Like always, Nicole Richie made heads turn in Australia during her visit to Sydney’s Taronga Zoo with rocker beau, Joel Madden, on April 30, according to Star magazine. But it wasn’t just the starlet’s famous face – it was her bony chest, spindly arms and bony shoulders.

Her scary-thin appearance recalls shocking pictures of her on Malibu beach in August 2006. Nicole seemed to be getting healthier showing off a shapelier figure and a fuller, prettier face; sources confirm that she’s heading back to her life-threatening ways.

A Richie-clan friend reveals, “Her family’s worried again. Her bones are showing, and she’s really skinny. No one wants to see a repeat of last summer!” It may be her new fitness plan, the source says, “She’s working out too much and not eating enough. She’s working out about an hour a day on the stationary bike and elliptical machine, plus she’s lifting weight.”

According to an insider, Nicole is desperate to please Joel – and she thinks the way to do it is by competing with his super svelte future sister-in-law. A source tells Star “She’s hoping to get married to Joel.”

According to West Hollywood-based nutritionist Meredith Holden, Nicole is “transferring addictions (from drug abuse to) avoiding food and trying to control her weight!”

-Nicole Richie Pictures