Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie recall traumatising tabloid attention in their 20s

Paris Hilton is opening the lid on her early experience with constantly being in the limelight.

Hilton, 43, and Nicole Richie, also 43, sat with Glamour for an interview ahead of the long-awaited return of their reality show The Simple Life.

The duo touched upon not just their influence in early 2000s fashion but also the tabloid attention they received at the time.

"There would be a lot of nights I’d cry and I’d call my mom," Hilton began. "But it also made me so strong where, after a while, I just realised these are people who don’t even know me, they’re just making stories up."

Richie added that the criticism "took a heavier toll on me than I could have admitted even to myself at the moment."

"But looking back, I can see how big of an effect it played on my daily life and my daily choices," she added.

The two also touched upon the recent resurgence of Y2K trends, which Richie remarked "very funny and sweet."

"I don't necessarily connect with all the Y2K interpretations, which I’m sure is how people in the ’70s thought when we decided that we loved the ’70s," Richie continued in the interview published on Thursday. "But yes, as far as the Juicy sweatsuits and the trucker hats and everything, yes, it’s very sweet."

Meanwhile, Hilton shared that she still has many items from her aughts wardrobe, including her 21st birthday dress. "Which is iconic," the star said.

"I have the Von Dutch hat that I was wearing in Arkansas," she went on. "The Dior monogram pieces, Louis Vuitton, all of that. It was so out there and so extra. It was the most fun time in fashion," she concluded