Vanessa Lachey Opens up About Her Mother Leaving When She Was 9

Actress Vanessa Lachey intends to hand over her "Love" bracelet to daughter Brooklyn Elisabeth Lachey when she eventually turns eighteen.

The piece of jewelry was given to Lachey by her husband, Nick Lachey, in 2015, sometime before their daughter was born.

She gave out the piece of information during her chat with People earlier this year.

"It's a beautiful bracelet, but it's the symbolism for me," Lachey told People on the set of her cover shoot.

She further said how her husband suggested her his plans to "screw this on our daughter's wrist when she's 18."

Lachey and Nick want to pass on the ornament to their daughter, Brooklyn, who "will always have a piece of us in her world."

Their decision isn't something fabricated out of the blue. In the interview, Lachey called Nick "the one" for her and opened up about her haunting past.

When she was nine years old, her mother, Helen Bondoc, left Lachey — an awful memory that has long pained the actress.

In her new book Life from Scratch, out on November 30, 2021, Lachey shared her experience of being deserted by her mother.

In her book introduction, Lachey credited her husband, Nick, as being "a very strong reason," for "how" she is and "who" she is at present. 

In praise of her husband Nick, the actress continued,

What I needed was to believe in myself, and it took me marrying the best guy to say, 'You are all that and more.

Apart from her daughter Brooklyn, Lachey is a mother to her two sons named Camden and Phoenix, the latter being the youngest out of the three.

In the same writing, the actress turned writer cited her family as the reason which "ultimately made me a better mom, a better wife, and hopefully a better person," and promised to "never take my family for granted."

The Departure of Vanessa Lachey's Mother

Lachey was born in the Philippines but made frequent travels to and back from the United States during her dad, Vincent Minnillo's, service with the United States Air Force.

Minnillo and Bondoc separated when Lachey was three years old. However, the actress and her brother briefly lived in Turkey with their biological mother and step-father, serving in the military.

The break-out of the Gulf War in 1990 meant Lachey's mother and her step-father evacuated back to the U.S for safety reasons.

Bondoc visited her ex-husband's home in Los Angeles and dropped off Lachey and her brother, telling them that their stepmom would be back for them. But unfortunately, Lachey's mother didn't keep her word.

The actress's mom made frequent visits to see her children over the course of several weeks, but ultimately disappeared.

I didn't really understand when she didn't come for one weekend, and then another weekend. Then you just hope she's going to come back and always wonder why she didn't. It took me [time] to understand that it wasn't [my fault].

Vanessa Lachey's Wedding With Nick Lachey

In 2006, the actress began dating her current husband. And, per Lachey, it was during their initial meetings Nick made her feel "accepted."

On July 15, 2011, Lachey married Nick and later became pregnant for the first time.

Shortly after her wedding followed a moment of contrast for the actress who questioned her self-belief and lived with feelings of insecurities for a notable time period. 

"What I realized is you don't have to fall into those [same] patterns, and I didn't," recalled Lachey, who was struck with a revelation in the light of her past painful memories.