Nick and Vanessa Lachey Are Done Having Kids

Just when you thought potato chips couldn’t get any better, these chips come with the chance to meet Nick Lachey and add $1 million to your bank account. On Monday night at Carolines on Broadway in New York City, the 98 Degrees alum and his brother, Drew Lachey, kicked off the Lay’s #DoUsAFlavor campaign, in which they search again for a new chip flavor. Nick, who has a solid track record partnering with the behemoth snack brand in the past, was equally excited about his “pitch off” against Drew this time around. “I enjoy getting to know people. Obviously, the flavors are cool, but the coolest part to me is the story behind the flavor that made someone want to pitch it — whether it’s a memory or a moment, there’s usually a really neat and meaningful genesis for the idea.” A chip flavor could “absolutely” hold strong emotional connections for folks, he told Yahoo Celebrity, before going on to share a bit about the family plans that he and his wife have.

He and Drew later took the stage to kick off the pitching process. How much did he prepare for that? Answer: not much. “Too planned gets stale,” he said of being onstage, though he quickly added, “Too much winging it can be reckless. I’m more of a middle-of-the-road kind of guy.” His desire to keep things loose onstage has caused some missteps in the past, however.

“It’s mostly comments that I make onstage that I regret, like, ‘Hey guys, there’s a lot of empty seats down here in front! Come on down!’ Later I’m like, ‘Why did I do that? Why did I draw attention to all those empty seats?'” he laughed. We hear you.

When he’s not performing or helping Lay’s discover the next million-dollar flavor, Lachey is busy helping his wife, Vanessa Lachey, manage their small army of children at home. “We just had No. 3, so I believe that that’s the end of that chapter for us. I can’t handle four,” he said with a sigh. ICYMI, Nick and Vanessa welcomed a son, Phoenix Robert, on Christmas Eve. Phoenix joined two older siblings, two-year-old sister Brooklyn and four-and-a-half-year-old brother Camden.

And while Lachey admitted he gained some “sympathy weight” during his wife’s last pregnancy, he gets in regular visits to the gym even now. As an added bonus, he reported that he gets some of his best work done when he’s on the treadmill because it gives him an hour to “clear his head” (i.e. escape the crazy at home). He’s still struggling with what he eats, however, since people have been trying to help the sleep-deprived parents by bringing over food. “For whatever reason, they bring cupcakes, cookies, and pasta,” he said. “It’s not like, ‘Congrats on your newborn! Here’s a salad.'”

Nick’s struggle with carbs aside, everyone seems to be adjusting to the new addition well. “When my daughter was born, for Camden, who didn’t totally understand what a sibling was, that was a little crazy for him,” Lachey recalled. “There was definitely a period of adjustment, but I also think it helped him be ready to welcome another brother into the world. And the same for her — I think she’s already used to having a sibling, so it’s not as intimidating as it was the first time around.” That doesn’t mean he’s not anxious about the future, though.

“Everyone tells you that you switch from man-to-man to zone defense and everything changes. You know, when you’re one-on-one, you’re OK, but then when you’re outmatched it gets sticky,” he said. “We just turned in the Range Rover because it didn’t have a third row.” He recognized this would be the first of many life changes ahead. “But I would definitely rock a minivan,” he added with a smile.

He and Camden seem to share a passion for clunky vans, considering his son’s obsession with a 1988 brown Ford Econoline that’s parked on the route they drive to take the four-year-old to school. “He gets so pumped about seeing this van,” Lachey mused. “I think it’s always there because it just doesn’t run anymore, but for whatever reason, he found this great attachment to this van, and he asked Santa for one for Christmas.” The result was that Nick had to run around Los Angeles until he found a toy-sized brown van, which, he said was no small feat. “There are a lot more toy Ferraris out there!” he laughed.

Lachey drives his older son to school almost every day and called it the “most fun” time they have together. “We have conversations during that drive, and after he gets out I think, ‘I was just talking to my son,'” he explained. “They are the kind of conversations that two months ago I didn’t think could even happen, so it’s really cool.”

Over the years, Nick and Vanessa have relaxed (a bit) in their parenting style — though not exactly by choice. “With the first you’re like this helicopter parent and you’re always hovering and checking everything, but then by the third, you’re not as much, mainly just because your body can’t be that exhausted all the time.” With some of that extra energy they save, they go on date nights.

“We literally force them to happen,” he said. “I’ve always said that’s important. It’s important that you do that because otherwise you lose yourself completely in your kids and you forget what got you there to begin with. One night a week we carve out a night and make sure we do something just us.” Vanessa seems to share his sentiments, as she occasionally uses social media to showcase the romantic side of their relationship.

In other words, these two seem to have a handle on things — and they plan to keep it that way. Asked if he was absolutely sure they wouldn’t have any more kids, Nick said, “Three was always our loose target number, but I’ll be ‘sure’ sure in about a month when I go see the doctor.” Guess there are some things he isn’t comfortable winging.