Bella Talks TV
Bella Talks TV is a weekly pop culture podcast counting down reality TV's most talked about moments.
Join Amanda Bella (a.k.a. @bellatalksTV) every week as she rounds up the hot gossip about off-screen scandals and recaps all the LOL and OMG moments from your favorite "Real Housewives" and all BRAVO TV shows, "Bachelor Nation"... all into a TOP 5 countdown episode!
"Expect that I will be covering ALL of the Bravo TV, Bachelor Franchise, The Kardashians, Jersey Shore, Selling Sunset, Love is Blind and even Top Chef...you get the point. I watch ALL the reality TV and then report back to you with the most talked about moments" - Amanda Bella
New episodes are every Friday but be sure to follow Amanda on Instagram for the latest updates in reality TV and entertainment news.
Bella Talks TV
bella bonus day 14...THE SIMPLE LIFE 20TH ANNIVERSARY, PARIS & NICOLE: THE ENCORE
Ever wondered what happens when the glitz of Beverly Hills meets the simplicity of rural life? Join me, Amanda Bella, as we mark the 20-year anniversary of "The Simple Life," the groundbreaking reality series that threw Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie into the unglamorous world of Altus, Arkansas. From my personal reflections on small-town life in Northern Michigan to the duo's unforgettable antics, we'll explore why this show became a cultural milestone. Along with updates on Paris and Nicole's current lives and loves, you'll find out why their reunion special, "The Simple Life: The Encore," streaming on Peacock, is a nostalgic trip worth taking.
The excitement doesn’t stop there! Imagine Paris and Nicole planning an opera-themed reunion, complete with chaotic rehearsals and unexpected tech disasters. We recount the hilarious journey from cat café brainstorms to the prestigious Saban Theater in LA. Featuring surprise guests like Sia and comedic moments with Danny Pellegrino, this episode captures the essence of their comedic brilliance and enduring friendship. Discover why "Sanasa" became the unlikely opera theme and how a grand entrance from the ceiling left audiences, including Paris's mother Kathy, in awe. Whether you're a die-hard fan or just tuning in, prepare to be entertained by reality TV's most talked-about moments.
Follow me @BellaTalksTV
5, 4, 3, 2, 1. It's time to count down reality TV's most talked about moments, with Amanda Bella. Hey everybody, welcome back to Bella Talks TV. It's Amanda Bella here and I have a fun little episode for you guys. Today we are here to talk about Paris and Nicole the encore.
Speaker 1:So I don't know if you guys are the Simple Life fans. To me, simple Life is the epitome of reality TV. It is one of the original OG shows that got me into reality TV. It's not even just about getting me into it, it's really because it's really because sometimes it's like, oh yeah, one of my favorite shows. It's like, no, it is truly one of America's favorite shows, it is a national treasure and I was so lucky. So Paris, I believe, is let's just see here, let's do a little Google, see and find out exactly how old Paris is, because I mean, I'm sure that the internet I don't know if she's somebody that would like lie about it, but oh, my god, I'm still sick, you guys, okay, okay. So let's do a quick google and I want to see a little bit more about Paris. Paris is 43, she is an Aquarius I knew that February 17th 1981, so to 1781. And then she is married to Carter. We know this. Okay, and how old is Nicole? I think I'm closer in age to Nicole. I know they're both 43. Okay, yeah, that's probably why they were in the same grade growing up. Um, she's a little bit younger September, so nine at 2181. But, as you guys know, she's married to Joel Madden of good Charlotte fame. I mean, wow, paris and Nicole. I can't believe that they are back.
Speaker 1:So it is the 20-year anniversary of the Simple Life and that's why they decided. I'm sure that's why they were approached by not only their fans, begging them for them to do something to reunite and at least do like some kind of anniversary special. So that's what they did. They went to peacock, which nbc universal is deep, with the hilton family. We know that they've done paris in love. Obviously, nbc universal with real house was the beverly hills and it's it's good to see them like working in tv still.
Speaker 1:So the original show, the simple life, premiered, I think, my senior year in high school. So let's see, it was really like my formative years, 2003. Yes, okay, so in 2003, I was a junior in high school and then, if you guys remember the original Simple Life series, the first one, they get on their private jet, they land in Arkansas and they get in this like pink pickup truck and that is their old truck, it's not some like new, souped up. You know, the whole point of the show is to take them from Beverly Hills and put them on a farm and make them live the simple life and get back to their roots. No cell phones, they had to work jobs for money, to have money to be able to do things and they had to share a little one bed, one bedroom, and there was no mirror, there was no closet, and these two were really out there bumming it.
Speaker 1:Somebody who's from you know Northern Michigan, not necessarily farmland, I'm not. I wasn't born on a farm, but a lot of my friends had farms and I know a lot about farm culture and it was, I mean, just this show. Really, I would always think to myself like wow, what if Paris and Nicole came to my town? Like I'm from Alpena, michigan, so this place that they went to was Alta. How was they pronounced it? Altus, I think A-L-T-U-S. Arkansas, altus, arkansas.
Speaker 1:So not far off from kind of like the vibes where I was from, they had a Walmart. That's where everybody used to hang out, like that used to be a thing you guys Like, when we didn't have anything to do, we would just go with our friends there, or sometimes even you would go there with, like the guy that you liked. We would be like, oh, let's like go to Walmart together and like shop. So embarrassing. We didn't have a mall really. We had a JCPenney. We had, I'm trying to think like we had like one little like local boutique kind of place that sold like flannels and like sweaters. I mean that was pretty much it. Like when we wanted to go school shopping we had to do a two and a half hour drive to either Traverse City, michigan, which is where Paris Hilton's husband, carter, is, from which all roads. It's so crazy, it is such a small world. I actually have mutual friends that went to Paris and Carter's wedding. It is so wild sometimes how there's a parallel universe going on. Damn, I was so close but I was so far away.
Speaker 1:Okay, so Paris and Nicole they grew up together because Paris's dad, lionel Richie, lived next door to Kathy Hilton. So when Paris and Nicole would get in trouble, when they were kids and they would take their phone away, they talked about, they told the story in this new. You know the encore show. It was just only three episodes. It's on Peacock. It all dropped at once. Go watch it.
Speaker 1:If you don't have peacock, I mean, what are you doing? I think that at this point it's worth it. It's worth it. You get everything uncensored. You get everything. I mean, I would never be able to live with the commercials, like most of the time I will opt not even to watch my housewife shows live, because if I just watch my peacock the next day with no commercials, it's so much better.
Speaker 1:But NBC, while you're over there, while you're on Peacock, make sure you go watch Paris in Love, the first season of Paris in Love. They go to Traverse City in Paris. There's a huge fish that hates it there. She basically has a meltdown, almost simple lifestyle where she doesn't even know what to do with herself there. They're like we're going to go out on the lake. She's like I don't even. She doesn't even know what to do with herself there. And they're like we're gonna go out on the lake and she's like like she really can't handle it. Actually pretty entertaining. It really shows a lot about her. And then also Kathy. It peels back a lot of the layers on Kathy. Season two of Paris in Love.
Speaker 1:Kathy does not know that Paris had a surrogate and has had a son and now she also has London to the daughter. She has both of the children. What is the boy's name? It's Paris Phoenix. Oh my God, phoenix. That's why I couldn't remember it. I'm sorry you guys, I do not like that name for that little boy. I just don't, I just don't. And Dorit's daughter is Phoenix and Paris's son is Phoenix. I mean, there's a lot of Phoenix work going on out in the Beverly Hills. I'm just not a fan of that name. I'm not a fan of people naming their kids after places.
Speaker 1:But I know that Paris is obviously, you know she's just trying to keep her family tradition alive or whatever. But she doesn't even tell Kathy that she's going through the process of the surrogate. Then the baby is born, they bring Phoenix home. Phoenix is there for like a week or two before Kathy even finds out. Like it is chilling, it's bone chilling. And then they do the same thing with London, like nobody knows when she's born. It's very mysterious. So I mean, I understand Paris. Being a 43 year old woman, you know that's a big decision to have children. She's obviously a very busy person and I think she, like, is addicted to, you know, keeping her empire going, and even you know, not everything that she does is great though, which I think is the point of this show.
Speaker 1:Like they probably went, this probably was supposed to be like an eight episode show. Who does like three episodes? But my guess is that like it just they were too busy to focus on it, it was too much for them to do, they couldn't really handle it, or something like seems like they were not. They're very. You know we'll get to it, but they are very unhappy with, like how it turns out. You never really heard ever about the Nicole and Paris opera filming or like anything. I don't know if they were all like under NDAs it was a secret for the show Like I'd never heard a word about this. So I don't know. But the first season of Simple Life they go to Arkansas, and then the second season of Simple Life they do more of like a road trip, vibe.
Speaker 1:Do you remember I was obsessed with this show. My friend Tara, that I worked at Wet Seal with, she loaned me all four seasons on DVD and I remember like I just would watch that on repeat every single day. I loved the Simple Life. I loved Real Houses of Orange County at this time like 2003,. Right, yeah, this is like the beginning of Orange County. That's what I was watching. And the OC, the actual scripted show. So yeah, the overview for the show says Society Princesses, princesses, party girls, paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie leave their parties, wardrobes and trust funds behind and move in with the farm family for five weeks to experience life as they have never known it, kind of like Beverly Hillbillies in reverse. Okay, yeah, so they go.
Speaker 1:December 2nd 2003, this airs, and the first season was pretty iconic, if you guys remember all the things from Nicole putting her arm up that cow's butt which is like a big part of the opera, you know or not inseminating it, I want to say but, but inseminating the cow, oh my god, that was disgusting. I remember she pulled her arm out of it and chased Paris around the farm. That that was so I didn't really know that all three of these episodes were even dropping. I'm sure that that was so. I didn't really know that all three of these episodes were even dropping. I'm sure that, that they were, I guess, doing some press for it, but I didn't really. Somehow this was not on my radar. So when I was excited to pull up by Peacock, I'm like, wow, there's three episodes of this. I'm like, oh, I'm like, oh, this is what Danny Pellegrino was shooting with them. So then I kind of like started to draw and know, connect some dots.
Speaker 1:But the point of them getting together is, yes, it's the 20th anniversary of the simple life people you know want. I'm sure they got paid to do this. You know they need to work, everyone needs to work. So stay relevant content, all the stuff for them to do this show. So they decide they're going to do an opera, which I think like was a little bit of a hair-brained idea and, as you see, in this first episode especially, they go around telling people that they're going to do this and everybody is like, why just? No, like choose something else. Like just do a regular reality tv show. Like why do you have to do like an opera? You can tell that like they were going for some kind of like moment and I know paris is very creative, um, and you know, very musical and she's Aquarius.
Speaker 1:But I think that they just got a little bit lost in the sauce on this one and luckily they did find some good people to help them. They casted it good. They found very passionate super fans and people from the past in the lore of the Simple Life to come back and help them. So they did pretty good like assembling the crew to do the show. The fact that it was really only three episodes I'm still not okay with.
Speaker 1:In the very first episode they go back to Arkansas. That's the point of the first episode is for them to kind of go back and relive the roots of them being in Altus. So they go there, they meet with the mayor who is a big part of them being there. They go to the Walmart there, they go to see the music teacher that they were close with when they were there and they kind of help plan the opera and get help from him. And then they revealed to us that they went to the home that they stayed in, which remember they stayed in this family's home for five weeks in the bedroom there and lived there and filmed with them. And they went to the home and they saw them and they caught up with them but they did not want to be filmed now and she was like, oh yeah, they all look the same, they said, except for Braxton, who I think was like five years old when they found it. Yeah, braxton looks a lot different, but like there was something about that interaction and the fact that it wasn't filmed, like what if it was filmed and like it was awkward or something Like who really knows what the truth is, but like that was kind of weird and that was a little bit of a lull on the first episode of them going back Like it would have been great to see them in that bedroom and like see them at that kitchen table that they would all eat at together and you know it was kind of weird, but they did check in with a lot of the other characters from the first season.
Speaker 1:Then in the rest of the episode they sit down with the producers that were on the show and talk a lot about like the actual trouble that Nicole caused. Like Nicole was in a very self-destructive path back in 2003, if you guys remember. She was definitely substance abusing. She was definitely, you know, her and Paris both were. But it was just more obvious with Nicole that she was just way more like of that teenage, like angsty, like just she had more of that rage inside of her when Paris is more just like oopsie would like knock stuff over when with Nicole she would like literally set things on fire and it would be like arson. So she was a little bit you know, I think, a little bit more troubled at the time before she went to rehab and then she went through her whole like sober art, um, unclear, if she does drink now I can't tell if I've like seen her have a glass of champagne or if she's still sober now. Um, I'm not sure. But she, she definitely is sober from drugs. So she, they do. They sit down with the producers. Oh yeah, they talk about, I mean, everybody hates the idea of this opera first of all, and, like I said, it does not turn out great.
Speaker 1:But they Nicole too, I have to just say, is just naturally so funny, like she was so funny back then and she has not lost her touch. Just the ways that she reacts to people. She loves to like calmly ask a very awkward question, like while making eye contact, and like just see what somebody will say. She really she's got that. Just like riz, she's so funny. And then they kind of get into like Sanasa. They talk about Sanasa a lot, and then they get into like Sanasa and why they chose that as the theme of the opera. And even Kathy is like, yeah, everybody knows like Sanasa, sanasa. So it's like, yeah, we do know that that is, I guess their like iconic sound, but I don't know the opera, I don't know. I'm still.
Speaker 1:It took a while for me to really get behind the idea of this. The producers, when they sat down to talk about the filming of the Simple Life, they said that they were actually, yeah, a lot of problems caused, like the farm that they worked on got fined from the department of health because of all the shit that they did. Um, they had damage to some of the sites, like a roof was ruined, I think some things were lit on fire at some point. And then nicole also got really fucked up one night at the local bar and poured bleach all over the pool table and like they actually had to get rid of that. She was like apologizing for that when she went there, when she went back to that bar in this Encore episode so funny they go over to.
Speaker 1:They go back to LA. They go over to Kathy Hilton's house Remember they talk about Nicole growing up as a little kid living next door. They go into what they call the go over to Kathy Hilton's house, because remember they talked about Nicole growing up as a little kid living next door. They go into what they call the bowels of Kathy Hilton's house looking for pictures and old shit of them and of course, they can't really like find too much. Pierce is like mom, where's all of my stuff from when I was like a little kid? And she's like, yeah, it's here somewhere, but there's just like a bunch of random, meaningless shit everywhere. So that's pretty much episode one, like I said, like it was okay. But it is like just them, the two of them. They have this great chemistry. Everybody always tells them and it's pointing that out like how naturally funny they are together and stuff like that. So then they go to episode two.
Speaker 1:In episode two they open with them at a cat cafe together really trying to plan this opera, because I think that they're like okay, we really have to start to like have a plan for this, otherwise, like we have people, as paris and nicole both say, we have people coming from like out of the country to come see this show. Like they have the saban theater which is in la, they have that booked. Like this is like a real venue. People are coming, it's going to be filmed. They better get their shit together. So they start going around getting you know casting together, getting people to help with the operations, the tech, everything like that, getting everything planned.
Speaker 1:They go to do opera lessons and it's one of the funniest scenes. Nicole doing opera is so funny, it's exactly what you think it is. Then they go to a music store and Paris with a violin is one of the funniest scenes. Nicole doing opera is so funny, it's exactly what you think it is. Then they go to a music store and Paris with a violin is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Also, like they're battling each other to be like the outstanding funny one of the second episode. It's pretty good. I would say if you're going to watch anything, at least watch that second episode.
Speaker 1:You can skip the first one when they go back to Arkansas's pretty boring, but then they go to another. They actually go to an opera too, to do some research in like an LA park and start working. They invite, like these guys that they want to direct their Sanasa opera to come to the show with them and just you know, the hijinks ensue. Paris is very Kathy, like it's a, it's a Hilton thing. They you know just wherever they go causing the scene. And then they, it's a Hilton thing. They you know just wherever they go, calls in the scene. And then they go to the Beverly Hilton, basically like Hilton headquarters, to ask daddy for a million dollars of Rick's money to do the opera. And it is funny like everybody working there is just like, oh my God, we, you know, wish we had this money that that Paris wants to just like do this this stupid thing. It's like, basically like what they, what they refer to this as as Paris and Nicole, when they were kids, they used to do like skits and like do little plays and have everybody like come and even had to like buy tickets to come see their plays and watch them act out little scenes. That's what they like want to do now, but like on a bigger scale. That's what they're doing, that's what we're doing. So they cast the show Sia shows up to help, which, if I had the Danny Pellegrino like, okay, sia has been missing, sia has been missing.
Speaker 1:The last time Sia was seen in public, I think it was a while ago and it's, you know, allegedly according to TikTok conspiracies. It is because when all this went down with diddy, she went into hiding because she knows something and she tweeted something about like beyonce knowing where she is. Oh my gosh, there's something going on with sia. The person that acts like sia, which see it's like a perfect person to try to portray because she has that big wig on, I don't know. I don't think this was the real sia. You guys just go watch the episode and tell me what you think. I do not think that was the real sia. Where is sia? So that was all going on.
Speaker 1:Episode two, casting the show, getting ready for this opera. Now, episode three, the opera is here, like it is here. We get one episode, um, or we get one scene where they pick up danny pellegrino he's gonna mc the opera, which ends up being like a traumatizing position because there's a bunch of problems and danny has to be the one to like calm the crowds down so they all go to work at sonic together and danny's like literally having like the other little stations, like someone's doing the drive through, someone's doing the drinks, someone's doing the food and danny gets put on food and nicole's like cooking is like an emotional experience, danny, like you just have to like feel it. Danny looks so miserable like I know he hated making people like grilled cheeses, I know it. And then paris is on like slushy. Nicole's running like the mic and doing the register. It is pretty good, pretty funny. Maybe I want to go to sonic because they have like delicious little slushies there. They're named the paris and the nicole and the paris one looks so good with the little sprinkles on it. So they ride around with danny pellegrino. It's so good you can tell he's really excited to be there. They go to sonic, yes.
Speaker 1:Then they go do a star tour with danny, danny, paris, nicole. They pick up kesha and they all go do a star tour, like on that double-decker TMZ bus. Then they go to the tech rehearsal and this is the day before the show and it's awful. Like they're sitting there watching the tech rehearsal and Paris and Nicole both are like oh my God, what have we done? People cannot see this. We need to do a total rewrite. Like nobody can leave here, nobody's going to sleep tonight. Like they go into full-on like creative genius mode and they start pulling in the people that did Paris's tour visuals and pulling in all these people to like come in and help. I mean panic ensues pretty much. Then they come up with this brilliant idea to strap them in from the ceiling and lower them down over a choir for the entrance of the opera. I mean, starting off with that. I mean Kathy alone was sitting in the front row Like her face when she saw Paris coming down Like a little Christmas angel from the ceiling.
Speaker 1:The hip opera or the sonnets opera or what I think they called it. It's hot, that's hot opera, that's hop opera, whatever you want to call it. It was a little bit of a fever dream, but I will not spoil it for you. It's at the end of the episode three. Again, there's only three episodes. So if you guys did not watch the simple life like you might not appreciate anything about watching this reunion of them, but maybe you'll still find some parts of it funny. I definitely recommend going back and watching some of at least the clips of the simple life or like a montage or something like that on youtube, because you will not be disappointed. Paris and nicole are so freaking funny together and they talk about okay, there's I'll give you one spoiler that they do three acts in the opera and in the second app. On the second act.
Speaker 1:I think they discuss how the paparazzi were the ones to pull Paris and Nicole apart as friends because, remember you guys, like they didn't talk for years. Paris would reach out, Nicole wouldn't respond. Nicole was off having babies, getting married. Paris just went through getting married and having babies in the last two years. You know they weren't at the same stages in life together for a while, so it's just interesting that they came back together, despite what they call fame trying to rip them apart.
Speaker 1:And yeah, where's Lilo? Would have been great to see Lilo back with them or Britney there supporting. Like there were no real, like celeb. Kathy Hilton was like the only celebrity that was there. Maybe they were just too embarrassed of their friends. Come and watch. I don't even think. See, was that like final performance? The production was very Countess Luanne it ask, I will say that, but I do. I will give it like a six out of 10 and it's worth like the two and a half hours it takes to watch us. Go and give it a watch, you guys. That is your mini Bella bonus episode for today. Thank you so much for joining me and I will be back again with another episode tomorrow. Ciao, bella.
