Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie have been close friends since they were young having grown up together, but it hasn’t always been a smooth ride for the iconic duo

Paris Hilton has hinted that her iconic The Simple Life TV series with close pal Nicole Richie could be returning. The duo shot to fame over 20 years ago when their reality series became a global sensation as they travelled across the US in their pink pickup truck.

The Noughties show saw Nicole, the adopted daughter of Lionel Richie and Brenda Harvey, and Paris, the great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton, founder of Hilton Hotels, swap their lavish lifestyles for menial jobs to experience life without their usual wealth. Over five seasons, viewers watched as the pair took on roles in fast food restaurants, tried their hand at being camp counsellors and worked on farms.

Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie shot to fame with their iconic TV series The Simple Life (Image: Sam Jones/20th Century Fox Tv/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
Their often hilarious commentary during their experiences became legendary, with memorable moments including Paris asking “What is Walmart? Do they sell wall stuff?” and Nicole offering a male passenger a lap dance while working as a flight attendant. Hinting that the friends could reunite for another series, Paris shared a video of a blank TV on Instagram with the caption: “New Era. Same Besties. Coming soon to Peacock.”

As fans eagerly wait to find out more, we’ve taken a look at Paris and Nicole’s friendship over the years, and it’s certainly been a turbulent ride for the pair…

Fallouts and friendship

The duo delighted fans with their TV series (Image: 20th Century Fox Television/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)

The friendship between Paris and Nicole goes way back having grown up together in Los Angeles and attended the same school. The duo never tried to disguise any arguments during their show and any fallouts off camera, soon came to light in the public eye.

One of which was in 2005, when The Simple Life was still airing, the best pals reportedly had a falling out. In April that year, Paris spoke about the feud for the first time: “It’s no big secret that Nicole and I are no longer friends,” she told PEOPLE in a statement.

They reportedly had a fallout in 2005 (Image: Ray Mickshaw/WireImage)
She added: “Nicole knows what she did, and that’s all I’m ever going to say about it.” A few months later in November, Nicole chose to discuss the reported row during an appearance on the Today Show, and claimed they “just grew apart”.

According to PEOPLE, she said the situation “just turned into a much bigger thing than it is.” “It’s just not part of my life,” she added. In 2006 it appeared their row was history as they were spotted having dinner together in Los Angeles.

After their show ended it was unclear if they were still friends or had since kept their distance. During an interview in 2014, Nicole opened up about her friendship with the Hilton Hotel heiress. She told E! News: “Paris is somebody that’s been in my life since day one.

The pals have been friends since they were young (Image: J. Vespa/WireImage)
“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.”

Nicole continued: “An idea of a true friend is somebody that’s going to be there with you through and through.” Then in 2019, Paris provided an update on their beloved friendship.

“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, reported Distractify. In 2021, the pals were then spotted together at Paris’ wedding to her husband Carter.

Rockstar husband and four children

Paris and her husband Carter Reum (Image: Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for LACMA)
Since the iconic show ended in 2007, Paris, now 43, has been keeping herself busy with DJ gigs, movie roles, modelling jobs, and even music video appearances for stars like Demi Lovato, Kim Petras, and Young Thug and Birdman. She tied the knot with author and entrepreneur Carter Reum in 2021, and they’re now proud parents to two children, son Phoenix, 16 months, and daughter London, five months.

Nicole and her husband Joel Madden (Image: John Shearer/Getty Images)
On the other hand, Nicole, now 42, launched her own jewellery brand in 2008 named House of Harlow, which later blossomed into a successful fashion empire offering clothing, shoes, eyewear and accessories. She’s happily married to the rock band Good Charlotte’s frontman Joel Madden, and they share daughter Harlow, 16, and son Sparrow, 14.