Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie reveal 'sad' reason behind their infamous feud

Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie are finally shedding light on the infamous fallout that nearly ended their friendship.

Appearing on the Call Her Daddy podcast, the duo revealed that sensationalist tabloid stories were the primary driver of their feud, which even forced them to film Season 4 of The Simple Life apart.

“Back then, the media was just so toxic,” Hilton, 43, told host Alex Cooper. “They loved starting feuds between people because, obviously, that sold tabloids.”

Richie chimed in to agree, “It was mostly the media just spinning things and creating drama that didn’t exist.”

For their part, though, Richie admitted that their youth and lack of “communication skills” only worsened the situation. “If we were hearing something, we would assume [it was true],” she said, reflecting on their inability to navigate the rumours at 23 and 24.

Richie, now 43, described the feud as “otherworldly,” especially since their disagreements played out on The Simple Life, amplifying the tension. “[It] blew up to be so big that it became impossible to connect to or have any sort of real feeling around it,” she noted.

Despite the rocky period, the childhood friends reconciled in 2006, with Hilton reaching out for Richie’s 25th birthday. Reflecting on their journey, Richie shared that it makes her “sad to think about a time without [her] friend.”

Now closer than ever, the pair are reliving their iconic partnership with The Simple Life: Encore, which premieres December 12 on Peacock.