Something tells me the relationship between Joel Madden and Nicole Richie is no walk in the park. The two are clearly very different sorts, and despite hearing a lot of press about how much Nicole has changed (thanks to Joel) it’s hard not to notice the implication that there was a lot to change… to be more like Joel. It’s one thing if Nicole wanted to be a better person or a better mother on her own, but it seems more like she’s pretending to morph into this happy homemaker to keep her relationship together. Somehow you can just tell regular old Nicole is still under there.

Now I found regular old Nicole annoying as hell and totally rude. But I get the feeling she’s changed only for Joel, which is about as effective as an alcoholic going into rehab because someone else tells them to. The change won’t be real if you don’t really want it.

Apparently Nicole’s old jealous ways boiled to the surface after Joel admitted to spending some time with her old friend Mary-Kate Olsen. Even though it sounded fairly innocent, Nicole wasn’t having it.

A source said: “During the dinner, Mary-Kate was very playful with Joel. It was all fun and games, but with the Olsens nothing is as simple as that. Nicole exploded at Joel and demanded that they leave the party. Afterward, Nicole warned him to stay away from Mary-Kate.” Mary-Kate, 22, went to watch the rocker perform in New York last week, further angering Nicole – who gave birth to the couple’s first child, daughter Harlow, in January – by hanging out with the band after the show.

The source added to Life and Style magazine: “After the concert, Joel invited her back to see the tour bus. He showed her some baby photos of Harlow. Joel isn’t one to lie or hide things from Nicole, so the next day he told her about it on the phone. Nicole freaked out. Joel thought she’d respect the fact that he was trying to be honest – after all, he and Mary-Kate are just friends – but Nicole was hurt and angry. He couldn’t deal with it, so he hung up, and she kept texting him after that.”

The argument is said to be the latest in a series of rows between the couple, resulting in them putting off setting a date for their wedding. The insider claimed: “They’re having their usual ups and downs. I think they’re madly in love and want to get married. But I also think it’s moments like this that will continue to keep their wedding on hold.”

[From Hollywood Rag]

I give this relationship another year, tops. And that isn’t because I don’t think either of them haven’t or won’t try hard enough. The problem is that they seem so different, and Joel seems to have required Nicole to settle down in a way she’s not ready for, and thus it isn’t going to take. If there’s any time a person needs to become mature and responsible it’s when they have a kid. But somehow it just seems like Nicole’s done it only for Joel, and it’s not a real change. She’s still indulging in petty teenage drama like this. If Mary-Kate Olsen’s mere presence can cause this level of a freak out, things probably weren’t that solid in the first place.

Note by Celebitchy: I see these two lasting for some reason and hope JayBird isn’t right. They have a daughter together and Nicole’s changes seem more than superficial to me. We’ll have to see though.

Here’s Nicole doing her best Mary-Kate impression on July 25th. Images thanks to WENN.