with the innocent query that has now been ingrained in mainstream culture.
In fact, she proved she was in on the joke in 2017 when she retweeted a story about Wholefoods, which claimed they’d discovered chicken salad had tuna in it. She wrote: ‘It happens to the best of us @WholeFoods’.
It happens to the best of us @WholeFoods pic.twitter.com/Vo5ekewF8S
— Jessica Simpson (@JessicaSimpson) July 9, 2017
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A year before, she posted an Instagram snap of a chicken in the water with the remark “Maybe Jessica Simpson was on to something?”
Hopefully, she too celebrated today’s anniversary with a tasty tuna meal.
Despite the evident amusement offered by the show, it was formally cancelled in 2005. It would have been difficult to continue if the main characters had broken up.
They taped their separation for Newlyweds, so you can’t say they didn’t give it their all for the programme!
Speaking about the series in her autobiography Open Book Jessica said: ‘Reality television knocked famous people off the pedestal.
‘Girls felt like I had hung out with them in their living rooms, and so when they saw me, they ran up to hug me like we were girlfriends.
‘Couples identified so strongly with us.’
Jessica is currently happily married to former NFL player Eric Johnson, with whom she has three children: Maxwell, Birdie, and Ace. Nick has also remarried, this time to actress Vanessa Lachey, and has three children, Phoneix, Camden, and Brooklyn.
Their marriage may be ending, but we’ll cherish the memories!
