As Hilary Duff sings on the Laguna Beach theme song, Lauren Conrad is going “back to the beginning,” reuniting with her former castmates more than two decades after her iconic MTV show premiered. However, there was actually a reunion before the reunion. In 2024, the show’s old stomping grounds of Laguna Beach High School held a 20-year reunion for the 2004 graduating class.
“Dieter [Schmitz] and I planned it,” Conrad, 40, tells Bustle, nodding to her Laguna Beach co-star. “Actually, I had a blast at my reunion. It’s funny, everyone’s always humming and hawing over a reunion, but ours was great. This group of people that graduated together have a very special bond.”
Sadly, that event wasn’t filmed, which inspired Conrad to help put together a special for fans who grew up alongside the former students. The Reunion: Laguna Beach, which premieres April 10 on the Roku Channel, sees her catch up with her BFF Lo Bosworth, former flame Stephen Colletti, frenemy Kristin Cavallari, and their group of friends, including Schmitz, Trey Phillips, Talan Torriero, Christina Schuller, Jessica Smith, Alex Hooser, and Morgan Smith.
Conrad says the cast had talked about getting back together on-camera for a while, but the show’s 20-year anniversary made them realize they didn’t want to wait much longer. “We felt like enough time had passed that we could have an honest conversation about our experience and look back and laugh at things — but not too much time because we’re all turning 40,” she jokes.
After graduation, Conrad famously moved from Laguna Beach to The Hills, which followed her as she worked her way through the fashion industry in Los Angeles. After five seasons and founding her clothing line, LC Lauren Conrad at Kohl’s, she left reality TV behind completely in 2009. Since then, she married William Tell, welcomed two sons, 8-year-old Liam and 6-year-old Charlie, and moved back home to Laguna as she built her fashion empire. Going back on-camera after almost 17 years proved to be a bigger challenge than expected.
“I’m so disconnected from that life,” she says. “It’s sort of a memory to me. It doesn’t feel real. As time passes, you forget some of the harder bits. Especially the day we filmed on stage, that was really hard for me because I get a lot of anxiety and I just haven’t done it in so long.”
However, Conrad is also an executive producer on the special, which was the “only way” she would participate, and that went a long way in making her feel “comfortable” in front of the cameras again. “We did this for years without having any control, and you’re putting a lot of trust in people,” she says. “We were asking a lot of our friends to participate, and we wanted to look out for them as well.”
That said, don’t expect this experience to open the doors for a reality TV comeback. “We were ready to get on camera now, but I think my filming days are behind me after this,” she says.
Below, Conrad opens up about her biggest Laguna Beach regret, where she stands with Cavallari, and why it’s the right time to end her reality TV career.
Who from the cast did you keep in touch with?
I see most of the cast pretty regularly. We would see each other usually around holidays. Stephen and I are the only ones who still live in California. Lo’s in New York, Trey’s in London, but he was in New York for years, so I was able to see him when I would visit or when he comes back into town.
On the special, Casey Wilson asked Kristin Cavallari how she felt being portrayed as the “bad girl,” and labeled you as the good girl. How do you look back on that narrative?
I was fine with it. Actually, I was a pretty well-behaved kid in school, so that was pretty accurate.
Which moment from Laguna Beach makes you cringe the most today?
I have a hard time watching how the girls talk about each other. It’s not uncommon in high school to pit girls against each other, but it was hard to look back because that’s so far from the person I am today, and I just don’t talk about women like that. But I also think it represents how far we’ve come.
You fix that by moving forward with Kristin on a positive note. How have you guys kept in touch since the reunion?
We haven’t seen each other in years ‘cause she’s been living in Tennessee, and we just live very different lives. I don’t think there’s anything that brings her back to Laguna. But we’ve been seeing each other a lot for press, I went and did her podcast.
Who came up with the idea of your outfit matching Stephen’s and Kristin’s at the premiere, nodding back to the black-and-white party?
We didn’t coordinate, actually. I meant to text her. We’d talked about it, but everyone did their own thing. I wasn’t planning on wearing white or black. I was going to wear whatever I liked best, and I happened to fall in love with the dress that I found.
It’s interesting that you both ended up in the design space. Do you think there could be an LC and Uncommon James collaboration in the works?
I never say no. [pauses] Sorry, I went straight to my contract. I was like, “I don’t know if I’m allowed to do that.” The answer is I don’t know.
Has doing this reunion shifted your perspective on reality TV in general?
My husband and I watched Big Brother for a little bit, but reality TV has been ruined for me because once you know how the sausage is made, it’s hard to enjoy it. Reality TV used to be a little more authentic, but also people are more open these days and willing to show everything, because the more interesting their storyline is, the more screen time they’re going to get.
I do think people’s approach is different. They use it as a launching pad to build brands and businesses, which is what you should do. We didn’t know that was an option when we signed up.
Next month marks the 20th anniversary of The Hills. Would you ever want to reunite with that cast in the same way and get some closure?
You know what, I really think that this is going to be my last project. I’m at a point where I’m living a pretty normal life, and I love it, and I feel really fortunate to be able to do so. So I obviously wanted to participate in this, but I like the idea of ending my reality TV career with the same group of people I started with.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
