Jessica Simpson's lips were made for talking, and she isn't holding back.
The 42-year-old recently shared her reaction to seeing a new generation on TikTok discover her and ex-husband Nick Lachey's former reality show Newlyweds, thanks to clips recirculating on TikTok. And while Jessica received a lot of scrutiny when the MTV show aired during the mid-aughts, many viewers just tuning in are now calling out the 98 Degrees frontman for being the show's actual villain.
As for how the "With You" singer feels about this shift in perception? As she told Bustle in an interview published July 6, "It's amazing what publicity can do."
The pair, who were married from 2002 to 2006, starred in two seasons of Newlyweds while they were wed. And among the clips going viral on TikTok is one of Jessica and Nick in the middle of a home renovation—and things are more than a little tense between them.
As The Ultimatum host appears to blame for various aspects of the project going wrong, the "Irresistible" singer mutters under her breath, "It's always something f--king wrong."
However the remark further sets Nick off.
"You're a spoiled brat," he angrily tells her. "You're a bratty girl."
Meanwhile, TikTok users flocked to the comments section of the clip to share their present day perspectives.
One user wrote, "I used to watch them before and now rewatching it Nick was such a jerk to Jessica." while another said, "If this comes to Netflix now I think everyone will see how toxic Nick actually was."
Since she and the "What's Left of Me" singer went their separate ways, Jessica has found love with Eric Johnson, whom she wed in 2014. But not much else has changed for the fashion mogul.
In fact, The Dukes of Hazzard actress watches old Newlyweds clips on YouTube alongside her and the former NFL player's three kids: Maxwell, 11, Ace, 10, Birdie Mae, 4.
"I'm still that person," she admitted to Bustle. "Honestly, if Eric told me I had to do all the laundry, I would still throw it over the banister and throw a hissy fit."
Jessica has previously opened up about her life with Nick—who has since remarried and shares three kids with Vanessa Lachey—recalling where they stand more than 15 years after their divorce.
"I wish we were the kind of people who could divorce and stay friends," Jessica wrote in her 2020 memoir Open book. "We weren't and I regret that my actions hurt him."
But as Jessica has previously noted, she has no qualms on sharing their marriage on television.
"No, I don't regret that at all," she said during a 2022 appearance on The Real. "I mean, if anything, it was great TV. It was very real, and Nick and I actually had a lot of fun."