About a year ago a joke book came out called The Nicole Richie Cookbook. It was sixty some pages long, and each page was blank. Haha, Nicole doesn’t eat. Mildly funny at best. Now what’s a much funnier idea is Nicole Richie actually writing a cookbook herself. Which is just what she wants to do, if you believe her friends that chat with OK! Magazine. Apparently Nicole is just knee-deep in domestic bliss, and wants to share her happiness – or at least her recipes – with the rest of us.

Move over Rachael Ray, there’s another cute cook in the kitchen! The Simple Life star Nicole Richie took up cooking in order to become the perfect partner and mom. Now, she’s gotten so good at it she wants to publish her own cookbook!

“She keeps a box full of recipes handwritten on index cards,” a pal of Nicole,26, tells OK!. “She has mac and cheese down to a fine science!”

But when it comes to whipping up meals for fiance Joel Madden,29, Nicole, who is mom to their 5-month old daughter Harlow, looks to the lighter side.

Says the source, “She keeps things low-fat to help her and Joel watch their weight!”

[From OK! Magazine]

Well yeah, because they’re such fatties. Watching their weight should be a big priority for the both of them. Actually Joel seems to have gone through a pudgy phase or two – as has Nicole, now that I think about it. But they’ve both been looking pretty trim for the past couple years. In fact Nicole’s got it down to a science.

Although celeb ass-kissy OK! claims that the two are super domestic and blissfully happy, People quotes Joel as saying they have no plans to get married. They’ve often been referred to as each other’s fiance (see the OK! article above), but in terms of taking a walk down the aisle, it sounds like Joel would rather saunter the other way.

“We don’t have any plans for that right now,” Madden told PEOPLE on Wednesday. “We’re just happy, and we’re being a family, and that’s where we’re at right now. But marriage means something different to everyone.”

“Right now we’re really happy,” the Good Charlotte frontman says, “and we’re concentrating on our family, and that’s what is making us happy right now. We’re moving at our own pace.”

[From People]

It’s funny because you can tell Joel is just barely holding back from screaming “Don’t rush me!” to the reporter. I think there may have been a “F*#% you” muttered under his breath. Joel clearly had a little line all rehearsed and ready to go, since he basically said the same thing twice. We get it, you’re supposedly happy and don’t want to be tied to Nicole Richie or her low fat for the rest of your life. I’m not sure many people could blame you.

Here’s Nicole at the Cartier Charity Love Bracelet Launch in Los Angeles on June 18th. Images thanks to WENN. Header of 23 Nicole and Joel going for a walk in Hollywood on May 18th. Images thanks to Splash.

Yesterday photos of Mary Kate Olsen partying with Nicole Richie, Joel Madden and Mary Kate’s ex, Max Snow, were leaked and published on Oh No They Didn’t. The photos show the privileged 20-somethings having a good time in a spacious house with their friends, looking drunk and playing with a piñata. Most of them are wearing plaid and it seems like it’s the theme of the night and could be a pajama party.

Nicole Richie holds up a bottle of water in one picture so it’s possible she was pregnant with little Harlow at that point. Harlow was born January 11, which would mean she was pregnant starting in May, 2007. Max Snow and Mary Kate Olsen broke up sometime in the early fall of last year.

There’s nothing particularly incriminating about these photos and they all look pretty innocent. The one where they’re scrambling on the floor over something looks possibly drug-related, but they’re probably just trying to collect the candy from the piñata.

When Paris Hilton scrawled over her myspace page how much she loved Benji Madden and gushed about him in interviews, I thought that she was a nightmare girlfriend and that it would soon be over. As time has gone on - the pair have been together for four months - and they didn’t break up, I realized that Benji must really, really like Paris. Or he would have kicked her to the curb weeks ago.

Yesterday he did an interview with Ryan Seacrest, and talked about how happy he is with her.

“I’m so beyond happy,” Benji, 29, said of his hot relationship with Paris Hilton. “Of course,” he added, “when you’re that happy, you think about everything.”

When asked if he worries about having kids, Benji replied: “Not at all. I mean, she’s my best friend” – prompting Joel to interject sarcastically, “I can see it tomorrow, ‘Benji’s Ready for Fatherhood.’ ”

Continued Benji: “I’ve never been so happy. Nothing worries me in life anymore. When you find that best friend, that love, all your worries kind of go away. Your work gets better and everything you do, you have someone supporting you, and she’s that for me. I’ve never been supported so much.”

In his repeated refrain, Benji said, “I’m a lucky guy. Her family is so nice to me. And now the four of us, we all … it’s great, you know.”

Could that possibly mean a double wedding? Responded both bothers, in unison: “No.”

People

I don’t know who had the idea for the double wedding. I think twins get very tired of doing everything together, and Joel and Benji work together already. For most women a wedding day is the only day you get to wear an ludicrously expensive frock that you will only wear once, that trails on the floor. You get to be the center of attention all day, eat cake after dieting to fit into said dress, and go home with a heap of presents and the love of your life. Why would you want to share the spotlight with another bride, even if they are your best friend?

I know not all brides go down the route of wearing an enormous, expensive white dress, but Paris is obviously that kind of girl. And we’re likely to be subjected to every detail of her wedding and subsequent divorce from Benji.

Note by Celebitchy: This is the second time Benji has called into the Ryan Seacrest show and publicly proclaimed his love for Paris. He first discussed their relationship in early May, calling her “wife material” and saying he wanted to get on a rooftop and yell “I’m in love!”

Benji Madden and Paris Hilton are shown at Tao nightclub on 6/7/08, thanks to WENN.

Joel Madden addressed the rumors that he and fianc&eaute; Nicole Richie are getting married in a $2 million ceremony at the end of the month. On a post on his band Good Charlotte’s blog, he poked fun at Star Magazine’s report, which we repeated here, that a three day wedding was in the works. Joel titled the post “WE DID IT!! NICOLE AND I FINALLY GOT MARRIED!! click here for the pictures!!” and started out the article saying “CHECK OUT MY BLOG FOR A PICTURE OF ME AND MY BEAUTIFUL BRIDE. ALL I CAN SAY IS I AM SO VERY HAPPY……”

A black and white photo of a wedding cake was visible and when you clicked through to the rest of the post it showed a picture of a bride and groom with monkeys’ heads Photoshopped in. Joel explained that he had to clear up the rumors about a wedding because he was getting messages from his friends asking why they weren’t invited:

So i feel really stupid even posting this, but i’ve been getting calls and texts from my family all week asking me why they weren’t invited to my wedding. I guess the only answer i could give them was that i didnt know we were having one. So i just found out that star magazine wrote some story about a 2 MILLION dollar wedding we are supposed to be having, and thats where it came from. Sooooo if you were pissed at me for not inviting you or even telling you, dont blame me, theres nothing to worry about. Its just star magazine. How long do you think it will be before they write we called it off, or we broke up? i give them a week or two……

[From GoodCharlotte.com]

He’s right about Star and he’s obviously writing from experience. I was fooled by that story because they had a whole itinerary for the three day wedding and so many details that it sounded like they had at least one source. Usually when the tabloids make up entire stories they’re vague and include a lot of insider quotes about the supposed fights a couple had or how they feel. In this case Star fabricated a whole wedding with details that they must have pulled out of their asses. Or maybe someone sold a story to Star and they got duped. Either way, Joel and Nicole probably aren’t getting married this month. It’s always possible that they’re trying to keep their wedding private, but since this is Star we’re talking about and Nicole and Joel won’t be shy about selling their wedding photos, I’ll take Joel’s word for it.

Nicole Richie and Joel Madden are shown at the LA Lakers vs. Boston Celtics game 5 in LA on 6/15/08, thanks to WENN.

While most celebrity couples seem to run right out and get married as soon as someone accidentally gets pregnant, Nicole Richie and Joel Madden have kept their relationship status quo. Though they’ve long been rumored to be kind of/sort of engaged, they’ve yet to announce anything official, and it doesn’t appear that they have any concrete wedding plans.

It often seems like the pair isn’t quite certain of their union. To be sure, Nicole has had a very rebellious past, whereas Joel has lived a life a bit more on the straight and narrow, despite being a musician. Before Nicole, Joel dated Hillary Duff for a long time. That’s quite a leap, in terms of different personalities.

The National Enquirer says the holdup is Nicole’s lack of religion. Joel wants her to convert to Christianity before they get married. And it sounds like he doesn’t want it just as a formality, but truly wants her to find God and faith before he commits to spending the rest of his life with her.

“Joel is determined not to marry Nicole until she asks forgiveness for her sins and is willing to raise little Harlow with the same religious upbringing that he had,” a source told The Enquirer. “Joel may look like a rebel, but the truth is he is an old-fashioned conservative guy with hardcore Christian beliefs.

“… The Bible is a big part of his life - so much so that he has a tattoo of Jesus and a Sacred Heart on his arms. Joel went to church regularly as a kid and he believes that God has made him what he is today. He has seen all the problems that spoiled Hollywood children like Nicole encountered, and is determined to prevent Harlow from being the stereotypical Beverly Hills brat.”

In an attempt to break from her checkered past of rehab stints, drunk driving and drug arrests, Nicole has already begun her spiritual transformation, says a close friend. And insiders say she couldn’t be happier. “It looks like Nicole is on the way to fully embracing Joel’s religious beliefs,” said the friend. “She knows how great her life has become thanks to him.”

As The Enquirer reported last week, Nicole has had trouble coping with the stress of motherhood. “Joel thinks God will be the ultimate answer to her problems,” continued the source…. “As much as Joel loves Nicole, and is dedicated to being her rock, he feels like their marriage would never work unless they are on the same page with their religious beliefs,” added the source. “Bottom line, he wants a Christian family.”

[From the National Enquirer, June 16, 2008, print ed.]

The Enquirer makes it sound like Nicole Richie is alright with converting, but it also sounds like Joel is putting a lot of pressure on her. That’s not exactly the best way to find true faith – that’s something a person has to come to on their own terms. It does seem like Joel has been nothing but a good influence on Nicole – but I’m still not completely convinced that she’s appreciative of that influence.

It often seems like she’s not ready to settle down yet – especially given the many reports that she’s having trouble adjusting to motherhood and not going out and partying as much. It seems like a lot of things have changed super fast in Nicole’s life, and probably earlier than she had planned. Hopefully she’ll be able to figure out what’s best for her family.

Here’s Nicole and Joel out for a stroll with baby Harlow on May 20th. Images thanks to Splash.

Star Magazine claims that Nicole Richie and Joel Madden, the live-in father of her five month-old daughter Harlow, are planning a $2 million wedding to take place at her father Lionel Richie’s estate later this month. Star Magazine likes to make up stories, but this one includes a three day timeline of Nicole’s planned wedding activities which adds some credence to this story. There are also plenty of wedding details that sound like they could be true:

Nicole and Joel [plan to] exchange vows on June 29, which will cap off a three-day weeding extravaganza - including a Pretty in Pink bridal shower, a video slideshow and spa treatments - that will be an unforgettable weekend for 100 of their closest friends and family.

“Nicole wanted it to be incredibly special for everyone involved, not just the bridal party” - which will include her BFF Masha Gordon as maid of honor, little sister Sophie as the flower girl and Paris and Nicky Hilton as bridesmaids, says one source. “She wants everyone to play games, swim, hang out and enjoy themselves all weekend…”

[It] will be the “wedding of the year,” says another source of the $2 million affair. “Cost is not an issue!”

For the main event, which will take place at the Bel-Air mansion of her father, Lionel Richie, Nicole, 26, is still choosing what dress she’ll wear - but she knows it will be in a champagne tone.

“She’s been offered one-of-a-kind gowns by both Monique Lhuillier and Vera Wang,” says an insider. “She knows she wants it to be traditional and classy, but she doesn’t want it to be very long.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition, June 16, 2008]

Star also claims that Nicole is planning to hold little Harlow while she and Joel say her vows, which will be written by them for the occasion. The bridesmaids will wear gowns purchased by Nicole from different designers, and the groomsmen and groom will wear Sean Jean tuxedos.

The three day event includes a rehearsal dinner and bachelorette party on Friday, June 27, a bridal shower including manicure/pedicures, massages and hair and makeup on Saturday, and the big event and reception on Sunday. Joel and Nicole will honeymoon in Hawaii afterwards and Star says they don’t plan on bringing Harlow with them.

Congratulations to Nicole and Joel. They’re likely to negotiate with a magazine to sell the photos for an amount that will partially pay for this lavish wedding. They seem stable enough to make their marriage last, and hopefully Paris Hilton and Joel’s brother Benji won’t follow their lead any time soon.

Nicole Richie and Joel Madden are shown outside his DCMA store on 4/29/08, thanks to WENN.

Benji and Joel Madden haven’t spoken to their father for more than ten years, after the (now recovering) alcoholic walked out on the family. Father Roger Combs (the boys changed their name to Madden after their mother’s maiden name) says that while he had some contact with them over the last three years, it is baby Harlow that has created a common bond. he talks to In Touch magazine about their reunion.

“My kids were mad at me, and I don’t blame them,” says Roger, who also has a daughter, Sarah, 27, and a son, Josh, 30, with Benji and Joel’s mom. Though Joel did start mending fences with Roger three years ago, it was Harlow who really reunited them. “We are good today, and that’s all that matters,” Roger says.

[From In Touch]

Roger Combs doesn’t say whether he has a relationship with his older children. He does add that holding his granddaughter was very special.

“It was a wonderful moment,” Roger exclusively tells In Touch. “She’s such a beautiful girl. I felt very proud.”

In Touch also reports that Nicole reassessed her relationship with her parents, saying that she ‘put them through a lot.’ Nicole has been to jail, and also rehab, as well as being best friends with Paris Hilton, which would make any parent nervous.

I’m not sure if Roger Combs sold his story to In Touch magazine, or if the Madden twins sold it, or if Roger was just sought out for comment. He might not understand the tabloid scrutiny the Madden brothers are under, and was just being a proud grandparent. He doesn’t talk at all about Paris Hilton, or Nicole Richie, who are most likely to result in inflammatory headlines. Hopefully his comments appearing in the press won’t create a misunderstanding like Jon Voight and Angelina Jolie’s relationship.

Joel and Benji Madden are shown at “Hornitos Tequila celebrates the ultimate ‘Cinco de Mayo’ experience at Crown Bar” on 5/5/08, thanks to WENN.

There’s trouble in paradise for Nicole Richie and baby daddy Joel Madden. Though to be fair, it doesn’t exactly sound like Nicole has considered her life to be like paradise for a while. Nonetheless, you’ve got to ask yourself, what kind of a trampy, trashy, harlot skank would come between a new father and the mother of his child? Why none other than Nicole Richie’s “supposed” good friend, Lindsay Lohan. Leave it to the Lohan to be the skankiest person in any given situation.

While Nicole Richie was home caring for her baby, her fiancé Joel Madden spent a boozy night partying with Lindsay Lohan. Needless to say, Nicole was crushed. The trouble started for the new mom after she decided to stay home with their 4-month-old daughter, Harlow, while Joel deejayed at Hornitos’ Cinco de Mayo party at Crown Bar in L.A. However, while there, the Good Charlotte rocker seemed more interested in a seductive Lindsay than in spinning records.

“Their heads were practically touching, and he had his leg over hers,” says one onlooker. “Joel has a flirtatious side, and he definitely wasn’t turning her away.” Nicole was immediately alerted to the situation by her arch-frenemy Paris Hilton, who sent her a devastating text message: Lindsay was all over Joel!

Making the situation worse, Nicole frantically tried to call Joel, but he wasn’t answering his phone. “He was so zeroed in on Lindsay, he never heard his cell ring,” a friend of the couple tells Star. “Nicole felt so incredibly helpless and upset that she threw her phone against the wall in a rage.”

[From Star]

It sounds like it could be friendly or somewhat innocent behavior on Joel’s part, but I never assume Lindsay Lohan has good intentions. That troll lives for drama. And what’s more dramatic than breaking up the relationship between your good friend – who just had a baby a few months ago – and her boyfriend? And what the hell else does Lohan have to do these days? Her career is nonexistent. She spends most of her days getting her hair done and making her body look orange. I don’t really like Nicole Richie, but I hope she throws a shit fit and bans Lohan from her life.

Here’s Amy Joel Madden and Benji Madden at Hornitos Tequila celebration of the ultimate ‘Cinco de Mayo’ experience at Crown Bar where the flirtation took place. Header of Joel and Nicole not looking too happy on May 9th. Images thanks to WENN.

Nicole Richie, Joel Madden and their baby Harlow, who will be four months old in a few days, appear in a new photo spread in Harper’s Bazaar. It features Joel and Nicole in couture looking privileged along with Harlow in her own cute clothing. Nicole’s dad pop singer Lionel Richie also appears, looking very much the proud Grandfather. The shoot reminds me of Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony’s first baby spread in People with more focus on the newborn and less haughty expressions.

Extra TV has details of the accompanying interview with Nicole, and she’s outspoken about her love for her daughter and the way Harlow has changed her life and her circle of friends. She says that Joel is very helpful with the baby and changes more diapers than she does:

Richie tells “Extra” that she is the first in her circle of friends to have a baby. She elaborated, “I feel like my group of five to ten friends, they really love her, like she’s theirs… my friends never go outside for smoke breaks anymore, they don’t curse, they are definitely more demure. It’s actually been really interesting.”

As for how new dad and fiancé Joel Madden handles diaper duty, Richie admitted, “Joel actually changes more diapers than I do… It’s his time with her. He sings to her… he laughs with her, plays with her. It’s amazing.” Richie revealed that her father, Lionel, hasn’t offered her any parenting advice, but that “he comes from a father standpoint. He gives Joel a lot of advice.”

[From ExtraTV.com]

Nicole also says that she finds the paparazzi scary and doesn’t want that kind of circus around her daughter. She calls herself “the luckiest girl alive” and says she has “nothing to complain about.”

Nicole and Joel got some slight heat for making appearances at events and parties in the month after their daughter’s birth. That was during the Grammy events, though, and it was important that Joel attend some parties for his job. They seemed to have reigned it in though, and although they still go out it’s not like they’re partying it up every weekend. We reported a story from Star earlier in the week that speculated that “Nicole is torn between being a mommy and being a party girl” and wanted some freedom but didn’t want to leave her baby.

Nicole certainly seems like a great mom. Compare her actions to the way that Jennifer Lopez is behaving - talking about competing in a triathalon to make her babies proud and heading out to every event to show the world how well her fitness program is working.

Doesn’t Harlow look like she has so much personality already? I love her expressions, she’s a little weisenheimer you can tell.

These photos are from Harper’s Bazaar’s website, where there are many more.

Paris Hilton is on tour with her boyfriend Benji Madden’s band Good Charlotte, but the fiance of his twin brother and band mate is stuck home with their newborn baby. That may be her choice, but Star Magazine says it’s not and that Nicole Richie is super pissed that frenemy Paris gets to tag along while she’s left holding the baby:

Sources confirm to Star that Nicole was devastated when Joel informed her she would not be coming on the tour. She previously hit the road with the band, even while heavily pregnant, so she assumed this time was no different. She had even begun interviewing nannies to help her with daughter Harlow.

“Nicole begged Joel to let her tag along, but he refused to put the baby through that much traveling,” says a friend of hers. “He thinks a rock tour is no place for a newborn and has put his foot down.”

One insider says Nicole tried to make her case for coming by insisting she was nervous about being away from Joel, 29, for so long and that she was worried about caring for Harlow without his help.

But another source says Nicole, 26, is really just upset that Paris Hilton - who has been dating Joel’s twin brother, Benji, since February - is crashing the tour. And Nicole knows that wherever Paris, 27, goes, there’s usually trouble. “Nicole is livid!” says another source. “The thought of Paris on the road influencing Joel makes her skin crawl. Nicole doesn’t trust Paris as far as she can throw her.

[From Star Magazine, print edition, April 7, 2008]

You can see this being the case even if Star Magazine’s sources all happen to be staffers. It’s got to be hard to be apart from your partner right after you have a baby, and going on tour with a nanny seems preferable to staying home. It’s possible that Benji and Joel didn’t really talk about the fact that Paris was tagging along and that Joel decided that Nicole should stay home before he realized that Paris would be stealing his band’s thunder.

When my husband and I were watching “Wetten, Das?” with Paris on Saturday, he asked “isn’t it bad publicity for Good Charlotte to be associated with Paris Hilton? Like doesn’t that demean their integrity as a band?” It kind of does. They may not be sleeping with tons of groupies but we know at least one of them thinks with his dick.

Paris Hilton is shown clutching her chin after she took a fall earlier in the day on the cobblestones in Prague. The story is that “they were mobbed by fans and photographers, calling Paris to fall to the ground.” Thanks to WENN for these photos.