Nicole Richie is known for trying to keep her private life…well…private. But now, thanks to Oprah, she is beginning to open up to the world about what her life is like. On Oprah Winfrey’s Where Are They Now?, she revealed much about her life as wife to Good Charlotte’s Joel Madden.

“From the second we found out we were going to be parents together, we looked at each other and said, ‘OK, both of our parents are divorced, we’ve both had ups and downs with our parents, and we don’t exactly have a strong example of what a healthy family life is,” Nicole Richie admits. “But, we’re recognizing that now, so let’s work at it. Let’s go through this together as a team, and it’s been great. And I would say that that’s the easiest and hardest part.”

Obviously she is much different now than she appeared to be when she was Paris Hilton’s cohort on The Simple Life. Nicole Richie is a wife and also the loving mother of two kids, Harlow, six, and Sparrow, who is four.

Having kids changes who you are, we all know that. And the same seems to be true for Nicole Richie. She has a strategy for being a good parent and giving her kids the best she can.

“My kids operate best when I let them have a voice, and I really explain things to them,” she says. “Because really, kids want to be told the truth. They just do. They want you to be truthful.”

For Nicole Richie, being a parent is absolutely the most fulfilling part of her life these days.

“It’s the best. It teaches you a lot about yourself and about patience and about coming from a place of love and constant compassion,” she said.

Nicole Richie continued, “Having kids gives you the opportunity to be the real you. I love being a mother and being a real example to my kids. It’s fun – you get to relive your childhood all over again.”

Sweet thoughts! So glad Nicole Richie has grown up to be a great mother and decent human being.

Image via YouTube