Lauren Conrad, Kristin Cavallari say they 'never really had any beef' on 'Laguna Beach'
Former "Laguna Beach" stars Lauren Conrad and Kristin Cavallari are setting the record straight about their rumored rivalry on the hit reality show.
On Tuesday's episode of the "Back to the Beach" podcast with Stephen Colleti and Cavallari, where the two stars relive each episode, Conrad and Cavallari quashed any beef that many believed they had on the show.
"My take on it is, you and I never really had any beef," Cavallari says early on in the show. "I mean, obviously there was like a little truth to what happened with the three of us. But I felt like MTV coming kept it alive and made it way worse than it ever would have been."
"Yeah, I think it was done when they started filming," Conrad added. "This is what I remember. I remember everything happened -- it was like a week before they started filming. We got into it and then made up."
"And then that was it," Cavallari said. "We never had an issue with each other."
"I mean we had an issue with each other," Conrad replied. "But it had been squashed."
On the show, which first aired on television 18 years ago and ran for three seasons, starred Conrad and Cavallari, whose storylines revolved around a love triangle with their shared love interest, Colleti. The story was highlighted for the majority of the first season.
But Conrad and Cavallari claimed the storyline appeared drawn out even after they had apologized and addressed the issue behind the scenes. The two reality stars, who both narrated the show (Conrad narrated the first season, while Cavallari narrated the second season), also said producers had the two of them read a script from writers, which helped fuel the narrative that the two were not friends.
"I think you guys will remember, they were very persuasive," Conrad said. "I think looking back, I don't think I ever felt taken advantage of, but I was definitely surrounded by a bunch of producers, a bunch of adults kind of saying, 'Well, this is how it went. This is how viewers feel.' "
In the podcast, Cavallari and Conrad also apologized to each other for some of the hurtful things that played out on camera, including the moment Conrad called Cavallari a derogatory name during the spring break episode that took place in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
"My biggest regret it was, watching it, I called you a s--- ," Conrad said. "Watching it, it was like, I couldn't believe I did that. Because I think where I'm at now, like I would never call another woman that, or girl."
"I was so embarrassed," she added.
Cavallari replied with her own apology saying she also said some "really dumb stuff."
"I look back and that's like my biggest thing," Cavallari said. "My thing is, when I watch it now, I'm like, I wasn't confident at all. I was actually so insecure. And that I took it out on you in a lot of ways. Because I said some horrible things."
After the show, Conrad went on to star in "The Hills," a spinoff of "Laguna Beach," for five out of the six seasons. Cavallari took over for Conrad in the final season.
In 2020, the original "Laguna Beach" cast had a virtual reunion over IGTV as aprt of a voter registration effort. They said a reunion would happen if at least 500 people registered to vote. The reunion was the first time the cast came together in 16 years.
Looking back on her experience on the show, Conrad said she feels like she missed out on a normal college experience, but said the show helped her in many ways.
"It gave me so many opportunities," she told Colleti and Cavallari. "I wouldn't be able to build the career I have without it."
