Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie Reuniting for New Reality Series 17 Years After The Simple Life Ended

Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie are returning to their roots — sort of.

The duo who become households names for The Simple Life in the early 2000s are joining forces once again, PEOPLE has learned.

Hilton, 43, and Richie, 42, will be reuniting for an all-new reality TV series more than 16 years after the conclusion of their original show, which saw them traverse the U.S. picking up odd jobs and, eventually, entering the corporate world, from 2003 to 2007. 

TMZ was first to report the news.

On May 8, Richie sparked rumors of a potential reunion between her and Hilton with a post on Instagram that showed a collage of photos of the friends from the show and throughout their friendship.

"From Day 1: Sill and Bill 👭," she captioned the post, which Hilton reposted on her Instagram Stories.

"Sanasaaaa 💖💖💖," Hilton commented on the post.

In December, the pair marked the 20th anniversary of the premiere of The Simple Life, as Hilton called it "the show that started it all" in an Instagram post.

"Filming this series with @nicolerichie was one of the most special, hilarious and iconic times in my life.🥰," she wrote in the caption as she shared a carousel of photos from the show. "I'm so lucky to have these amazing memories!!"

The possibility of returning to the reality series has long been a question faced by both Richie and Hilton, and in 2018, Hilton teased fans in a poll on Twitter, asking, "Should #TheSimpleLife return?"

Over 80 percent of her followers responded "yes."

The show was not always authentic for her, though, as she told PEOPLE in 2020 that she was playing a "character" on the show instead of being herself.

“I knew what I was doing but the whole world didn’t, so it was kind of frustrating to me to be perceived in that way because it’s not who I am at all,” she said. “But it was such an amazing and entertaining show that I would just think of it as entertainment.”

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“Obviously, I’ve grown as a person. I’m an adult now, but just to be judged and have so many misconceptions based on a character that I had invented myself was frustrating.”