Nicole's Baby In Danger, Kellie Pickler On The Verge Of Collapse and Nicky Hates Paris

Nicole’s Baby in Danger

She’s just 25 years old, but Nicole Richie has done more than her share of hard living. But the 12-weeks-pregnant Nicole is facing her biggest challenge yet – motherhood!

Although she’s frightened and desperate to stay clean, sources say sobriety remains a daily struggle, and experts agree that beating her demons will likely be a long and arduous process.
Renowned addiction psychiatrist Aldo Morales M.D. tells Star, “It’s going to be an uphill battle. The odds are not in her favor…She’s dealing with multiple addictions plus an eating disorder.”
As Star reported three weeks ago, Nicole consumed a staggering 73,000 pills in just four years – including Vicodin and the muscle relaxant Soma. The she discovered she was pregnant.

When she signed on as an outpatient at the Beau Monde treatment center in California in May she weighed just 83 pounds and was in a panic, say sources. An insider reports to Star, “She was in tears. She explained she was pregnant and needed help because her boyfriend threatened to leave her if she didn’t do something about her addiction.”

If she did have drugs in her system when she got pregnant, she could be at risk for a miscarriage or birth defects.

A clinical professor at Yale tells Star, she is surprised that the scary-skinny star could conceive at all, “Nicole needs to gain at least 40 pounds to nourish the baby properly.”
There’s yet another hurdle looming for the mom-to-be. Nicole was arrested last December for DUI after police caught her going the wrong way down an L.A. freeway. While she pleaded not guilty, she did admit to taking Vicodin and smoking pot at the time of her arrest – and she could face up to a year in jail!

Sources say Nicole is now trying hard to take care of herself – and her baby. And the baby’s father, Joel Madden, is right by her side. But every day is tough. “Nicole had morning sickness in the beginning, so she had a hard time keeping any food down at all,” a friend tells Star. She is supposed to take prenatal vitamins as well but that makes her nauseous, so it’s been a struggle to keep them down.

Nicole seems to want to fight. She admitted “I’m scared” on national TV, and sources say she’s trying to do what’s best for her and her baby!

An insider notes, “She entered rehab early in the pregnancy and is being treated by the top doctors in L.A. and is following their instructions to the letter.”

Idol Kellie Heading for Collapse!

American Idol finalist Kellie Pickler has cancelled three concerts since June 22- and insiders say it’s because she’s on the verge of collapse!

After Kellie, 21 came in sixth on the 2006 season of American Idol, her first CD, Small Town Girl, debuted at No. 1 on the country charts, and her latest single, “I Wonder,” has climbed into the top 20. But insiders tell Star she’s making herself ill on tour with country giant Brad Paisley . “She’s under a great deal of pressure to be slender and slinky,” an associate explains.
“Kellie’s trying to lose weight, but that’s near impossible when she’s working 14 hours a day,” the source adds. “Something has to give, and unfortunately it’s her health.” Kellie- who has lost about 20 pounds since last spring- cancelled two shows in Colorado and one in New Mexico . “She needs to eat and rest more,” says the source. “There’s a real fear that she won’t hold up.” Kellie’s rep, Wes Vause, admits that the singer is a “picky eater” and canceled shows “because of low blood sugar.” Vause tells Star that Kellie “had gone to Canada and didn’t eat enough, so she needed to get her strength back. She is well.”

Meanwhile, insiders say Kellie’s private life is another source of stress. Her father, Clyde Pickler, has been in and out of jail for years, and in May, he was charged with four felony counts of larceny and obtaining property under false pretenses. It’s made his daughter- who has no relationship with her mother and was raised by her grandparents- sick with worry. “She’s trying to reconnect with her dad while wondering when he’s going back to prison,” the insider says.

One of the bright spots in Kellie’s life is boyfriend Jordin Tootoo, a hockey star with the Nashville Predators. But Kellie’s future with Jordin is also uncertain. His team was sold and will probably relocate to Ontario , a source says. “They’d face a long-distance relationship,” says the source. “That’s weighing on Kellie. She tries so hard to please everybody- but it isn’t doing anyone, including Kellie, any good to have her starving herself and canceling shows.”

Nicky & Paris : Sister Feud?

Since Paris Hilton was freed from jail on June 26, she’s enjoyed nonstop attention from members of her family and the media- but an insider tells Star that Nicky is not on the “poor Paris ” bandwagon. “Nicky’s fed up,” says a source close to the heiress sisters. “She’s sort of lived in Paris ’ shadow her whole life, but seeing Paris treated like a coddled baby just because she was sent to prison is too much.”

Despite her stint in the slammer, Paris still seems incapable of doing any wrong in the eyes of her parents, Ricky and Kathy Hilton. “Nicky’s never been rewarded for being responsible,” a source says. While Paris is famous for partying and being famous, Nicky designs her own clothing line, Chick by Nicky Hilton. So when Kathy announced plans to throw Paris, 26, a homecoming gala and ordered Nicky to cut short a Greek vacation with beau David Katzenberg to attend – the younger Hilton wasn’t thrilled, says a source. “Nicky griped to her mother about how she always plays favorites with Paris , and that throwing a party for breaking the law wasn’t the best thing to do.”

Nicky went home to greet her newly sprung sib and put in an appearance at Paris ’ Fourth of July beach bash in Malibu . But witnesses report that she left the party early and looked “glum.”

Strangely Paris seems unfazed by the whole sister-sister squabble. “She doesn’t get why Nicky is annoyed with her, but she has a short attention span,” says a source. “People have been asking her if she’s been spending time with Nicky, and Paris just says, ‘Whatever – Nicky is doing her own thing!’” A rep for the duo denies any animosity between them.