Photo Credit: Michael Simon
Actress, model, and television host Vanessa Lachey is one of the busiest ladies in Hollywood. Besides being the first female lead in NCIS history, she is also the host of Netflix’s hit show Love is Blind alongside her husband Nick. Now Emmy-nominated, the show features the Lachey couple helping coach single men and women as they find the love of their lives and get married… all before meeting in person.
Besides her TV work, Vanessa also focuses on her philanthropic work, most recently with Miracle Treat Day at Dairy Queen. Today (July 28) DQ® fans can make their stop at their local DQ restaurant more meaningful for the community with every purchase of a Blizzard® Treat resulting in $1 or more being donated to the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals® to benefit local children’s hospitals.
Recently, Vanessa connected with Haute Living to talk about what it’s like to host with her husband, being the first female lead in NCIS history, and her advice for new couples.
You’re one of the first female leads in NCIS history! How has that been for you?
I feel incredibly honored. I am THE first female lead in the franchise, which is still so interesting that A: It’s taken this long and B: That it was me! I’m very grateful. I find a lot of truth in Jane [Tennant, her character on the show] and what I can bring to her; I would say she’s a badass with a warm heart. This role is me stepping out of my comfort zone. I’ve always done comedy, I’ve done hosting, and I’ve acted, but this is like no role I’ve ever had before. But on the flip side, this is also who I am. I grew up in the military, I’m a mother, and I’ve had some very strong female influences in my life that have continued to let me know I can do it.
What’s new with Love Is Blind?
We just wrapped season five! I’m really grateful for how Netflix has been able to allow me to shoot NCIS: Hawai’i and to stay true to what Nick and I have created with Love is Blind and The Ultimatum. There are only so many days in a year, but we really try. We definitely want to keep the content coming for you guys and we’ve been very grateful for the support and love of the shows. Plus, I love working with Nick, I get to work with my best friend. Our date nights have changed a little now though, instead of dinner and a movie, it’s two seats on an airplane and room service.
You host with Nick a lot! How is it working so closely with your significant other every day?
It’s awesome! We said it’s either going to be the best thing or the worst thing that’s ever happened to us. We co-hosted Miss USA and then Miss Universe and after doing that we realized “Oh… we could definitely do this together!” I actually realized that I like doing it with him because we just have each other‘s backs. If I miss something on the prompter he picks it up and we just riff off of each other. It just works.
As a married couple, you and Nick often help coach others during the shows. What advice would you give to couples who would like to move forward?
I never want to teach anybody how to fall in love but I will give them the way that we did it, as in: here’s what works for us and here’s what didn’t work for us. And you take that with a grain of salt. We’ve been together for 16 years and in this industry, that’s like 1000 years, but I think through all of it the one thing that I do try to encourage is that communication is 1000% the key. No one’s a mind reader! Communication is the foundation of any lasting relationship whether it’s your spouse, your children, your girlfriends, or your coworkers.
With that being said I think I would take a step further and say not just communicating on the bad, but also the good. Such as saying ‘I really like this about you’ or ‘thank you for doing the dishes today,’ or ‘you look cute.’ It goes both ways! Not everyone wants to hear and talk about only the bad, it’s nice to hear about the good too.
So basically, focusing on communication and encouragement is what I’m hearing?
Yes, 1000%!
