In the new documentary The Real Bling Ring: Hollywood Heist, viewers hear about how, unlike your average burglars, these burglars had a specific taste for whose homes they broke into, strictly stealing from A-list celebrities. It’s not like they were going to miss the stolen stuff. A majority of their things are gifted. The Bling Ring consisted of Rachel Lee, Nick Purgo, Alexis Neiers, Diana Tamayo, Courtney Ames, and Roy Jr Lopez. This notorious group robbed Paris Hilton, Audrina Patridge, Rachel Blisson, Orlando Bloom, Miranda Kerr, Brian Austin Green, Megan Fox, and Lindsay Lohan.
The pair that was at every robbery were Nick Prugo and Rachel Lee. The documentary labels Rachel Lee as the mastermind; according to Prugo, he was her right hand. Rachel Lee, the alleged leader of the group, was previously a student at Calabasas High School, where she was expelled and transferred to Indian Hills High School; she had a history of stealing. Prior to robbing Prugo’s friend she stole $85 worth of makeup at a Sephora. Nick Prugo was your average shy kid before Rachel befriended him at Indian Hills High School. Alexis Neiers was an upcoming model when she met Prugo, who was supposedly introduced as a stylist one night at a party. She was a teenage girl hoping to make it big in Hollywood; she starred in Pretty Wild on E!, a reality TV show alongside her mother, sister, and friend Tess Taylor. Neiers was allegedly only involved in the robbery of Orlando Bloom’s home. At the time, she was dealing with an addiction that started as smoking and drinking with friends, later escalating to using heroin at 17 years old. She is famously known for her call to the Vanity Fair editor Nancy Jo Sales, an article released about the trial titled “The Suspects Wore Louboutins.” Neiers’ being a teenager in a reality TV show, rightfully so upset, left Nancy Jo Sales a loud voicemail expressing how strongly she felt about the article and its misinformation. Tess Taylor, Neiers’ co-star, was her best friend; she was allegedly involved in the robbery of Rachel Blisson, where she states she went there willingly but was drunk.
In October 2008, the pair broke into Paris Hilton’s home for the first time. This led to Hilton’s mansion in Beverly Hills becoming their go-to spot to “shop.” In the words of Prugo from the documentary, “It was like our personal ATM.” Before Paris Hilton’s house, Lee and Prugo gained experience by stealing money from unlocked cars and robbing one of Prugo’s friends’ houses. This friend was out of town, so Lee and Prugo took the chance and stole a cash box that consisted of $38,000. This event gave them the confidence to start burglarizing celebrities. When the kids’ arrest in 2009 were publicized, it sparked a movie idea for filmmaker Sofia Coppola. In 2013, she released The Bling Ring, starring Emma Watson as Alexis Neiers. The movie helps get a better idea of all the burglaries. According to Neiers and Prugo, they were portrayed incorrectly in the movie. A common misconception due to the film: Neiers wasn’t the head of the group. Rachel Lee was the ringleader alongside Prugo. The pair worked hand in hand, coordinating each robbery.
On Sept. 21, Miles Blayden-Ryall’s three-part documentary gave the world more of the truth behind the whole situation and a look at Alexis Neiers and Nick Prugo’s lives after their arrests. Sadly, the others didn’t participate in the documentary, leaving viewers with a narrow idea of what truly happened. As many know, Neiers was only involved in the Orlando Bloom burglary. In this documentary, Neiers states that she was unaware of whose home she was in; she was very uncomfortable and high throughout the burglary. Prugo contradicts her statement; according to him, she was perfectly fine, well aware of the situation.
The documentary highlighted Prugo and Neiers’ side of the story, but it would’ve been nice if ring leader Rachel Lee had been there to explain herself. We got to see how far Nick Prugo and Alexis Neiers have come after everything that has happened. When the trial ended, she was sentenced to six months in county jail for burglarizing Orlando Bloom’s home. Not only did she serve 32 days, but she was later sent to the SOBA Recovery Center for a year due to possession of heroin. After being released from prison and rehab, Neiers married and had two daughters. She works at the Alo Recovery Center, hosts a podcast, Recovering from Reality, and has been sober for over a decade. She had it the hardest out of everyone in the group; her mother pushed her into the spotlight. She had her start as a pinup model, made her part of a reality tv show, and gave her sister and her Adderall every morning because they allegedly had ADHD. Alexis and her sisters join her in the Church of Religious Science due to their mother. In Neiers’ own words, “It sounds like a cult, but it’s not.” She goes into more detail in her book Recovering from Reality, and her many interviews through the years.
Prugo seems to have come a long way. In the trial, he pleaded no contest to burglarizing Lindsay Lohan and Audrina Patridge’s homes. During their trial, Prugo wanted to be in the headlines of magazines and would go out of his way to be photographed in Los Angeles or anywhere. He even admitted to calling his TMZ contact to be spotted by the paparazzi when he was out. Prugo was entirely going against what his lawyer had asked him to do. Still, it could’ve just been Markus Mueller-Dombois’ karma for never getting it in writing that Prugo would walk away from everything with immunity if he confessed to all burglaries, implicating everyone involved. He was sentenced to two years in state prison but only served a year in county jail. He didn’t stray away from the case; in Feb. 2010, he shared his side of the story on Good Morning America. Prugo has had a very different life after the arrests. From stealing handbags to launching his own company with his husband, Prugo doesn’t seem to let go of his drive to get attention from the public eye.
All in all, Neiers and Prugo had a lot to say about the burglaries. To the credit of Miles Blayden-Ryall, the documentary was informative and quite entertaining. Everyone needs to give it a watch, and to the people that have no clue what the Bling Ring is, watch the movie before the documentary. Have fun doing your deep dive on Google of all the people involved!