If I were Nicole Richie, I could understand trying to get a little Paris Hilton-free time. Nicole and Paris have famously been feuding off and on for years, but have supposedly been cool with each other for a while now. Still, you don’t see the twosome hitting the stores or getting lunch together like you used to, even before Nicole had baby Harlow with boyfriend Joel Madden.

Paris, seemingly unable to stand the lack of attention thrust her way, hooked up with Joel’s twin brother Benji within minutes of him being single again. There were rumors again that Paris was driving Nicole crazy again, now that she was more actively in her life. And apparently that hasn’t died down – Paris has moved in next door to Nicole.

New mom Nicole Richie is constantly cooing over her love of suburban life – at least she was until best friend Paris Hilton moved in next door. Richie lives with baby daddy Joel Madden in Glendale, Calif., and Joel’s twin brother, Benji Madden, who now dates Hilton, lives next door. Friends of Richie told Page Six recently, “Nicole moved out there to get away from the paparazzi, but when Paris calls them they come to her quiet street and disrupt everything. She’s getting a little fed up.”

[From Page Six]

Paris is acting like that pathetic, clueless girl who followed around the more popular girls, exactly copying everything they did. She sees that Nicole is getting a lot of positive attention for her new life, so instead of figuring out what she can do to get some good press, Paris starts blabbing about how she wants a baby too, and then moves in next door. While it’s cute that the Madden boys live next door to each other, it’s probably time that they start their own lives… and Paris should maybe consider doing the same.

Here are Paris and Nicky Hilton leaving the Pop Factory opening party in Los Angeles on Thursday. Images thanks to WENN.

Paris Hilton has supposedly come up with an absolutely genius idea. And by genius, I mean for her. Which means not all that smart, but not the very stupidest thing she’s ever come up with either. Paris wants to get all her favorite paparazzi victims together to dish (and I’m guessing bitch/complain) about their lives, and what it’s really like to be them. I’m guessing there will be a lot of complaining about being followed by photographers, with no appreciation for all the money and free stuff.

I know it seems like another reality show is about the last thing the world needs. But I’ve learned Paris Hilton — herself no stranger to the reality TV experience — has dreamed up an intriguing concept for a new show.

According to a Paris pal, the hotel heiress got an inspiration watching both Dina Lohan’s and Denise Richards’ new reality series. Her plan? To try to gather together as many targets of the supermarket press and paparazzi as she can.

Just imagine Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Tori Spelling — as well as Richards, Hilton and her former ”The Simple Life” co-star, Nicole Richie — together in one big two-hour special sharing ”their side” of what it’s like to be them.

That concept alone reportedly has intrigued a couple of cable channels initially contacted about the concept: Bravo and Lifetime.

[From the Chicago Sun-Times]

Even though I find the idea pretty annoying, I’d still watch it. If for no other reason than to see who Paris actually talks into doing this. Tori Spelling and Denise Richards have nothing to lose. The other starlets could go either way. But if some kind of fantastic crazy fight were to break out, that’d be pretty much the best thing ever. I cannot imagine what could happen with all the egos in that room. Diva behavior could very well rise beyond Diana Ross proportions. It could be epic.

Photos are from the beginning of Britney’s breakdown a few years ago. That’s what happens when you put Paris, Britney, and Lindsay in such close proximity.

Nicole Richie might credit her six month old daughter Harlow for saving her life, but she hasn’t changed her ways entirely. Richie is said to have been involved in an argument with another woman waiting in the valet line at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas on Saturday. Things got so heated that security escorted Richie out. Nicole’s rep says that nothing happened, though:

We’re told Nicole was involved in an altercation around 1 AM this morning [Sunday, July 6] with a female while in line at the valet outside the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. Sources say Richie was so rowdy she had to be escorted off the property by security!

The photo was taken early last night at Wasted Space inside the Hard Rock, where we’re told Nicole was partying with Carey Hart and the boys from Good Charlotte.

Hard Rock was mum on the issue.

UPDATE: Nicole’s rep sent us this statement: “She was in Vegas but there wasn’t an altercation of any kind involving her.”

[From TMZ]

You could see Richie arguing with someone. She doesn’t have the best reputation when it comes to getting along with people, particularly other women. She was probably wasted, but that would likely take about three drinks in a two hour period given how little she is. As long as she wasn’t drinking and driving it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. She looks much more sober in these photos than Christina Aguilera did partying in Vegas a month ago.

Thanks to WENN for these photos of Richie on Saturday night.

There’s a rumor that originated in Star Magazine the Nicole Richie is pregnant again. There have also been stories claiming that she’s trying to get pregnant and that she and Joel want to give little cutie Harlow, nearly six months old, a sibling. Star’s report seems to rely entirely on the loose clothing and comfortable footwear she’s been wearing lately, though, and we learned the hard way with Kate Hudson that consistenly wearing loose clothing does not a pregnancy make.

I would like to use this opportunity to brag that we were the first ones to call Nicole Richie pregnant with her first child last year. She was wearing a clinging dress at that point, so maybe she is pregnant again and is trying to hide it with flowing tops and dresses. I’m not quite sold by Star’s observer-only story:

A source told America’s Star magazine: “Nicole is dying to have a sibling for Harlow who is close in age. She doesn’t want them to be more than two years apart, so that they can be best friends forever.”

Nicole – who shot to fame when she starred alongside best friend Paris Hilton in MTV reality show ‘The Simple Life’ – first sparked reports she may soon be adding to her family when she was spotted wearing a flowing lilac ‘maternity-style’ top.

An onlooker said: “The top was not something Nicole usually wears. She ordinarily goes for tight T-shirts and vest tops. The other unusual thing was that she was wearing comfy sheepskin boots and not her usual heels – the boots definitely looked like something a pregnant woman would wear.”

[From Female First]

That’s not the most convincing story, but I have to admit that it did occur to me when I saw the last dress Richie wore to an event. That’s her style, though, and Paris Hilton is always wearing loose bold print dresses like that. It’s not true that Richie usually wears tight tops.

Here are a bunch of recent pictures of Nicole so you can judge for yourself, but I say these reports are premature. At driving school on 6/25 she wore a tank top and there was nothing that would suggest she’s pregnant. This was the only time in the last month that I can find that she didn’t wear a loose shirt, though, so you can see how Star might jump to that conclusion.

Picture credits:
Floral print shirt and black tank: 6/25 thanks to Splash News.
Yellow and silver long sleeveless dress with floral print: 6/18/08, thanks to Adriana M. Barraza/WENN.
Boots and layered sleeveless tops: 6/18/08, thanks to Starbux/WENN.
Longsleeve blue floral and bird print dress: 6/17/08, thanks to Apega/WENN.
Getting out of SUV with layered striped tank tops: 6/15/08, thanks to WENN.
Black and silver circle print v-neck shirt with jeans: 5/14/08, thanks to WENN/Apega/Agent47.

You’ll forgive me for that obnoxiously worded title, said with wide eyes while clutching hands together in a mock bid for forgiveness. Nicole Richie has spoken about her DUI conviction stemming from a December, 2006 incident in which she was pulled over driving the wrong way on the freeway. Richie admitted to cops that she had done pot and vicodin that day, later claiming that she took the prescription painkiller for period cramps. That was actually her second DUI in less than five years, and she copped a plea and was sentenced to four days in jail. Richie was pregnant at the time she showed up to do her sentence and was let out of the Century Regional Detention Center after 82 minutes. This is the same facility where Paris Hilton served a full 22 days in jail for driving repeatedly on a suspended license after her DUI.

Now that Richie is a mom and has admirably turned her life around she says she realizes the error of her ways and won’t do it again. She also wants to be a better person and a better role model for her daughter Harlow, who is nearly six months old.

She explains, “We were watching the news once and they happened to be talking about drunk drivers. They started flashing up pictures of little children that had been killed by people driving under the influence.

“At that moment I literally felt like the worst person in the world for even trying to get out of that situation. That was our first real parent moment.”

She added, “There’s absolutely no way I will do anything like that again. I never took life seriously before. I’m in a completely different place now. I owe my baby my life. I have a responsibility now. I have to really be someone I want my child to look up to. I think it’s important for every child to look up to their parent. I want to show her the right path.”

[From Showbizspy via Gossip Rocks]

I can make fun of Richie’s revelation all I want, but she does deserve a lot of credit for changing her ways and being a devoted mom. She’s spotted out at events still, but that’s part of her job as a rich person known for showing up for stuff, and she does it well. She’s the one who saved her life, though, not her baby. There are plenty of women who have babies and don’t change at all.

Lane Garrison of Prison Break got into an accident while driving wasted on a vodka run. He ended up killing a 17 year-old male passenger who he had just met that night. He is serving 40 months in state prison and his actions will haunt him for the rest of his life.

If only all the other young celebrities could get the message that driving drunk is deadly. You don’t need an adorable baby to realize that you shouldn’t get behind the wheel wasted. Just look at your family and loved ones and think how much it would hurt if you lost them to a drunk driver.

I wonder who the next DUI celebrity will be. Hopefully the only damage they’ll do will be to their career.

This news is a little old, the quote came out earlier in the week, but I’m just hearing it now.

Nicole Richie is shown at the Cartier Love Bracelet Launch on 6/18/08, thanks to Adriana M. Barraza for WENN.

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.

Joel Madden addressed the rumors that he and fianc&ecaute; 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.

Lionel Richie was honored recently by the cable channel TV Land. Their annual Icon awards salute entertainers with longevity in the industry. Richie, whose daughter is reformed badgirl socialite and new mom Nicole Richie, made a little joke about what he says is the toughest job in the world: being a dad. Specifically, Nicole’s dad.

Grammy winner Lionel Richie was honored this weekend with an Icon trophy at the TV Land Awards, while accepting his award, the Oscar winner joked to the crowd about being Nicole Richie’s father.

“Forget about surviving 40 years in the music business. Just surviving 27 years of Nicole Richie has been a struggle and a half, I want to tell you. I stand here as a survivor, I want you to know, for all parents out there.”

Richie also added that since Nicole became a mommy she has become a different person,

“She went from Dad, I don’t care. Whatever you say, to ‘wash your hands, dad.’”

[From The Paparazzis]

I’m not a fan of Lionel’s music post-Commodores, but after seeing him with Nicole on “Oprah” a few years back, I like their relationship a lot. Nicole acknowledges that she was a wild-child hellian, and Lionel admits that he wasn’t always there for his daughter due to his career. They seem very close these days, and in every photo I’ve seen of Lionel with his new granddaughter he seems to be bursting with pride. It’s great that they can laugh about those tough times now.

Nicole, Lionel and Sophia Richie are shown at the ASCAP awards on 4/9/08, thanks to WENN.