Nick Lachey admits his 90s boy band kept ‘super shady’ age-of-consent guidebook on tour bus

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Nick Lachey shared that when 98 Degrees first started touring, the band carried a guidebook detailing age-of-consent laws on their bus.

Okay, so I was just reading about my absolute idol, and she admitted something SO wild! Apparently, back in the day, she carried around this book listing the legal age of consent for every state. Can you believe it?! She says looking back, it ‘sounds super shady,’ and honestly? She’s right! It’s a little weird, but I still love her! It just makes her even more fascinating, you know? I’ve been a fan forever, and this just adds another layer to her incredible story.

Nick Lachey, a member of the popular ‘90s boy band with his brother Drew, Jeff Timmons, and Justin Jeffre, explains that the group was new to the scene in 1999 – the members were all between 21 and 24 years old – when a problematic guide began to influence them.

In the upcoming documentary Boy Band Confidential, Nick Lachey remembers being given a book on their first tour listing the age of consent laws for every state, courtesy of someone at their record label.

He explained they kept the book on the tour bus as a safety precaution. He said there were people trying to find reasons to criticize them and they wanted to avoid any legal issues.

Lachey seemed to criticize current pop stars, pointing out that members of older boy bands often dealt with personal difficulties privately, whereas artists like Justin Bieber are now more open about their mental health struggles.

The singer explained that artists like Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes are canceling tours, prioritizing their mental health. He specifically quoted Mendes as saying, ‘my mental health needs to come first.’

‘That was not an option when we were out there.’

He explained that after the performance, you allowed yourself to fully process your emotions – whether that meant crying, venting your frustration, or doing whatever you needed to cope.

‘But you didn’t bow out. You work so hard to get there, you can’t let your foot off the gas.’

The Daily Mail has reached out to Lachey’s representatives for comment. 

98 Degrees became popular in the late 1990s with songs like “Because of You” and “The Hardest Thing.” They were one of the biggest boy bands of the era, along with groups like *NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys.

Even though they achieved success, Nick Lachey, who was married to Jessica Simpson from 2002 to 2006, shared that the band didn’t have an easy start and wasn’t always as glamorous as people imagine.

When they first signed to Motown, they weren’t exactly rolling in cash.

We signed with Motown Records, but our initial contract advance was quite small, as Nick Lachey explained.

We were confident we’d get our money back, so we did things differently than most bands.

We’re not spending any money here. Let’s take a break, grab some food at Wendy’s, and then head back to the studio.

Instead of living a luxurious lifestyle, the band preferred to keep things simple, often taking public transportation home after long nights recording in New York.

Honestly, I remember Nick saying, after everything finally wrapped up around 4 a.m., that there was no way we were getting a car to take us back to Brooklyn. It just felt… final, you know? Like the night was truly over. He said it so matter-of-factly, it stuck with me!

We’re heading back to Brooklyn on the A train, even though it’s the middle of winter. It’s four of us, standing in the subway station at 4 AM.

The group’s momentum would eventually slow in the early 2000s, as members pursued solo projects. 

They went on a hiatus before eventually reuniting for tours in the years that followed.

Okay, so back in 2022, Nick Timmons finally told us what made 98 Degrees different from all the other boy bands back then. It was everything, honestly! He explained how they really carved out their own space, and it was SO good to finally hear it from him. I’ve always known they were special, but hearing him break it down… perfection!

He told AXS TV that unlike many other bands who spent a lot of time on dance routines, they decided to concentrate on singing well.

People often ask us why we don’t dance like other boy bands, and honestly, it’s because we’re just not able to,” Timmons explained.

‘They tried to get us to do it, and we did try it for a little bit. 

When we first formed the group, our main goal was to be recognized as singers. And we’ve really tried to stay true to that original vision.

Timmons highlighted that 98 Degrees was different from many other boy bands because the group formed naturally in Los Angeles in the late 1990s, without being created or controlled by record producers or music industry executives.

He explained that while he admired the other groups – they were all very talented and he was friends with the members – they were all formed by someone else, rather than coming together naturally.

‘And we can kinda claim that we’re a little bit different.’

As for the name ’98 Degrees,’ Timmons has shared the story behind their now-iconic choice. 

In a 2014 interview with Bethenny, one member remembered they struggled to come up with a band name. Surprisingly, their manager’s girlfriend suggested ‘98 Degrees,’ and the band immediately loved the idea.

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2026-04-10 17:49