Nick Lachey revealed he broke down in tears when his reality series Newlyweds with then-wife Jessica Simpson ended, but his emotions had little to do with the state of their marriage.
The MTV hit aired from 2003 to 2005 and chronicled the couple's early married life following their October 2002 wedding.
Though the pair faced extreme public scrutiny during the show's run, they didn't officially split until June 2006 -- more than a year after filming ended.
While Newlyweds turned their relationship into a pop culture phenomenon, Nick said it wasn't the spotlight that made him emotional -- it was the intense connection he formed with the production crew.
'I actually came to really love the crew,' he shared on the Richer Lives podcast Thursday. 'I remember crying the day we shut down because you develop relationships with them. They really became family.'
Nick also admitted the show's massive success was completely unanticipated.
'Newlyweds obviously became a huge reality show,' he reflected. 'The only one that had come out before that was The Osbournes, which was also a massive show. But that show was created as a vehicle to promote music.'
Explaining their initial motivation for signing on, he added, 'You know, my ex-wife had an album coming out, [I] had an album coming out -- I'll do a little six-episode thing to promote the album.'
'We had no idea it was going to take on this other life of being this reality fly-on-the-wall type of show. So that was totally unexpected,' the Ohio native shared.
After their split, Simpson went on to marry former NFL star Eric Johnson, with whom she shares three children: daughters Maxwell, 13, and Birdie, 6, and son Ace, 11.
Meanwhile, Nick has built a new chapter with longtime wife Vanessa Lachey.
The couple, who wed in 2011, now co-host Netflix hits Love Is Blind and The Ultimatum together.
Speaking on Richer Lives, Nick opened up about the complexities of mixing work and marriage: 'I think the best thing you can do is not bring your work home with you, which is tricky when you work with your spouse,' he said.
'I think we do a really good job of doing that, for the most part, but it’s not easy working with your spouse sometimes.'
The couple share sons Camden, 12, and Phoenix, 8, and daughter Brooklyn, 10.