Nicole Richie pens emotional open letter about her wild past

NICOLE Richie has gotten candid about her wild past as sidekick to former best friend Paris Hilton — but says she’s actually glad it all happened.

THE current life of fashion designer and mother-of-two Nicole Richie is a far cry from her days as the wild child sidekick to ex-BFF Paris Hilton.

The former Simple Life star, who’s married to Joel Madden, recently opened up about her life in an emotional essay for Lena Dunham’s website Lenny Letter.

The 35-year-old addressed the names she’s been called — ‘Wild child. Reality star. White-washed black girl. Skinny. Rich.’ — and claimed she has no regrets about her past antics, which include drug use, DUI, and a jail stint.

Richie and former Simple Life co-star Paris Hilton.

In 2002, Richie was arrested following a nightclub brawl in New York City, though the charges were later dropped.

She was again arrested in Malibu in 2003 for driving unlicensed and possessing heroin. It prompted her to check into rehab, and months later she was sentenced to three years’ probation.

Three years later, in 2006, Richie was arrested while driving in California after failing a sobriety test and charged with DUI.

Richie’s mugshot.

She later confessed to using marijuana and Vicodin before the incident and was sentenced to four days’ jail — though she only served about 82 minutes of that time behind bars.

However, the star refuses to let these incidents define her.

“Being ashamed of your life is not OK,” Richie wrote.

“As much as I have to look at those moments and learn from them, as we all do, it’s important for me to have gratitude for that time, too. Not shame.”

Richie even went on to explain that she was glad to have her past demons out in the open.

“I realised I am actually extremely thankful I was so beastly in front of the world for a few reasons,” she said.

“It’s so bad in people’s minds that there’s nothing that can embarrass me now. I got a little surprise gift of freedom! I also truly believe if I didn’t have so many eyes on me, it would’ve been easier for me to slip back into my reckless behaviour. I had people rooting me on and watching me at a time when I needed that.

“Mostly, the utter freedom I experience from having all of my past out in the open allows me to truly accept and embrace my former self.”