We get to watch the Bennifer fly all over again

CALL IT BENNIFER: Part Deux. Nine months after they started dating, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner are engaged, People and Star magazines are reporting.

Citing a “close friend” of Affleck’s, People says the “Pearl Harbor” actor has been privately spreading the news.

Affleck, 32, got engaged to Jennifer Lopez in 2002, but they split in January 2004 following a frenzy of publicity. He and Garner have stayed low-key by comparison.

They met while shooting the action flick “Daredevil,” but didn’t begin dating until 2004. Their lone public appearance together was at the 2004 World Series in Boston.

The marriage would be Garner’s second. The 33-year-old “Alias” star was divorced from actor Scott Foley in March 2004.

Speaking of catfights …

Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, meanwhile, are on the outs – meaning some complications for future seasons of their Fox reality show, “The Simple Life.”

“It’s no big secret that Nicole and I are no longer friends,” Hilton said Wednesday. “Nicole knows what she did, and that’s all I’m ever going to say about it.”

Hilton says Richie will be replaced on “The Simple Life” by Kimberly Stewart, the daughter of singer Rod Stewart, but Fox says no decisions have been made.

She’s so happy it hurts

Despite speculation that she’s on drugs because of her flighty behavior on this season’s “American Idol,” Paula Abdul says she’s simply giddy over finally being pain-free.

Abdul says she’s suffered through a neuropathic disorder and 12 operations, beginning with a cheerleading accident at age 17 that injured a disc in her neck.

That was followed by “a couple of car accidents” in the 1980s, an emergency plane landing in 1992 and years of failed treatments including prescription drugs, acupuncture and live leech therapy.

“I’m dancing for joy at the fact that not even a year ago I was in so much pain I could barely get up,” she says.

Now who’s the bigger star, Simon?

“American Idol” host and radio veteran Ryan Seacrest was honored with a star Wednesday on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in a ceremony attended by Abdul and fellow “Idol” judges Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell.

“I cannot believe that April the 20th is going to be Ryan Seacrest Day,” said the infamously grumpy Cowell. “I am officially taking this day off my diary.”

Chew on that, Jane

A Vietnam veteran spit tobacco juice into the face of Jane Fonda after waiting in line Tuesday to have her sign her new memoir at a Kansas City event.

Fonda was infamously photographed on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun during a trip to Hanoi in 1972. She has apologized for the photo, but not for opposing the war.

“She spit in our faces for 37 years,” Michael A. Smith said after his arrest for disorderly conduct. “It was absolutely worth it. There are a lot of veterans who would love to do what I did.”

The birthday bunch

Actor Eddie Albert (“Green Acres”) is 97. TV producer Aaron Spelling is 82. Actress Estelle Harris (“Seinfeld”) is 73. Singer Glen Campbell is 69. Actor Jack Nicholson is 68. Singer Mel Carter is 62. Director John Waters is 59. Singer Peter Frampton is 55. Actor Ryan Stiles (“The Drew Carey Show”) is 46. Actress Sheryl Lee (“Twin Peaks”) is 38. Country singer Kellie Coffey is 34. Singer-guitarist Daniel Johns (Silverchair) is 26.