Benji Madden and Paris Hilton are over

After nine months together, it looks like Paris Hilton has split from the man she once declared as the love of her life, Benji Madden.

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.

Reps for the couple did not respond to a request for comment.

So went wrong between the joined-at-the-lip twosome? 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.

Bongo Virus confirmed that Prince William had been invited to the New Year’s Eve bash, but declined further comment. A rep for the Royal Family could not be reached.

“We aren’t that worried if Benji and Paris don’t want to come together,” said our insider. “But we know Paris will definitely be there, and we can’t wait.”

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.