Lachey: '2007 was a rebuilding year'

Nick Lachey has described 2007 as a year of "rebuilding" himself after the bad times he went through the year before.

The American singer and reality TV star split up with his wife Jessica Simpson at the end of 2005 and their divorce was finalised at the end of 2006.

Now Lachey, who is dating US TV presenter Vanessa Minnilo, insists that he has got his life back on track this year. He told Extra: "I don't think you can get much worse than the year before. 2007 has been a rebuilding year for me … music, studio, learning things about who I am as a man."

But the star claimed that the hard times have been good for him to learn from and to write about in his music, saying: "Any time you learn and grow it's an exciting time.

"As an artist it's our responsibility to draw on whatever we are going through. There have been some great albums that come out of heartbreaking times … my last album."

Lachey revealed that he has been working on his new album and is "excited" about releasing it next year.