Nick Lachey says that when 98 Degrees first started touring, they kept a book on their tour bus listing the laws surrounding the age of consent, something he admits was “a very questionable move” in retrospect.
Lachey, along with his brother Drew Lachey, Jeff Timmons, and Justin Jeffrey, formed the ’90s pop group, and they were between 21 and 24 years old when they first toured in 1999.
“This is going to sound really shady, but I remember the first time we went on tour, somebody at the label gave us a book. It was a time of consent in every state in the country,” Lachey recalls in Boy Band Confidential, a new ID documentary produced by *NSYNC’s Joey Fatone.
“And I put the book on the tour bus.”
Lachey explained that the age of consent book was a safety net to keep them out of trouble, adding: “Unfortunately, there were people out there who were trying to tear you down.”
In the documentary, which premieres April 13 on Roku, Lachey reveals that while the band was surrounded by rabid fans, the economic realities became much less appealing after signing with Motown, forcing them to be more cautious about their spending.
“98 Degrees, we signed with Motown and got a nominal advance on the contract,” he says.
“We took the opposite approach[to other bands]because we knew all our costs were recoverable.
“‘Hey, we’re not paying anything. We’re going to take a break, go around the corner to Wendy’s, and then go back to the studio.'”
Instead of lavish perks, the group stuck to the basics, often using public transportation after long recording nights in New York.
“At 4 a.m., when the session ends, there will be no car service back to Brooklyn,” Lachey added.
“We’re taking the A train back to Brooklyn in the middle of winter. The four of us are standing in a subway station at 4 in the morning.”
Lachey also pointed to the intense pressures of the time, arguing that artists were expected to press on regardless of their mood, with little room for breaks.
“You’re going to see Justin Bieber cancel his tour,” he says.
“You’d see Shawn Mendes canceling his tour because ‘I have to put my mental health first.’ When we got out there, that wasn’t an option.
“I would go out and do a show and then come back after the show and just break down and kick a hole in the wall and do whatever I had to do.
“But you didn’t give in. You’ve worked so hard to get there, you can’t let up on the gas.”
In November 2024, Timmons said that fan behavior can sometimes cross the line, recalling how people sneak into spaces they shouldn’t be.
“Fans would sneak onto our tour bus and we didn’t even realize they were there until we went to the next city,” Timmons said in the documentary “Larger Than Life: Reign of a Boy Band.”
“I ordered room service and it was in the room service cart and it popped out.”
He added: “Sometimes things are just too crazy to talk about.”
Formed in the mid-1990s, 98 Degrees broke out with hits like “Because of You,” “The Hardest Thing,” and “I Do (Cherish You),” making them one of the biggest boy bands of the era, along with *NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys.
Their performance slowed in the early 2000s as the members pursued solo projects, effectively going on hiatus until they later reunited for a tour.
Lachey married pop singer Jessica Simpson in 2002, and the two divorced in 2006 after becoming reality TV stars on “Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica.”
He is currently married to Vanessa Lachey, whom they married in 2011 and together they co-host Love Is Blind.
Lachey and Simpson recently had an awkward confrontation on a flight to Hawaii, where they reportedly both were on the same plane and went out of their way to avoid each other.
