'Weight blamed on stress'
2005-11-23 09:34
New York - Lionel Richie says the stress of his daughter's expanding career is most likely the reason for her shrinking dress size.
"I know what's happening with her right now, she's a nervous wreck," Richie says of Nicole, who was heavier when she co-starred with Paris Hilton on The Simple Life.
"She's like her father, you can either blow up or you can shrink away," the R&B crooner told Access Hollywood in an interview that aired on Monday night. "And right now, she's just feeling a little bit of the pressures of her new business. So in this case ... she will be all right."
"Dad is on the case," he said.
The 24-year-old Richie has said she was always really thin, but went through a heavier stage during the first season of The Simple Life.
In October, Fox announced that feuding ex-friends Richie and Hilton would not return for a fourth season. The network said its midseason schedule didn't have a time slot for the reality series.
Richie is engaged to Adam Goldstein, a professional club disc jockey who goes by DJ AM.
Her new novel, The Truth About Diamonds, is described by ReganBooks as a "no-holds-barred look at Hollywood's new elite, behind the velvet ropes, inside star-studded premieres and parties".
- AP