Vanessa Lachey has enjoyed a successful career in the spotlight having worked as a model, actress and TV presenter, and is now returning to our screens as host on Love Is Blind.
Vanessa Lachey is back on our screens, hosting the iconic Netflix dating show Love Is Blind.
As season eight kicks off with the first six episodes now available on Netflix, fans are keen to learn more about the host, actress and model.
The new series introduces 32 single hopefuls looking for love, with plenty of engagements already taking place.
While these contestants are on a quest to find their perfect match, Vanessa has already found her own fairytale ending with husband and co-host Nick Lachey.
Abandonment
Born in the Philippines, Vanessa’s early life was marked by frequent relocations across the US due to her American father Vincent Minnillo’s service in the US Air Force.
Her mother, Helen Bondoc, originally from the Philippines, was also part of her life until her parents separated when she was just three-years-old.
Vanessa and her older brother spent some time living in Turkey with their mother and her new husband, who was also in the military. However, they were evacuated back to the US at the onset of the Gulf War in 1990.
According to People magazine, Helen left her children at their father’s home in Los Angeles, promising to return but only doing so sporadically before disappearing completely.
Vanessa revealed that she only saw her mother twice over the next decade.
“I didn’t really understand when she didn’t come for one weekend, and then another weekend,” she said.
“Then you just hope she’s going to come back and always wonder why she didn’t. It took me [time] to understand that it wasn’t [my fault].”
Early career
Vanessa’s early career saw her diversify her talents as she ventured into modelling, acting, and television presenting, gaining recognition as a host on MTV’s hit show Total Request.
Her acting portfolio expanded with roles in notable series and films such as The Bold And The Beautiful, CSI: NY, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and That’s Life.
Sitcom fans might also recall Vanessa’s cameo in How I Met Your Mother in 2008, where she played Ashlee—a woman who becomes part of Ted Mosby’s (played by Josh Radnor) experiment to see if bad behaviour brings him good luck.
In a bold move, Ted propositions Ashlee for a one-night stand, which she accepts, only to reveal later that she was married.
Health
Vanessa has been candid about her lifelong health battle with hives—a condition that causes an itchy rash often linked to allergies. However, for her, the outbreaks occur without any apparent trigger.
She opened up to Healthline about her experiences, recounting: “I was eight-years-old, almost nine. I woke my dad up, and we didn’t know what was going on.
“He put me in an ice bath. I think back in the day, they thought, ‘Oh, this will help relieve her skin.’ But let me tell you, I was screaming.”
Despite the years, the unpredictability of her condition remains a challenge: “The thing is, I don’t know when they’re gonna come.
“I’ve been allergy tested, and I have an intolerance to things that I try to avoid, but it can be anything from stress, to elements in the weather, to fabrics, to something in the air; anything.
“It can be a hive on my face, like a welt that lasts a few hours or a few days.
“Or it can be a rash on my body that lasts a week or two. I’ve had some before on my arms, and I’ll see traces of it for over a week.”
NCIS Hawaii
For Vanessa, 2021 was a pivotal year as she embarked on a new journey, taking on the mantle of Agent Jane Tennant in the ‘NCIS’ spin-off ‘NCIS Hawaii’.
Her role made history as she became the franchise’s first female lead agent, following the likes of Mark Harmon’s Agent Gibbs (NCIS), Chris O’Donnell’s Callen (NCIS LA), and Scott Bakula’s Dwayne Pride (NCIS NOLA).
Regrettably, despite a promising start, the extension of the NCIS universe was curtailed after only three seasons, owing to filming schedules and budget constraints.
Upon receiving the news of the show’s premature conclusion, Vanessa shared her heartache with her followers on Instagram with palpable emotion: “Gutted, confused, blindsided.
Grateful, confident, beloved fans!
“Processing this news and still being present with my family. I Love You all”, followed by a heartfelt “Mahalo Nui Loa,” which is Hawaiian for “Thank you very much.”
Husband
The star met her now-husband, Nick Lachey, while she presented Total Request Live and he appeared as a guest with his boy band 98 Degrees.
Their relationship took flight in 2006, leading to their marriage in 2011 and now share three children: Camden, Brooklyn, and Phoenix.
Vanessa candidly opened up about the challenges she and Nick faced before tying the knot, as revealed on Netflix’s The Ultimatum, which they co-host.
She admitted that despite her initial stance, she eventually felt compelled to confront Nick about their future together.
She recounted: “I always said I was going to be that girl that would never give a man an ultimatum. We dated for five years.
“So I finally said, ‘What are we doing?’. I have now moved in with him, I renovated his entire bachelor pad, there was a bar in the pool. I’m like, ‘Whatever you want!’ Now I’m like, ‘Okay, well, I want to put kids in the pool.'”
During The Ultimatum’s reunion episode, Vanessa also disclosed that at one point, trust issues surfaced when they found themselves checking each other’s phones.
Reflecting on this period, she shared: “Honestly, I remember we went to a therapist and she was like, ‘If y’all are going through each other’s phones, then you shouldn’t be together.’
“I’m like, ‘You’re right. I need to trust this man and he needs to trust me.'”