FoxNews

On Ryan Seacrest’s KIIS F.M radio program Friday, the hotel heiress denied reports that she had dumped boyfriend Benji Madden, and went one step further, saying she was “still in love with him.”

“You know, I love him,” she told Seacrest. “He’s such an amazing man and he’s my best friend and he’s been so great to me and so loyal. We’ll always be very close. We’ll see what happens in the future.”

[...]

Hilton, 27, said their busy travel schedules were to blame, and that the separation was a mutual decision.

“This was a decision we made together as two adults,” she said. “Right now we are just taking a break.”

Also from Fox News:

The hotel heiress hasn’t been seen with the “Good Charlotte” rocker for over a week, and both have been hitting up Hollywood hotspots separately, sparking speculation that they’d entered splitsville. A source close to the couple told Tarts that the star-studded duo is pretty much kaput.

[...]

It seems that Hilton and Madden recently sealed a rumored six-figure deal to swing by Australia on New Year’s Eve to attend the launch party for a new social online networking system, Bongo Virus. Paris is booked to be the host of the bash, while Benji is set to do the spinning.

According to an insider associated with the Australian company, Prince William may have had plans to meet up with Paris to ring in the New Year, having spent quite some time with her while she’s been filming her “My BFF” show in London.

“For security reasons, he won’t confirm his attendance until just before, but we’re told he is pretty keen to meet up with Paris,” said the source.

[...]

So did Prince William’s extra attention irk Benji? According to an inside source, the ultra-quiet Benji can be well, kind of controlling, which apparently played a significant role in his split from former fiancée Sophie Monk. And given Paris’s perennial partying lifestyle and love of the nightlife, things just weren’t smooth sailing.

Another source tells Tarts that Nicole Richie never really approved of her childhood friend dating her fiance’s twin brother which may have added some strain to the relationship, although Richie previously denied that she had a problem with the relationship.

We previously reported on the break-up between the MD native and the hotel heiress here.