A not so simple life. Paris Hilton may be an heiress, but she’s endured her share of hardships throughout her years in the public eye.
During a February 2023 interview with Harper’s Bazaar, the New York native described her public persona — “a dumb blonde with a sweet but easy edge” — as her “steel-plated armor.”
She added of her alter-ego: “I made sure I never had a quiet moment to figure out who I was without her. I was afraid of that moment because I didn’t know what I’d find.”
The daughter of hospitality mogul Richard Hilton and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kathy Hilton, Paris was sent to a series of boarding schools for troubled teens in her youth, including Provo Canyon School in Springville, Utah. The model later spoke out about the alleged physical and mental abuse she experienced at the treatment center.
In the September 2020 documentary This Is Paris, the DJ recalled being pulled out of bed by strangers to be taken to the school in the middle of the night.
“I started screaming for my mom and dad to help me and no one came,” she said. “I saw my parents standing by their door, crying. And I was like, ‘Please help me. What’s happening?’ And no one would tell me what was happening.”
In the film, Paris claimed that she was beaten, forced to take unidentified pills and once made to take her clothes off and spend a day in solitary confinement during her time at the institution.
Then-CEO of the school, Adam McClain, said in a September 2020 statement to USA Today that Provo Canyon was “sold by its previous ownership in August 2020” and therefore couldn’t comment on the reality TV personality’s claims.
Paris revealed in the documentary that her boarding school experiences left her unable to trust anyone, including her own family.
“Even to this day, it’s really hard for me to let anyone in. I’m scared I haven’t gotten to experience real life, like having a family and being in love,” she shared. “I want to change.”
One year after This Is Paris was released, the House of Wax actress married Carter Reum in November 2021. The duo got engaged the previous February after more than a year of dating.
“This month, I became a wife and I’m so grateful to not only my amazing husband, but also the wonderful friends and family that surrounded us on our wedding weekend and have supported us along the way,” the Cooking With Paris alum wrote via Instagram shortly after the nuptials.
She continued: “This next chapter will be my best to come, not only as a wife, advocate and businesswoman, but as the Paris I’m more and more proud to be every day.”
The couple welcomed their son, Phoenix, via surrogate in January 2023.
“You are already loved beyond words,” Paris wrote via Instagram at the time alongside a photo of her little one’s hand holding her thumb.
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Keep scrolling for a look at Paris’ ups and downs over the years: