Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie on their big TV reunion, playing with the blonde image – and lifelong friendship

Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie in a GLAMOR interview

It is one of the many peculiarities of Hollywood, not just individual onesin the spotlight, but also to continually produce iconic duos. Two-man teams that function through a unique chemistry and are firmly inscribed in the history of pop culture with their unmistakable dynamics. Sonny and Cher. Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn. Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling.Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie!

We meet the iconic reality-Duo on a Monday in November. A pianist is just finishing her afternoon performance in the lounge of the Beverly Hills Hotel. The audience is mixed: tech dudes who have met for lunch sit next to tourists in sportswear. There are white tablecloths and Cobb salad for $46.

Richie arrives first, at 3 p.m. sharp. She wears blue jeans with a ribbed turtleneck sweaterare lofty: “Hi, I’m Nicole,” she says casually. She joins us in the seating area and, after a few minutes of small talk, offers to send Paris a text message. But just at that moment the hotel heiress comes through the door, much less casual than her friend and colleague. She wears a blue and white patterned, flowing onewith a deep neckline. She wears her hair open with shiny XXL waves.

Our editorial team got to know Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie as a duo for the first time in 2003, an impressive 21 years ago. At that time they had just signed a contract for an as yet unknown reality show on Fox. One, which would become world famous under the title “The Simple Life”. The premise of the show was funny and nasty at the same time, just like reality shows, which often derive their added value from the cartoonish portrayal of their participants, are: two super-privileged and super-rich young peoplefrom LA have to assert themselves in different everyday situations - on a farm in Arkansas without their Samsung E714 (then the gold standard of cell phones), as interns without credit cards or as housewives without kitchen skills. The well-known “fish on land” principle, which local shows like “Frauentausch” also followed for a long time.

At the beginning of the 2000s, however, the whole thing was still fairly new in the TV world - and the show was an immediate mega-success with over twelve million viewers after its premiere on December 2nd, 2003. And Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie were suddenly no longer “just” a rich hotel heiress and adopted daughter of singer legend Lionel Richie. They were television stars. Television stars who also became famous because people loved to make fun of their supposed naivety on television and in the tabloid media. As the series progressed, people laughed at the fact that the two of them were completely overwhelmed by everyday things: they had never heard of the Walmart discount chain or a soup kitchen.

Today you can ask yourself: Was it really just the audience making fun of Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie? Or perhaps Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie about the viewers who fell so unerringly into the staging of the “stupid blonde” marketing scam. Because the two stars no longer make a secret of the fact that they knew exactly what image the television station was playing with - and what role they were playing inhad to stage so that the series and its self-marketing machinery worked.

We are now sitting in the hotel restaurant having breakfast. Nicole Richie ordered a simple combination of tea and jam toast. “We both realized very early on that 'The Simple Life' only worked if we appeared helpless. And at the same timecarry. In fact, even the producers told us at one point that we don't have anyshould wear in the show. It's just show business - and Paris and I are both from LA. We understand the game."

Paris Hilton agrees with her friend and colleague and says that the clueless doll who appeared in “The Simple Life” and in the rest of herappeared again and again to simply be a character that she plays. “I always knew what I was doing,” she says between bites of her salad (no bacon, little cheese and ranch sauce): “I'm not a stupid blonde. I’m just really good at pretending to be one.” And doing so was what was expected of both of them - by producers as well as fans.

Which brings us to the topic and the reason for our meeting: the planned TV return of the duo, for which Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie want to play again with exactly these expectations of them. Contrary to some misleading headlines, this is a comebacknoReboot of “The Simple Life”, but a three-part reunion show that is intended to be a homage to the people who appeared in the original series and contains an element (how could it be otherwise with Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie) which is as ironic and over the top as it gets: an operatic number from her iconic “Sanasa” song. For those of you whose last “The Simple Life” rewatch has been a while: This is a song that the two of them composed as children, as children do, and over the course of reality TV series became a kind of inside joke between the two and their audience. A special kind of reunion, for which a real bidding war is said to have broken out among the broadcasters in the USA.

The winner was the channel Peacock, which will broadcast “Paris & Nicole: The Encore” on December 12th – almost exactly 21 years to the day after the premiere of “The Simple Life”.

In the meantime, a lot has changed for the two friends. Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, both 43, are now both wives, mothers and lead independent careers and businesses. Nicole Richie continues to work as an actress and has been running her own fashion label, House of Harlow 1960, since 2008. Paris is making a career as a singer and DJ, is committed to protecting young people in psychological facilities and has built up a number of product lines in recent years,,,- and shoe collections.

Actually, you could say that the two would have been busy enough even without their reunion project. But: “Paris & Nicole: The Encore” is more than just work for the two of them. It is a testament to her lifelongand therefore also has emotional value for the friends who also address each other with the nicknames “Sill” and “Bill”. “People who watched 'The Simple Life' back then might know that we've been friends since we were two years old. But I don’t think everyone is familiar with that today,” says Richie. “So in the reunion we're also showing parts of LA where we used to hang out and things we did when we were kids. We paint a picture of our friendship and our lives before we did the show. So you can understand why, when the opportunity came up to be in front of the camera together, we immediately said yes."

Hilton added: “It was so special to go back to where it all began. For example, in the new show we go back to Arkansas, visit theand the people we worked for there.” And if you want to get a little taste of the dynamic that the two friends will bring to the camera in their reunion, all you have to do is take a look at our GLAMOR video. In a wonderfully self-deprecating manner, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie agreed to take on a completely different job than the roles they played in “The Simple Life”, with several outfit changes and some script text. Namely the job of editor-in-chief of GLAMOR US, Samantha Berry.

As our lunch continues, both Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie are courteous and friendly. Not just to us, but also to a fan who comes to our table in tears to ask for a picture with Paris Hilton: "You're so beautiful," he says, looking a bit like the human equivalent of the heart-eye -Emojis. Hilton immediately returns the compliment, saying she likes his shirt and asking where he's from. Richie offers to play camera operator for the two of them. But when the restaurant employees notice the interaction, they immediately come to the scene and tell the fan that unfortunately no photos are allowed. “It was a pleasure to meet you,” Hilton calls after him encouragingly. Nicole Richie asks, “Where were we?” and grabs one of the French fries. You can tell by their coolness: This was just one of many such situations that the two of them experience every day.

Our lunch is slowly coming to an end - but we still have a few questions unanswered. So we go from casual conversation to interview mode. After all, we can't use the two stars all day.

Glamour: We've talked a bit about your upcoming reunion show. But how did this actually come about?

Nicole Richie:Paris and I wrote to each other over Christmas break, and she sent me a photo of Braxton [Leding], who we lived with in Arkansas during the first season of “The Simple Life.” Back then he was just a child, now he's just a grown man. That's when we realized how long ago the show really was. “It’s almost 20 years,” wrote Paris. And I asked, “Should we do something?” She wrote, “Shall we?”, and then the ball started rolling.

Especially at the beginning of your career, you had to endure a lot of tabloid press. Do you think something like that could happen again with the reunion?

Paris Hilton:The media in the noughties was so toxic. They targeted a particular group of young women, including Nicole and I, and it was very difficult to figure out who you were when the whole world was watching. Things were twisted and clear lies were printed. I think today people treat each other more respectfully and we feel safer. In the noughties all girls were mean.

In addition, many people back then didn't have the media literacy that they have today - back then we really believed everything we read about celebrities. How did you deal with everything that was said about you back then?

Hilton:There were many nights when I cried and called my mother. But it also made me so strong that after a while I realized that these were people who didn't even know me, who were just making up stories. The people who love and know me know the truth. And you just have to try to ignore things like that. It's just very, very traumatizing to have to go through that.

Richie:I think it affected me more than I could admit to myself at the time. But looking back now, I can see how much it influenced my daily life and decisions. But it was also a strong motivation for me to find my own voice and my own story. And it makes me really proud that we women have come such a long way and now finally have the courage to say: “This is not okay.”

“The Simple Life” is now a piece of pop culture history. Did you expect the show to be successful back then?

Richie:I mean, we enjoyed making the show, so of course we hoped that people would like it too. But the reason we said yes was purely because we wanted to have fun. We thought it would be an adventure. We didn't know which city we were going to. Only that we would be gone for 30 days. This is very different than signing up for something to build your brand today.

Do you think the reunion special will be watched primarily by nostalgic fans of “The Simple Life”? Or maybe even reach a whole new generation of fans?

Hilton:Of course we hope for both. And right from the start we wanted the fans from back then to not just be spectators, but to be part of the reunion. I have a video for thatreleased and asked fans to share some of their favorite moments and sing our song “Sanasa”. The response was overwhelming: we received thousands of videos from all over the world, from all ages. In these moments isschön.

Have you ever had disagreements about “The Simple Life”? Or about anything related to your new project?

Richie:No. On the old series we always discussed everything and were our respective safe persons. And we developed the new series completely together. We decide everything together.

Obviously you both come from very prominent families. Were they behind you on “The Simple Life”?

Hilton:Ourdidn't want us to do it and talked us out of it.

Richie:Yes, that's true.

Hilton:It was the first show of its kind. They hear that we are being sent somewhere without knowing where. Any parent would probably be worried about that. But after the first episode aired, my mom called me and said, “This is the funniest show I've ever seen in my life. You and Nicole are amazing.” Then she said, “I was wrong for once.”

Richie:So wild and fun. Also because I remember exactly what it was like to be a teenager myself. It seems like it happened yesterday. And they know everything I've done. I knew before I was born that I had to be open with them about who I was. And in that I actually found freedom. I didn't want my children to make a big discovery about me. I have always been very open and honest with them and hope that they will be open and honest with me too.

Paris, you have a one-year-old daughter and an almost two-year-old son. Is life with children different than you imagined?

They have completely changed my life and constantly remind me of what is really important. It ison another level I didn't know I could feel. I'm just so grateful for her every day. They are just so valuable and smart and funny. They are the cutest things on this planet. By the way, my son has just learned “Sanasa”. But his first word was “yas”.

You were both absolute fashion icons in the 2000s. What do you think of the current Y2K comeback in the??

Richie:It's very funny. Even if I don't necessarily relate to itallenY2K interpretations can make friends. But the Juicy sweatsuits and the trucker hats, that's very cute.

Do you still have any clothes from that time?

Hilton:My dress that I wore for my 21st birthday. This is simply cult. And I have the Von Dutch hat that I wore in Arkansas. The monogram pieces from,, all of it. It was so unusual and so special. For me it was the best time in the fashion industry.

You both have families, businesses and now a new show. With a life like this, are there even enough hours in a day?

Hilton:For me, my babies always come first, so I constantly say no to things. But I also have a lot of responsibilities with all my brands and all the different projects I work on every day. So there's definitely not enough time in the day to get everything done, but I don't stop and multitask. So I just try to pack as much as possible into a day. And I don't really have any time off on the weekends. I try to do as much as possible from home. So I built my recording studio there, which is right next to the baby's room. And mine-Studio is also there. I try to do as many photoshoots as possible from my house.

How do you keep your body and mind healthy?

Hilton:I'm obsessed with biohacking and. I have a longevity doctor who comes and consults with me once a month.

Richie:For me it is very important not to overexert myself. I have many different facets that I am constantly juggling: I am a wife, mother, businesswoman and friend, which I think is very important. Having dinner with my friends, relaxing and laughing is like a job for me. It's such an important part of my life. And I need it to be myself. And then I take time for myself, which is different than spending time with my family. This is my time toto be in nature.

Do you ever watch “The Simpe Life” today?

Hilton:It's my favorite series. I never stopped seeing her. I've seen so many episodes, so many different times. My son Phoenix and I are watching it and he's laughing so hard. Every time I laugh he looks at me and just laughs. He then says, “Mom, Mom.”

Richie:I only saw her again once when we decided to do the reunion.

What's next for you? Are there any further joint projects in the future?

Hilton:In fact, people are already asking what we're going to shoot next.

Richie:There are no concrete plans yet. But this much: filming the reunion was so much fun that I wish we could just do everything together!