Nick quietly closes the book on his marriage

Nick Lachey is ready to move on from his failed marriage to Jessica Simpson, even if it means taking less money than he's earned.

The former 98 Degrees boy band member has agreed to walk away with significantly less than the 50 percent of what he's entitled from the approximately $36 million that the couple earned while they were married, reports TMZ.com.

Since Simpson had refused to sign a prenup, the MTV "Newlyweds" couple should -- under California law -- divide their property equally, meaning each should get $18 million. At the beginning of their split, Simpson offered her man a piddly $1.5 million, which he refused. Now, reports say that while Nick has asked for more than that amount, he's still taking a massive cut from his entitled $18 mil in order to avoid an ugly court battle.

Lachey, in the meantime, has been doing well since the split. Most recently, he took home two Teen Choice awards -- choice love song, "What's Left of Me," and choice male red carpet fashion icon -- and is dating MTV VJ Vanessa Minnillo.

Simpson, on the other hand, told the ladies on "The View" that she was not dating singer John Mayer. She also recently admitted to lip enhancements, lost her voice to laryngitis and dropped her fifth album, "A Public Affair." She next appears on the big screen opposite Dane Cook and Dax Shepard in "Employee of the Month," to be released in October.