PARIS Hilton and Nicole Richie ruled reality TV in the early 2000s thanks to the success of The Simple Life.
Their friendship was once the talk of Hollywood but the reality stars ultimately had a falling out.
Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie: Friendship timeline explained
Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie grew up together in the same affluent Los Angeles neighborhood and even attended the same school.
From their childhood, the two formed a bond and were almost always seen together.
They began ruling the Hollywood club scene in their 20s and landed a successful reality show that highlighted their friendship.
In 2003, The Simple Life premiered on Fox. The reality show followed the lives of Paris and Nicole as they traded in their trust funds for cowboy boots.
In 2005, the show left Fox and was picked up by E! for another season. That same year, the besties had a falling out.
That April, Paris opened up about the rift for the first time.
“It’s no big secret that Nicole and I are no longer friends,” Paris said in a statement, via PEOPLE.
“Nicole knows what she did, and that’s all I’m ever going to say about it.”
In November, Nicole then discussed her side of the story during an appearance on the Today Show and claimed that nothing really happened and they “just grew apart,” according to PEOPLE.
According to Nicole, the whole situation “just turned into a much bigger thing than it is.”
“It’s just not part of my life,” she added.
While it remains unclear what Nicole did, fans speculate that Nicole showed an intimate video of Paris at a party.
Despite the drama in the tabloids, their spat appeared to be put to rest in 2006 after they were spotted having dinner together in Los Angeles.
A source told PEOPLE that the duo “looked like best friends” and Paris’ publicist, Elliot Mintz, later released a statement calling the dinner a “good thing.”
“They had a meal last night. It’s not my place to say what was discussed or the nature of the meal. But it’s a good thing when people have a meal together,” Elliot said, via PopSugar.
When asked if they were friends again, he replied: “I wouldn’t characterize it that way because I don’t know if it was a business or personal discussion. Let’s just watch it unfold.”
In 2007, The Simple Life finally came to an end.
While the reality queens might have had a falling out back in the day, their relationship has since improved and they appear to be on good terms.
In a 2014 interview, Nicole opened up about their relationship and revealed that they don’t talk every day.
However, she still considers the Hilton Hotel heiress one of her friends.
“Paris is somebody that’s been in my life since day one,” she said, via E! News.
“I haven’t spoken to her in a while technically, but if you really want to get into it, my view of a friendship is somebody that you don’t necessarily have to talk to every day, somebody that you can call when you need them and they’re just going to be there.”
“An idea of a true friend is somebody that’s going to be there with you through and through,” Nicole added.
In 2019, Paris updated fans on their friendship again, revealing that they still talk.
“I love Nicole. We were actually texting three days ago because it’s our high school reunion, so she was reminding me of the date,” she said at the time, via Distractify.
The pair were then spotting together at Paris’ 2021 wedding to Carter Reum.
In 2024, it was reported that Paris and Nicole are set to reunite for a new reality TV show.
Per TMZ, the show will be different than The Simple Life.
The outlet also reports that James Corden’s production company may have received the rights to the show.
