It’s been ten whole years since we’ve “felt the rain on our skin” and watched the drama unfold on the MTV series that defined our teenage years: The Hills.
With an anniversary special set to air this weekend (cue our squeals of delight), we’re delving into the archives to expose some of the most shocking lies Lauren Conrad and her gang ever told us.
(Thank goodness this sentence about Spencer Pratt wasn’t a lie).
Well, the lies the producers of the show told, lies that paved the way for the Kardashians.
1. Those cliffhanger stares? No-one reacted like that in real life.
You know the moments – someone has just said or done something totally dramatic and the episode ends with some MAJOR side eye from one of the other cast members.
The truth is, those moments were totally edited in.
“We wanted to make the show feel soapy…It was like a cliffhanger for next week’s episode,” said Adam DiVello, the creator of The Hills.
Lauren Conrad reveals that at the very end of a day’s shooting, the cast would “just stand there” and “weren’t allowed to talk” so the cameras could grab all of those suspenseful stares.
2. The epic mascara tear was the result of some clever editing
It was one of the most perfect moments in Hills history: Lauren’s perfect mascara tear when Audrina tells her she’s moving out. But, it turns out, it was ALL A LIE.
Lauren told Cosmopolitan that the tear was the result of her not wearing waterproof mascara (oops) and the editor’s using SLOW MOTION.
“I asked my producer and he told me they put it in slow motion to give it more dramatic effect,” she revealed.
That lie probably hurt the most.
3. Cast members were often asked to ‘hide’ so their big moments could be caught on camera
Like Kristin Cavallari’s surprise appearance at Heidi and Spencer’s wedding? She was asked to hide in a room for hours before she was able to make her debut.
Lauren was also kept in a separate room to ensure she didn’t see Kristen until the ceremony.
“I needed to leave by a certain time because my boyfriend at the time [actor Kyle Howard] was premiering an indie film. And the power and generator went out in the church. The producers literally locked me in the basement with two security guards and wouldn’t let me leave! I was throwing a fit!” Conrad told Us Magazine.
Audrina Patridge – who lived in the same apartment complex as Lauren and Heidi – also had to dodge the girls for weeks until she could meet them on film.
“Adam DiVello told me I wasn’t allowed to go to the pool for two weeks because they wanted us to meet on camera. I had to keep dodging the pool and lobby!” she said.
4. Kristin Cavallari’s relationships were fake, and she only did the show ‘for the money’
“The money was the reason I did it. Producers gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse. I’m glad I went back to [reality TV] because this time I looked at it strictly as a job, and I knew the character they wanted me to play,” Kristen, who took over from LC as the main character in the show, revealed.
It turns out all her relationships on the show were fake, too.
“I never saw Justin when we weren’t filming. He’s a really nice guy, but he’s not necessarily my type.
“I dated Brody when I was 18, right after Laguna Beach, but on The Hills, we didn’t actually date,” she said.
Huh, go figure.
5. The girls’ house wasn’t as nearly as glam as it seemed
While is was definitely bigger than any 21-year-old living in LA could ever afford, producers say the house Lauren and Heidi shared was dirty and tiny.
“I don’t think they changed their cat box in like a year,” one producer shared. Ew.
Thanks to clever camera tricks, producers were able to make their home look much more spacious than it was in reality.
"It was pretty small, and we used the most of our lens to make it look as spacious as we could. The girls had a two-bedroom with a den," supervising producer Michael Van Briesen shared.
With those five facts out of the way, we're feeling a little more prepared for the truth bombs Lauren Conrad is sure to drop on the upcoming reunion special.
Until then, we'll be listening to Natasha Bedingfield's Unwritten on repeat.
Want more TV? We talk all things Gilmore Girls, Stranger Things, The Hills and Orange Is The New Black on the latest ep of The Binge