Lionel Richie Says Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton ‘Haven’t Changed’ Since ‘The Simple Life’

Lionel Richie is preparing himself to see Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton once again join forces for a new reality series.

“They haven’t changed. Let me tell you something, those two scare me just standing next to each other,” Lionel, 74, teased in an interview with Entertainment Tonight published on Monday, May 20. “And I don’t know if the world knows this, they started this mess, and I was the first guinea pig daddy to go along with this.”

Nicole, 42, and Hilton, 43, revealed earlier this month that they would be reuniting for a new Peacock series 20 years after the premiere of their iconic reality series, The Simple Life. The show, which ran for five seasons from 2003 to 2007, followed the duo as they traded in their glamorous lives to work mundane, blue-collar jobs.

“New Era. Same Besties. 👯‍♀️ Coming soon to Peacock,” Nicole and Hilton captioned a joint Instagram post on May 13.

Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie’s Friendship Through the Years: The Highs and Lows

Reflecting on the OG show, Lionel told ET, “When they first started doing things like driving down the freeway backwards and I kept saying, ‘What are you guys doing?’ [They’d say], ‘It’s reality television, Dad!’”

He went on to joke, “And now these two are back together — oh, my God, world, hang on to your seat. Thank God I’m older and my medication will get me through this next phase of our lives.”

All worries aside, Lionel noted that he’s “very happy for both of them” as they prepare to reunite on the small screen.

Though details about the new show are currently under wraps, Nicole clarified earlier this month that the Peacock series will not be a reboot of The Simple Life. “It’s been 20 years since Paris and I worked together and we wanted to celebrate that,” she explained during a May 15 appearance on Good Morning America. “I can’t tell you too much right now, but we’ve worked together to create something very special and exciting, and I can’t wait for it to come out.”

Since starring on The Simple Life, Nicole tied the knot with singer Joel Madden in 2010, and the two share kids Harlow, 16, and Sparrow, 14. The teenagers joined their mom for a rare red carpet appearance at the Los Angeles premiere of her film Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead in April.

A Guide to Paris Hilton’s TV Shows Over the Years: From ‘The Simple Life’ to ‘Paris in Love’

Hilton, meanwhile, tied the knot with her husband, Carter Reum, in 2021. The couple’s marriage and the 2023 birth of their son, Phoenix, were the subjects of Hilton’s two-season Peacock reality series, Paris in Love. The pair also welcomed their daughter, London, in November 2023.

Paris in Love featured a sweet moment of Hilton reuniting with Nicole on her wedding day. “I’m so happy to have Nicole here with me on my big day,” Hilton gushed in a confessional clip from the show, which she shared via TikTok in January 2022. “We’ve been friends since we were 2 years old. I love her so much and it just means so much to me that she’s here.”