Paris Hilton has admitted her experience finding fame at an early age was “traumatising sometimes”.
The great-granddaughter of Hilton Hotels founder Conrad Hilton, Hilton rose to fame as a socialite in the late 1990s before becoming a model and then a reality TV star.
Throughout this period she came under the spotlight, which she has now said made her second guess who to trust.
Speaking on the Hayu Presents… podcast, Hilton, 45, said: “I feel like I’ve learned a lot over the years, but just not to trust everyone.”
She continued: “I feel like I’m a really sweet and kind person, and I would just like let so many people into my life.
“I’ve just learned to see what people’s intentions are and really learning how to read people if they’re good people or not.
“Yeah, also just not to take life so seriously. I think that you know, growing up and just having so much fame at such an early age, can be traumatising sometimes.
“I’ve just learned to just be happy with everything in my life and not care what people say.”
She added that she learnt from an early age about “letting people in and knowing who’s good and who’s not”.
The Hilton Hotel heiress previously alleged during a documentary, called This Is Paris, that she suffered abuse at a Utah boarding school.
Speaking on the podcast, she added: “Being a teenager and what I went through at those schools, I think that almost prepared me for Hollywood in many ways because I had been through so much and it was just so traumatising that I feel like it prepared me for anything in life where if I could survive that, I could survive anything.”
Hilton rose to fame in the 2000s reality TV series The Simple Life alongside Nicole Richie, where they left their glamorous Los Angeles lifestyles to live with normal families and try different careers.
Speaking to the Press Association earlier this year, Hilton spoke about the “harassment” she faced from the media as a young woman in the limelight, and the impact it had on her.
She said: “Back then the media was so cruel to myself and to a few other women and it just felt like harassment.
“It was entertainment for people back then and the things that people would say to us would not be accepted today.
“I think it has changed a lot, but I can see that some people just haven’t got that memo and are continuing it.
“There definitely needs to be work done but at least it is evolving in a more positive way for people.”
She has often been criticised for being a “dumb blonde”, which she has since said was a persona she created as “armour” to protect herself.
Hilton is now married to businessman Carter Reum, with the pair sharing two children, son Phoenix and daughter London.
Hayu Presents… featuring Paris Hilton is available to stream from Wednesday August 5, with video on YouTube from Thursday and streaming on Hayu from Friday.
