My Hero!

My Man! Nick Lachey is not going away without a fight. Not only did he pull the pedals off that flower... But now he's kick'n dirt on her...

On Friday, the ex-Newlyweds star responded to his estranged wife Jessica Simpson's divorce petition with some demands of his own.

According to his divorce filing, the erstwhile boy-bander agrees with Simpson that "irreconcilable differences" were behind the breakdown of their three-year marriage. However, he disagrees with his flaxen-tressed ex as to the date their split actually went into effect.

Though Simpson's filing lists the couple's date of separation as Nov. 23, 2005, Lachey contends that he officially went solo on Dec. 13, 2005.
The calendar discrepancy is important because the twosome had no prenuptial agreement, meaning that any income that either party earned before the split is considered community property and would be divided down the middle.

On Dec. 5, Simpson earned a reported $850,000 for performing at a private concert in Cincinnati. If Lachey's date is accurate, he would be entitled to a 50 percent chunk of the "With You" singer's paycheck from the event.

Though the couple announced their separation on Nov. 23, Simpson reportedly did not move out of their conjugal home until Dec. 13, three days before she filed for divorce.

The verdict on the date of the duo's official division will ultimately be up to a judge to decide.

Lachey also reserved the right to seek spousal support from his ex, who earned more than $30 million last year from record and concert ticket sales and her film debut in The Dukes of Hazzard. Simpson, seeking to protect her hard-won income, had previously asked the court not to award alimony.

Lachey also asked the court to confirm that "miscellaneous jewelry and other personal effects" would be considered separate property, and that the division of additional property assets was still to be determined.

Both halves of the couple have moved on to new abodes since selling off the marital pad forever immortalized by MTV to Malcolm in the Middle actor Justin Berfield. Simpson plunked down $3.3 million on a new home in Beverly Hills, while Lachey dropped a reported $5.5 million to acquire a residence previously owned by Heidi Klum and Seal.