Paris Hilton And Nicole Richie: A Frenemy-Ship Breakdown

If you had a pink bedazzled Razr flip phone in the early 2000s, Paris and Nicky were definitely your friendship goals. Don’t get me wrong, shoveling shit on a farm as a joke was a much more comfortable experience watching from my couch than actually being on The Simple Life. Still, the gruesome twosome who demolished the patriarchy with blank stares and giggles were absolutely the epitome of BFF chic — that is until the besties famously spiraled into enemies, then strangers, and now according to the 2024 Simple Life reboot besties again (yay!!). As a child who loved to stay in grown folks’ business, I have vague memories of the v dramatic fallout between the two OG nepo babies. As a child my parents confiscated all of the tabloids I hid in the grocery cart right before check out, sooo I never knew the dirty details… until now. As a gift from me to you, here’s a look at Paris and Nicole’s friendship and feud.

How did Paris and Nicole meet?

Paris and Nicole have been close since they were kids. As Paris told British Vogue in a 2023 stroll down memory lane, she and Nicole had been “best friends” since about “two years old.” Nicole echoed the same sentiments in a 2007 interview with Harper’s Bazaar, where she told the mag she and Paris were inseparable “partners in crime” since birth, despite their parents’ best attempts to implement rules. Being born seven months apart in 1981 to a hotel and music dynasty respectively, it’s not hard to imagine why the Hiltons and the Richies matched their billionaire kids up for a posh playdate. Kathy Hilton (Paris’ mom) and Brenda Harvey-Richie also remain girlfriends to this day.

Were Paris and Nicole friends during The Simple Life?

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Paris chose Nicole to be her #2 on The Simple Life after her agents pitched the job to Paris and her sister, Nicky Hilton. When Nicky wasn’t interested in reality TV, Paris instantly thought of her sister from another mister, Nicky Richie. The iconic show premiered in December 2003 and ran from 2004 to 2007.

Why did Paris and Nicole stop being friends?

Even when The Simple Life was in its heyday (see what I did there), there were reported rumors of tension between Paris and Nicole, mainly stemming from the fact that Paris seemed to be the breakout star, while Nicole was relegated to the sidekick (not in my house, but that’s neither here nor there). Paris obvi attracted tons of attention during her second run as a club rat in the mid-2000s.

In 2005, Paris was tapped to host Saturday Night Live but this time Nicole wasn’t invited, like she was for their Teen Choice Awards gig. According to sources as reported in People, Paris allowing Nicole to be excluded caused major drama between the then 24-year-olds, to which Nicole allegedly had a v harsh reaction. Soon after, the duo was confirmed to be officially dunzo when Paris released a statement announcing, “It’s no big secret that Nicole and I are no longer friends. Nicole knows what she did, and that’s all I’m ever going to say about it.” The alleged betrayal, as reported People and TMZ, was showing Paris’ leaked 2003 sex tape at a party the night of SNL.

Sources on Nicole’s side claimed the girls had grown apart naturally because of Paris’ excessive partying. Who could forget the media reacting to the 2006 Holy Trinity paparazzi pic of Paris, Britney, and Lindsay Lohan as a sign of the second coming of Christ? As season 4 aired, Nicole herself said the whole sitch got blown out of proportion, and the drama “was no longer a part of her life.” When asked if she thought Paris’ new replacement bestie, Kimberly Stewart, should take her job, Nicole made it clear that “was never going to happen.”

When did Nicole and Paris make up?

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In 2007, the final fifth season of the original Simple Life aired, bringing Paris and Nicole back together. They cleared the air on camera and professed they were cool in interviews, now that they both had stopped believing every bit word of the tabloid hype. When Nicole announced her first child with Benji Madden, Paris congratulated her publicly. The following years saw Nicole building up her profile in the fashion world and being a married mom, while Paris kept up her party personality to a new level as a growing DJ. This was a major shift from their attached-at-the-hip energy.

But, as Ghandi, or maybe someone else very wise once said, time heals all wounds. In 2014, Nicole told Andy Cohen that Paris would always be her friend on an episode of WWHL. Nicole’s mother Brenda co-hosted Nicky Hilton’s wedding shower in 2015 where the girls were called sisters. In 2021 and 2023 Paris and Nicole supported each other at two important family weddings: Paris’ wedding to her husband Carter Reum and Sophia Richie’s wedding to Elliot Grange.

What is the new Paris and Nicole show about?

In May 2024, Paris and Nicole announced a “new era” of their show with the “same besties.” Though the full details are under wraps, Paris and Nicole have been spotted filming working at Sonic.