Fresh on the heels of news that these two were negotiating the prenuptial agreement for their super-secret wedding comes a story that Nicole Richie and Good Charlotte singer Joel Madden have ended their relationship. An Australian paper reports that Madden dumped her when they were down under on vacation. Madden was said to think she was “too clingy”

Confidential sources claim the starlet’s relationship with Good Charlotte singer Joel Madden hit the skids soon after the pair made an appearance at last month’s MTV Australia Video Music Awards.

The US rocker is said to have dumped his waif girlfriend for being “too clingy” during a private getaway to northern NSW and the Gold Coast, where the pair double-dated with his brother Benji and soon-to-be sister-in-law Sophie Monk.

The trip followed immediately after their stay in Sydney, where Richie was snapped clutching Madden’s tattooed-arm as they toured Taronga Zoo.

But music industry insiders revealed yesterday the couple had “openly argued” at one MTV awards after-party, where a Confidential source says “Joel was acting like he was a single man”.

“(Benji and Joel) were both behaving like they didn’t have girlfriends for the majority of the night,” our mole at The Metro event said.

“They were certainly being ‘the men’. She was in tears at one stage, but no one really knows why.”

This news came out in Australia about a week ago, but I had not heard it yet, and it was just reported in Britain’s Sun today.

Right after the supposed split Richie was rumored to be in rehab for a pill addiction coupled with anorexia, but her publicist denies that claim. She was suspiciously AWOL from paparazzi photos since her Australian trip, lending credence to the rehab story.

Nicole has since resurfaced, but has not been seen out with Madden as far as I can tell. She may face jail time for her DUI last November, her second in four years. There is a pretrial hearing scheduled for her case on June 8.

Header photo is from Splash News and is used by permission.