"We are thrilled to welcome Paris, Nicole and The Simple Life to E!," said Ted Harbert, the network's president & CEO.
The upcoming season will put the former best friends to "the matrimonial test," according to a statement. In the 10 new episodes, the two women will each take turns playing the role of "wife" and running a household. They will be required to perform household tasks such as cooking, cleaning – and taking care of children. According to E!, each family will decide which young heiress is a "keeper."
The viability of the series was called into question after FOX announced in October that it "did not see a place" for the show – while the rift between Hilton and Richie escalated. In April, PEOPLE reported that their spat had escalated into an all-out war. "It's no big secret that Nicole and I are no longer friends," Hilton said in a statement at the time. "Nicole knows what she did, and that's all I'm ever going to say about it."
Still, Hilton and Richie remained under contract with 20th Century Fox Television to do a fourth season. By summer, producers were considering new installments that would not require the two celebutantes to appear onscreen together. One idea was to film Hilton and Richie separately as they prepared for their weddings. (Richie is engaged to Adam Goldstein. Hilton, however, called off her engagement to shipping heir Paris Latsis.)
Hilton and Richie won't come face-to-face in the new installment, and the costars are still not speaking, according to Richie, who told Jane magazine last month that she and Hilton "haven't been friends in probably about two years."
Asked if there is a chance of a reconciliation, she said, "No, not at this point."
