Paris Hilton reveals what really caused Nicole Richie feud that made them stop speaking for over a year

Paris Hilton revealed fake tabloid news was the main catalyst that led to her feud with best friend Nicole Richie in the early aughts.

During Wednesday’s episode of “Call Her Daddy,” the two starlets talked about how their friendship turned “sour,” causing them to film Season 4 of their show “The Simple Life” separately.

Richie, 43, prefaced that the real reason wouldn’t “be good enough” because “nothing really happened.”

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

“So it was mostly the media just spinning things and creating drama that didn’t exist, which was normal in the 2000s. They did it with everyone.”

Richie added that their age made things worse because they “didn’t know how to communicate with each other,” which meant that “if [they] were hearing something, [they] would assume [it was true].”

“We didn’t have the communication skills we have right now to have check-ins, which is so important,” she said of their 23 and 24-year-old selves.

Richie went on to explain that it makes her “sad to think about a time without [her] friend,” adding, “I think it has really helped me [with] communicating at this stage in my life.

“And I think just with all relationships, it’s so important to have check-ins and to be honest and real and, you know, tender with the people that you love the most.”

The “Candidly Nicole” star further explained that, because their feud was featured on “The Simple Life,” it “blew up to be something that was so big that it became impossible to connect to or have any sort of real feeling around it.”

She even described their feud as “otherworldly.”

During the episode, Richie and Hilton agreed that they managed to mend their friendship because they had known each other since they were 2 and their families were friends.

In December 2003, “The Simple Life” premiered, highlighting their friendship.

However, two years later, in April 2005, the “Paris in Love” star hinted at a feud when she said she wanted Kimberly Stewart, Rod Stewart’s daughter, as her new co-star.

“Kim is hysterical and crazy fun, and I love that about her,” Hilton said in a statement at the time, per People. “Nicole and I have been best friends since we were babies, and I love her, but I want to do what’s best for the show.”

A few days later, the heiress admitted that “it’s no big secret Nicole and [her] are no longer friends.”

“Nicole knows what she did, and that’s all I’m ever going to say about it,” she added at the time with a source claiming that Richie was jealous of her fame.

However, another source claimed that Richie had simply outgrown Hilton.

By the end of 2005, Richie stated she was not willing to speak to her former friend, causing them to film “The Simple Life” separately.

The two patched things up by September 2006 when Hilton reached out to Richie for her 25th birthday.

To this day, the duo has remained close friends and their new show, “The Simple Life: Encore,” is out Dec. 12 on Peacock.