Well, this is a blast from reality-TV show past.
Remember when Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson were “Newlyweds” on MTV? The show was mostly filmed inside their Calabasas home from the time they were just-marrieds in 2003 until their tabloid-worthy split in 2005.
They sold the house in ’06 (they were asking $3.75 million at the time), but it’s back on the market for a paltry $1.95 million.
The “Mediterranean McMansion” has over 6,400 square feet with 5 bedrooms and 6 baths.
For more information about 24944 Lorena Drive in Calabasas, check the listing.
Truly one of my favorite reality shows. I forgot all about the house.
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Both places are boring and predictible, like the owners. 😉
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I can’t believe you knew them. Wow! I’ve always thought Nick was a cutie. I watched the show faithfully. I was really sad when they divorced, because you could tell that the fame etc…was the culprit for the split. They were once really in love. Not many of those reality show marriages last for some reason. Beautiful home. Wish I had a couple mil laying around;)
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I loved watching newlyweds! Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I think I remember a few scenes in their bedroom… and I feel like there were some in her closet with her doing laundry…
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That’s such a kick that you and your family know the “Lay-chees”. (I guess “La-shay” sounds more sophisticated? More…French or something?? Cracks me up.)
I DID watch Newlyweds. Such a guilty pleasure. Never liked that house too much. It felt so cold to me. I remember one of my favorite episodes was when Nick was trying to lay sod in the yard. He tried to rototil and the dirt was just filled with rocks! Pretty sure he called in some help after a few hours…
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I came straight from reading about Jay Shafer (the Tiny Houses man) to this post and my head reeled – two young people rattling around in that enormous house! Yes, I know it’s television and they were celebrities, but I wonder if it was what they themselves actually wanted? (answer: probably…)
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I came straight from reading about Jay Shafer (the Tiny Houses man) to this post and my head reeled – two young people rattling around in that enormous house! Yes, I know it’s television and they were celebrities, but I wonder if it was what they themselves actually wanted? (answer: probably…)
.-= Tricia Rose´s last blog ..Long Days of Summer =-.
I came straight from reading about Jay Shafer (the Tiny Houses man) to this post and my head reeled – two young people rattling around in that enormous house! Yes, I know it’s television and they were celebrities, but I wonder if it was what they themselves actually wanted? (answer: probably…)
.-= Tricia Rose´s last blog ..Long Days of Summer =-.
I used to watch this show. I really like their house, but I would always mentally redecorate every time I watched.
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I loved the Newlyweds! I was sad when the show ended. Was it corny? Yes! Was it a guilty pleasure? Yes! Isn’t that what reality TV is supposed to be? Thanks for the post!
How cool you know them! He is one of my favorite celebrites, he’s so cute and reminds me of my husband–we loved that he wore Reds gear and Cincinnati stuff all the time on the show. One of our favorite episodes was when they lifted all the furniture in thru the windows. Oh wait, I mean the one where they went to Home Depot… Oh, wait… Obviously we liked the show–but he made that show cool, not her–we loved the ways he dealt with her. He seemed so normal.
Such a guilty pleasure watching the Newlyweds – I admit to owning all of the DVDs and I was so sad when they broke up! Honestly, though, nowadays I just watch it to see that gorgeous house!! It’s not exactly my style and even if I had a couple mil lying around I still wouldn’t buy it, but it’s interesting to see how a young couple (who still don’t own anything yet and haven’t figured out “their style”) try to make a home.
Random – I remember that Jessica said she wanted to hire a designer to re-do the whole house which Nick totally vetoed. Then they divorced and she purchased her own home and decided *not* to hire a designer because she felt she could do it all on her won. Ironically, she purchased one of Ellen DeGeneres’ old homes (which she completely remodeled as she is wont to do) and…..yea….TMI. Basically, I just think it’s overall hilarious how the rich and famous do the “house swap” in LA/Beverley Hills, etc. Too funny!
Fun post!!
xoxo,
Lindsay
.-= Lindsay@Tell’er All About It´s last blog ..Blog-i-ver-sa-ry Week! Happy Birthday- House! =-.
This is one of my most favorite post that you have done! I loved that house!!
Man, I watched that show along with everyone else at that time. It always looked like they just moved in for a box/mansion to film in. I never felt like they attatched themselves there I guess.
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Thanks for this! I used to love watching Newlyweds – I always really liked Jessica’s clothes…they always looked so cute but comfortable at the same time. If you re-watch them you notice she wears a lot of cashmere sweaters and lounge pants…wish I could dress like that every day! Hilarious about the name change…unsurprising though. I remember when 98 Degrees was a big hit when I was in high school and everyone I knew pronounced it “Lackey”. I also agree with Becky @ Farmgirl Paints – their divorce seemed so much sadder BECAUSE you could tell that the fame was ruining them…same thing with Jon and Kate (of Jon and Kate + 8)! If you ever go back and watch the early episodes of Jon and Kate Plus 8 they seem like completely different people….they’ve changed and not just on the outside. Anyway, I digress…I guess hindsight is 20/20, right? Beautiful house though!
P.S. hope you are continuing to enjoy your Disney vacation!!!
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I too always thought they seemed truly in love and was sorry that fame and money or whatever spoiled it. Maybe I just bought into the TV story.
I love that chandelier in the foyer. It’s unusual and really pretty.
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Yes, I’ll admit to owning all the DVD’s too.. .I loved watching the show and their house. So sad how it all ended up.
.-= Melissa´s last blog ..Master Progress =-.
I miss this show, I never missed an episode and actually have all of the dvd’s in a box set. I wish they were still together 🙁
I loved nick because he was so down to earth, normal and friendly just a laid back all american guy, he loved his football..”GO USC”…he didnt even act famous…i always thought he neveer fit well with jessica’s diva personality, because she’s very high maintenance, she’d ignore him make her stupid annoyed immature faces at him when they were around friends, on one of the episode i remember they were vacationing with friends and family and nick was outside with his friends she asked him if he wanted grill cheese sandwiches and then he walked into talk to her and she completely ignored him and gave her attention to cacee cobb (her annoying friend also known as the 3rd wheel)..he just looked like at her like “seriously” and left…she always did that “poor nick”..she was insecure about nick making his videos with sexy dancers i mean com’on it’s his job she does the same..she is threatened by pretty girls asking nick im cuter right?..she thru a fit when he was going to the playboy mansion, she has trust issues, because of her insecurities,and she complains way to freakin much, (remember the camping trip) she always needed to be babied by him and she’s just so needy it makes me sick…Nick was way too good for her in every aspect and she didn’t know how to appreciate him, the grass isn’t always greener on the otherside and she learned that the hard way, she’s learned that the hard way, she’s had what 3 failed relationships now and still dating as to Nick he’s been witrh Vanessa since he split with jessica, and he seems much happier. Jessica’s father was one of the reasons to blame for their divorce and she listened to her father, and thats why they split jessica is a puppet and she made a mistake….however for Nick i bet them he was devastated to lose her, but now he’s probably thanking his lucky stars, when something bad happens, something better always comes along even if at the timne we don’t like it.
there’s a way to market a house… have a reality show!
… where do I sign up?!
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I’m a little too old to admit this, but I used to love this show. Great house.
-Rene
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i love nick lachey he’ s a hottie, and every guy she has dated has not compared to him. i think Nick was the only guy who truely loved her because he put up with her sh**. Jessica is a needy, clingy, needs to be pampered, jealous, threatened, kind of girlfriend/wife…the kind that can drive away a man fast..for instance, john mayer, tony romo, and now we’ll see how long eric johnson sticks around, she’s one of those girls that men date to have a good time if you know what i mean, never the kind you “put a ring on it”. jessica let her father intervene and meddle in her relationship and that is a BIG NO NO she needed to tell her creepy dad to get lost..she’s a girl not a woman for not having a back bone and stick up for her man…she was and is her fathers puppet, when will she grow up..i think it’s creepy that her father is so involved in her love life…”wierd and perverted”.. nick said once “her father had something to do with the split, but he doesnt blame him because jessica is a grown woman it was her decision to either fight for their marriage or to let it fail”…jess didnt fight for her marriage and i’m sure deep down she has some regrets because she wanted to be married with kids by 30years old and that hasn’t happened for her she didn’t get her fantasy and maybe if she would have listened to herself instead of her father she could have had her white picket fence. now what does she have?? a failed marriage, failed relationships, failed pop and country music career, failed acting career, even her newest reality show “the price of beauty” is failing the ratings were low…it was a great concept, but leave it up to jessica to screw up the meaning of the show, i don’t think laughing and acting silly with her friends is respectful to some cultures and she did exactly that insult them by not taking herself and seriously and getting the message across..what a surprise another failure by jessica..i think people are over her and no one is interested in her anymore because she isn’t the beautifull petit cute naive innocent sweet blond anymore ..instead she’s a girl who has been around in hollywood, washed up, failure reality star with no talent and her being an idiot isn’t cute anymore, sure it was when she was young and innocent but now its just plain stupid..jessica simpson os overrated and it’d be nice to see her go away.
I used to watch that show sometimes. I thought they were cute together. It was sad that they broke up, because like others said, you could tell it was the fame.
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My family didn’t have cable back then so I never watched the show. Both homes are another California styled home, which I don’t care for much. I’m not a big fan of contemperory.
Julia, thanks for taking the time to post this for us. I wasn’t sure whether you would do a house post since you are in Florida. Have a nice day!
A very interesting read…I used to watch occasionally, and I always felt like Nick was too grown-up (and smart!) for JS. He really seemed like a nice guy.
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i’m sure it’s a really nice house… much nicer than my own, even… but it’s not really attractive at all! very empty space with no real character, in my opinion, which doesn’t really matter because i’m not rich or famous! : )
i watched the show once- i didn’t get it. what were we watching them do? be rich & famous?
wow- i sound bitter & mean. maybe i need a nap…
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I loved it too! And you’re right there were no cameras in the bedroom (although I do remember the atrociously messy closet one).
I always liked how he wore the Cincinnati hat. My husband is from Cincy so we always felt “connected”. Ha! As connected as you can to someone you’ve never met on tv that is.
Their house was a bit to modern for me and I always thought her laundry room was really undersized. Wow am I recalling to many details now where I sound like a weird stalker, remember that one time … just kidding! Thanks for the blast from the past!
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I too watched this show every week. Jessica was so funny with her blonde moments. I think she truly belived that chicken of the sea was chicken and not tuna. There was one episode where it showed their room from the door and it was a complete mess.
I miss Nick and Jessica together. That was one of my favorite shows, and I’m still heartbroken it’s over!
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Things have been so busy lately that I haven’t had time for blog reading. Hopefully, I can do a bit of catching up this week. I remember watching this show. Such a hoot. Too bad it didn’t last for them. Better things must be ahead.
Hope you are enjoying your trip.
Pam
.-= Pamela Rosenberg´s last blog ..Inspired TEXAS Style – Part I =-.
Hi, Julia. Yes, I was a fan of the Newlyweds! I did watch it occasionally, and enjoyed it. Jessica was funny; and it seemed cute, at the time, how Nick put up with her. And that is so funny that they used to pronounce their name, Lay-chee! So I guess the parents (your parents’ friends) still pronounce it that way, no? I wonder if they thought it odd that their sons changed the pronunciation…
Hope you are having a good trip.
Best regards,
Gloria
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You know hottie Nick? Coool!
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Did Nick ever remarry? I think she’s cute. Not sure the marriage should have ended?
It looks like it is in escrow and Justin Berfield, Reese from “Malcolm in the Middle”, is the one taking the bath. Paid 3.6 got 2.0. Although a dramatic price drop is sometimes used to get a bidding war going, so we won’t know till the records are published about 60 days after close they trickle down to the databases.
I love that show…because the two of them were so in love. I think he was far to centered for her, and his miswest values didn’t go with her new found fame and money. So sad.
As for the house…not my style, but I think it just needs some personalization. It needs to look like something more then just a place to sleep. It needs a family and lots of love in every room.
.-= Pat´s last blog ..Thanks- But No Thanks =-.
I liked their reality show. They had good chemistry, although Jessica never seemed to appreciate Nick. I remember when he remodeled her closet as a surprise. I would have been thrilled! She seemed luke warm about the whole thing. I do miss the honesty of that show, though. Back when “reality” was actually sort of real….
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I never watched the show because I don’t like seeing girls/women being stupid for the sake of being cute or entertaining. But it was fun see their homes. Thanks!
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I loved that show! I was so sad when they got divorced, they were a cute couple. I guess that is Hollywood.
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I was a TOTAL fan of this show at the time, but was not surprised when they split either. They were married so, so young!
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Wow, that house looks so much nicer than I remember it looking on their show! I still can’t believe that reality series took place so long ago by now…
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The funniest thing about this post is that they changed the pronounciation of their name! 🙂 I remember every part of this house–didn’t miss an episode.
Since you have the inside scoop, is he marrying Vanessa or what???
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I loved this show! Nick was so endearing…always trying to do lawn and house projects on his own rather than hiring someone. He always seemed more down to earth.
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Wow – um, you’ve gotten just as much info on the couple in these comments as the house itself! I loved the show (I grew up 15 from Calabasas) so it was fun to see. The house was great but it would’ve been nice to seen decorated right. It always looked so much like a shell. Maybe indicative of the marriage inside it?
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I love your Movie Mondays. Would you consider doing the movie, ‘Knocked Up’, in the future? Her sisters house and the pool house she lived in were so fun to look at!
You just earned extra coolness points. 🙂
Not that you needed them…
Well, everyone here, has their own thoughts…and I really don’t judge anyone elses life….however we all have our own thoughts concerning other peoples lives. If we would take a moment and think about how we would feel about what others have to say….about us I am sure we would want to defend ourself. One does not know what really happened between them. What I can say is from just observation…The Love seemed real…..whatever happened really must have been not to good….true or lie, to cause the break up. Everyone is talking about how cute Nick is and how dissy Jessica was, unfair….Reality TV…WOW! No matter what they loved each other, and even though it’s in the past…sometimes our past haunt us….because we have not let go in our heart…..which causes us to run to other loves to get what we have missed in our lives before..we could cleanse ourselves. I pray that they both are happy…and that they both find peace….and that they can be adults and truly be able to be in the same room without a elephant being in the room. I appauld how they can speak kindly of each other even though they have gone through some hurtful times. I just wished someone in their lives would have really supported them to workout their marriage and put God in the center…by now they would have some children…and they would out sing Nick and Jessica….(smile.) not lietral..anyway send them good thoughts and a happy future however it turns….
I adored Newlyweds! I used to dream away, thinking about how my life would be with so much money and an adoring husband 😉 like that. I still like to see the pictures. I don’t even like the house that much (a little too big and sterile for me) but I loved the fact that I was able to take a glimpse of a life that different from my own. Lovely! I don’t remember ever seeing that bedroom by the way.
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I totally LOVED this reality show! Their house is just gorgeous. Yes they did not film in their room at all. Which was cute. I was super sad when they said they were splitting up. I really enjoyed their reality show. This was a great post 🙂
I was such a huge fan. I loved how Nick was practical and liked to fix things himself even though they had money. He was grounded and he helped Jessica grow up. I really wish they’d stayed together, but I think they’re both probably better off. I loved that house and I used to cringe and how sparsely decorated it was. I could do so many things with a house like that!
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