Although she’s happy to be back together with longtime love, Nick Lachey, Vanessa Minnillo had other relationships on the brain in at the DSW Presents: Step Up & Step Out event to benefit female empowerment.

During the event, the former TRL hostess talked about the importance of having women role models in her life, reports In Touch Weekly.

“I didn’t have my real mother growing up. My dad was always there, but there is something about a woman’s touch,” Vanessa, who was raised by her father from a young age explained. “So I’ve literally drawn from so many women in my life, and I was fortunate enough to be able to have that.”

And although she’s grown up to be a happy and succesful adult, Vanessa confessed that she still feels the need for guidance and support from other women.

“I’m still like a little girl who cries at night and has a fork in the road and says — does she go left? Does she go right? I need someone’s guidance and yet, I have also helped guide others,” she added.

And while she spoke quite passionately about women’s issues, she turned surprisingly bashful when asked about her recent reunion with Nick. “Thank you” she simply laughed when congratulated on her on-again relationship.

Despite her lack of a mother-daughter relationship, it seems to us that Vanessa has it all pretty much figured out. Great man, good career, what more can a girl ask for?!

Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo are back on!

The lovebirds were spotted at McFadden’s Restaurant and Saloon in NYC on Wednesday night.

“They seemed very laid back and were very friendly to the staff and fellow patrons,” an eyewitness told Life & Style. The two called it an early night and headed home together at 9 p.m.

Nick and Vanessa split up in June, but they have been spotted canoodling in NYC and LA in the past few weeks.

We hope they get back together! They are a cute couple and have been together way too long to give up without a fight!

It looks as though Newlyweds fans won’t be seeing their wish come true! Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey will never reunite romantically!

At Saturday’s Los Angeles Lakers 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament, brother Drew Lachey confirmed to Usmagazine.com that their won’t be any fairy-tale ending for the former couple!

“On the record or off the record? No on both.”

Damn! We always imagined these two would end up together in the end. Once Jess broke away from her crazy dad, ya know?

Most fans were pushing for a reconciliation after Nick and Jessica called it quits with their most recent flames Vanessa Minnillo and Tony Romo earlier this summer.

“I think everybody who was a fan of The Newlyweds wants the same thing,” Drew told Us on the fact that people want to see Nick and Jess back together.

The former Newlyweds stars officially split in 2006 and haven’t spoken to each other in years. Although they may not seem like the best of friends, Simpson recently told Vanity Fair that their MTV reality show helped her realize the importance of good relationships.

“It made me understand what marriage is, what love is, what commitment is,” she said. “In all honesty, I believe it did not affect our marriage. Because we enjoyed watching those episodes, and that will always be a time I cherish.”

These two just need a drunken hook-up and then they’d be good to go!

Nick Lachey broke the hearts of girls around the world after announcing that regardless of their paralleled single lives, there is no chance for a reconciliation between him and ex-wife Jessica Simpson.

”I think it’s fun storytelling, but there’s very little truth to any of it,” he told People on Saturday. “I certainly have heard about her breakup and I wish her the best, as I’ve always done. Aside from that, there is really is nothing to say.”

Has he called to console her though? ”I haven’t talked to her in probably two years,” he continued. ”I wish her happiness. That’s where it pretty much ends.”

On the other end, Lachey recently broke up with long-time girlfriend Vanessa Minnillo, and doesn’t seem too heartbroken. I’m in a good place. I’ve learned, through years of not only being in the business, but being in relationships, that you have to take it as it goes. With every experience, you learn something about your life, and you try to take that and move on and be a better person because of it. We’ll see what happens.”

Good advice Nick. Maybe that’s what you should be telling Jess instead of simply wishing her well…

Nick Lachey is a single man yet again!

Lachey and girlfriend Vanessa Minnillo have called it quits, a rep for both confirmed to Usmagazine.com.

“They have amicably split but remain good friends who still greatly care for one another,” Minnillo’s rep told Us.

The former 98 degrees frontman hooked up with Minnillo in 2006, only one year after his highly publicized split from wife Jessica Simpson.

It’s clear that the couple were in love and had dreams to marry each other. In 2007, Minnillo told Us that she wished to have kids with Lachey someday.

“I always say I want three boys and and a girl, but at the end of the day, I just want healthy kids.”

Maybe deeply in love, but it’s no secret that these two have had a rocky relationship. Just earlier this month Minnillo addressed the millions of rumors concerning her so-called relationship problems.

“This romance is still going strong. There will always be rumblings and rumors that we’ve broken up, but in fact, it’s very much still on — and it keeps on getting better,” she told Las Vegas Weekly.

Funny that they were still going strong three weeks ago and now they’ve officially broken up!

Gotta love Hollywood couples. Together one day, separated the next!

Despite recent rumors regarding Vanessa Minnillo and Nick Lachey heading towards splitsville, the couple are still going strong!

Minnillo who flew solo at the Spring Bling party in Las Vegas over the weekend, spoke about her boyfriend’s absence to Las Vegas Weekly’s Robin Leach.

“He would have been here with me, but he had to attend a best friend’s 40th birthday party,” she said.

Minnillo also made a point to address the millions of rumors concerning her so-called rocky relationship with Lachey.

“This romance is still going strong. There will always be rumblings and rumors that we’ve broken up, but in fact, it’s very much still on — and it keeps on getting better,” she explained. “Maybe this will be the one time I wind up the bride instead of the bridesmaid!

The former MTV VJ flashed her five-carat diamond ring, worn on the middle finger of her left hand, to the media and hinted about what’s in store for the couple’s future.

“It will be 10 carats when it moves to the fourth finger!”

So, Nick…when are you gonna pop the question?

Even though Jessica Simpson has not have spoken to ex-hubby Nick Lachey in years she has no regrets!

Simpson has not spoken to Lachey in several years, according to Usmagazine.com.

However, she tells Vanity Fair she holds no regrets and that their show Newlyweds “helped her realize the importance of good relationships.”

She also said it made her understand what marriage and love are, but that it did not affect her marriage.

Newlyweds did something else for her. It revealed taught THE TRUTH about buffalo wings and tuna fish! Praise the Lord for dat!

A new report suggests that Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo are on the rocks and the reason is due to Lachey’s unstable career.

A source told the New York Daily News that the former lovebirds “are on the rocks big time. They argue all the time, and Nick is done with her. He feels like she’s holding him back, careerwise.”

Friends of the former boy bander say that in order to launch a comeback, Lachey needs to dump Minnillo.

Another report claimed that the end was near after Minnillo stormed out of an L.A. restaurant with an angry face — with an embarrassed Lachey chasing after her with a doggy bag in hand.

“After the pictures came out, Nick told friends they weren’t fighting about their relationship, that it was just Vanessa going through a tough time personally,” a source said.

But, another source said, “We’re just not sure if we believe that anymore. The relationship has been over for a while, but he’s too nice a guy to end things completely.”

When we interviewed Lachey at the Super Bowl, he made it clear to us that an engagement with Minnillo was nowhere in the near future. So we saw this one coming!

The Boots Girls caught up with Nick Lachey at a tailgate party Super Bowl Sunday in Tampa and the star filled us in on all things Nick including his new TV show, his girlfriend Vanessa Minnillo and his ex-wife Jessica Simpson’s weight battle.

At the Club 009 tailgate Super Bowl party co-hosted by PrimeSport and DeBartolo Sports and Entertainment at an airport hangar in Tampa, Lachey told us that the media’s recent criticism over Simpson’s weight gain is “ridiculous”.

“I think it is ridiculous people are asking about it and talking about it,” Lachey told me. “I don’t talk to her, but I wish her the best.”

Lachey also told us that he and Minnillo are still going strong, but when we asked if he was going to up the ante and propose to her he gave us an awkward look and said “eh”.

That means either it’s not going to happen anytime soon or that he would never reveal those deets to a reporter!

Lachey has a new CD coming out in May called Up for Air, which includes the single Patience. Unfortunately, the song is not a remake of the Guns N’ Roses hit. Lachey told us “It’s a remake of the Take That [song].” He’s also producing a new reality-TV show for MTV. The reality show follows the lives of six high school students from Lachey’s hometown of Cincinnati — a place I told Lachey I’ve traveled to many times because of him! Ha!

“The show is a reality show version of Fame,” Lachey said. “We follow the lives of six kids going through high school at the School for Creative and Performing Arts.”

Nick’s brother Drew Lachey, football legend Jerry Rice, Jesse Palmer Dave Annable and Matthew Rhys from Brothers and Sisters also attended the pregame bash.

The Boots Girls had a good laugh with Palmer about a psycho ex of his we did an interview with years ago, and we gave Annable a hard time after hearing that he was spotted making out with about five girls Saturday night at the Hard Rock Tampa.

Good times!

When Jessica Simpson got dressed for the 99.9 Kiss Country’s annual Chili Cookoff in Pembroke Pines, Fla., we doubt she had any idea the backlash her curvy figure would get.

After these pics were taken of Simpson and the media has had a hayday with them, fellow celebs as well as ex-husband, Nick Lachey, are coming to her defense.

“I wish her nothing but the best, and I hope she’s happy - whatever size that comes in,” he tells Extra. “I can’t believe it’s this big of a story and people are making such a huge deal about it. I’m never ceased to be amazed by people’s reactions to things.”

Other stars who chatted with Us magazine echo Lachey’s opinion.

“I think this is absolutely ridiculous. People are being so mean,” Paula Abdul told usmagazine.com. “People don’t realize that it’s damaging to one’s psyche. For women, it’s hard enough to be accepted for how you are.”

Rose McGowan added that she wants Simpson to say “eff off” to critics.

“It’s sad because you see a lot of male actors who gain a lot of weight in between roles,” she said. “The reality is, if I went and gained 30 pounds in between roles, I wouldn’t get roles. I think that’s sexism, and it drives me crazy!”

We think it’s really cool that Hollywood is rallying behind Jess! Now if she could just find herself a new stylist she’d be all set.