After leaving The Hills in 2009, Lauren Conrad stepped away from reality television to focus on building her fashion empire. And while she has mostly lived a life out of the spotlight ever since, she shocked fans when she decided to revisit her time on Laguna Beach for a new reunion special, which premieres on Friday, April 10.
While Laguna Beach gave Conrad her start, The Hills was what transformed her into one of reality TV’s biggest stars, but she has no interest in returning to that time period in her life.
“I think this [reunion] is the last thing I’m going to do,” Conrad tells TV Insider. “I’ve been living a pretty quiet and normal life, and I love it so much. I thought a long time about whether or not I wanted to do this, and I like the idea of ending my time on television with the same people I started with. This just felt right.”
As for why she had different feelings about reminiscing about the Laguna Beach days, Conrad says it all started when she appeared on Stephen Colletti and Kristin Cavallari‘s Laguna Beachrewatch podcast in 2022.
“I had a really good experience going on there,” she admits. “So when we had the conversation about doing this, we knew that a reunion was going to happen in some way or form. Whether it was big or small, we weren’t sure. It was something I wanted to participate in, and this was the best opportunity. Roku was a great partner in creating this. They really did allow us to create something we felt good about.”
Getting back together with her high school pals was a way to “celebrate this thing we went through and reflect” on where they’ve all come, Conrad reveals. “Everyone’s feeling really nostalgic, so it was the right opportunity, and it was really great to get back with everybody.”
The cast promises that even fans who know the deep lore of Laguna Beach will enjoy the special. “I think it’s really interesting to see the dynamic when we’re all together,” Christina Sinclair admits. “I think it just brings a different energy and different dynamic. While we each have our individual relationships with one another, I think it’s really special, as a group, to see how we all interact.”
Meanwhile, Dieter Schmitz points out that this is the “first time in 20 years ” that all of the Season 1 stars have been together, and Colletti adds, “It really was a simple time back then, and the nostalgia is pretty strong, in this show, particularly. We haven’t done anything together in 20 years, so a lot of time has passed between then and now, but when you get together, some things remain the same.”
The special will also feature the first on-camera conversation between Cavallari and Conrad, who have squashed their high school beef and developed a friendship in recent years.
“What I love most about our reunion is that there’s the proper reunion on the soundstage with the host, which you typically see, but we also went to Laguna Beach and got to film scenework,” Cavallari explains. “It honestly felt like we were back in high school, and it was really fun.”
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