Nicole Richie Admits She's 'Too Thin'

Nicole Richie, has now publicly admitted to Vanity Fair magazine that she is too thin, and that she is trying to gain weight to combat the issue. Richie had garnered speculation that she had an eating disorder when she appeared to lose weight at a dramatic rate.

In 2005, Nicole Richie was the target of tabloid speculation that she had an eating disorder. Richie had re-buffed the claims, saying that she had gained weight when she went into rehab for her heroin addiction. She claimed to have gone through a "heavier stage" after rehab, and during the first season of her and Paris Hilton's hit reality show, The Simple Life. Mercury News report that "The 5-foot-1-inch Richie was visibly heavier in 2003 when she began filming TV's The Simple Life, which features Richie and ex-friend Paris Hilton thrown into normal jobs and responsibilities." After that time, she claimed to have gotten a trainer and lost the excess weight.

Nicole now thinks she may have taken it too far. In her interview with Vanity Fair, Richie said "I know I'm too thin right now, so I wouldn't want any young girl looking at me and saying, 'That's what I want to look like.' I do know that they will, which is another reason I really do need to do something about it. I'm not happy with the way I look right now."

Nicole Richie has been seeing Dr. Jeffrey Wilkins, the vice-chair of the department of psychiatry at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, for treatment. At the behest of Richie, Wilkins talked about his patient's condition. He told Vanity Fair, "We're working on a systematic plan to get more calories in, and we're going to watch it and see if it succeeds. We're all concerned, and she's concerned, but it's either going to improve or it won't."

Dr. Wilkins went on to say that "If it's not anorexia, she should be able to gain the weight. If it ends up being anorexia, we'll help her with that. I think she's willing to look this in the eye."

ABC News reports that "Stress causes her to lose her appetite, she says, and her split in December from ex-fiance Adam Goldstein, a professional club DJ who goes by the name DJ AM, didn't help matters." Richie went on tell Vanity Fair "I had a bad breakup, and it eats me up inside when I'm upset about something. I get really stressed out, and I do lose my appetite, but I do force myself to eat."

E Online quoted Paris Hilton talking to Elle magazine about the issue. "I can't believe it. That's not normal. She looks horrible. It's really sad."

Nicole Richie, daughter of famed singer Lionel Richie, has been featured alongside Paris Hilton in their reality TV series on Fox, called The Simple Life. Despite their public feud, Season 4 of The Simple Life, entitled The Simple Life: 'Till Death Do Us Part has been filmed and is ready for air. USA Today quoted producer Jon Murray as saying "We did the impossible. We finished our 10 episodes, and we think we've created something really fun, even though our two co-stars are generally not speaking to each other." Nicole Richie was engaged to DJ AM, better known as Adam Goldstein, though they announced in December 2005 that the engagement was off. Since that time, Nicole Richie and Adam Goldstein have started dating again.

Vanity Fair's June edition hits shelves nationally on May 9th. The Simple Life: 'Till Death Do Us Part starts its run on June 4th.

[Additional Sources: Vanity Fair, ABC News, Mercury News, USA Today, E Online]

- Doug Pendrell