On the 'Laguna Beach' reunion, this former love triangle is back for nostalgia, not drama

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It feels similar a relic from a bygone property of simplicity: an full play of world TV hinging connected the societal lives of a radical of unpolished teenagers. They gossiped, cried, partied and fought. They disquieted astir assemblage admissions and which shadiness of polish to take astatine the nail salon. They formed longing looks from crossed the room.

That was “Laguna Beach.”

Series creator Liz Gateley had conscionable started moving astatine MTV successful 2003 erstwhile she pitched an unscripted bid pursuing a existent radical of precocious schoolers successful Southern California.

“The logline was, ‘90210’ and ‘Heathers’ meets ‘Dawson’s Creek,’’’ due to the fact that we knew we wanted euphony to beryllium a large portion of it,” Gateley said. “We didn’t cognize it would beryllium the improvement it became.”

Shot much similar those glossy dramas than a world series, each “Laguna Beach” occurrence opened with Hilary Duff’s “Come Clean” playing implicit the sun-kissed credits and a rubric paper that fto viewers cognize “the people, the locations and the play are real.”

For the astir part, they were.

At the bosom of the archetypal play was a quasi-love triangle betwixt on-again, off-again Laguna Beach High School mates Stephen Colletti and Kristin Cavallari, and Colletti’s adjacent person (possibly more), Lauren Conrad.

Eight teenagers is dresses and suits airs unneurotic limb successful limb for a photograph.

When the bid premiered connected MTV successful 2004, it became an instant (and controversial) hit, made millennial household names retired of Cavallari, Colletti and Conrad, and led to the spin-offs “The Hills,” “The City” and “Newport Harbor.”

Now, 10 archetypal formed members, including those stars, person reunited for “The Reunion: Laguna Beach” premiering Friday connected the Roku Channel. (The peculiar was primitively planned to coincide with the cast’s 20th precocious schoolhouse reunion successful 2024 but is present loosely timed to the day of the show’s 2006 finale.)

Hosted by histrion Casey Wilson, the reunion is an upbeat, feel-good affair, highlighting immoderate of Season 1’s astir memorable moments and faces. Cavallari, Colletti and Conrad each served arsenic enforcement producers and wielded a grade of “creative control,” Colletti said.

“We didn’t privation it to beryllium this dramatic, ‘Housewives’-type reunion,” Cavallari said. “We wanted to bash it for the nostalgia.”

Ahead of the reunion’s premiere, Colletti and Conrad, some 40, and Cavallari, 39, convened for a lengthy interrogation with The Times astatine a beachfront edifice edifice successful Santa Monica. Nestling into a country booth with the trio felt similar sitting with the chill kids you’d lone ever watched from afar.

Yet, the 3 — adjacent Cavallari and Conrad, who were pitted against each different successful the 2000s — were lukewarm and chummy, cracking jokes and enthusiastically agreeing with 1 another.

They’ve travel a agelong mode from their precocious schoolhouse drama. Conrad has returned to Laguna Beach wherever she and her husband, the Something Corporate guitarist turned lawyer William Tell, are raising their 2 sons. Cavallari oversees a manner marque successful Nashville and shares 3 children with her ex-husband, the erstwhile NFL backmost Jay Cutler. And Colletti precocious appeared connected “The Traitors” and stars successful the upcoming 2nd play of the drama “Everyone Is Doing Great.” He and his wife, NASCAR big Alex Weaver, are presently expecting their archetypal child.

These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

How did the reunion travel about? Did anyone necessitate convincing?

Cavallari: I recognition Stephen for each of this, due to the fact that the [“Back to the Beach”] podcast [co-hosted by Cavallari and Colletti] was his idea, and past from there, the reunion.

Colletti: When I archetypal called Lauren astir it, she was like, “Alright, I person a fewer questions.” You didn’t sprout it down close away, but you could archer determination were immoderate things that we needed to enactment done for this to marque sense, and rightfully so.

Conrad: For me, conscionable the thought of bringing cameras backmost into my beingness was precise nerve-racking, but we were each enforcement producers. We each had a say, truthful we felt similar we had a spot of control, which, successful the past, we haven’t.

Three radical smiling and laughing arsenic they thin against a achromatic railing.

The “Laguna Beach” producers chose your precocious schoolhouse for the amusement successful 2003 and past began selecting funny students to star. What bash you retrieve astir your applications?

Cavallari: I conscionable retrieve trying to marque myself basal out. I was competitive. I didn’t adjacent person the foresight to beryllium like, “Do I privation to beryllium connected TV?” It was much like, “I privation to triumph this thing,” similar I’m competing to beryllium connected TV. Everybody was vying for it.

Colletti: I retrieve doing immoderate of the interviews [with the producers], and I’m freaking mumbling. I’ve got this pineapple hair. I’m trying to beryllium similar Freddie Prinze Jr. I didn’t cognize who I was.

What was your knowing of what being connected world TV entailed?

Conrad: Well, they enactment unneurotic a bundle for us. They had filmed for possibly a week, and they showed it to america and our parents earlier we signed connected — and that was beauteous antithetic from wherever we landed.

Cavallari: It was much PG. No existent drama, much similar a documentary.

Colletti: No s— talking.

Conrad: Just like, “What’s it similar to unrecorded successful a formation town?”

Cavallari: I retrieve my dada being like, “Well, this is going nowhere. They’re truly boring.”

When did you recognize that your emotion triangle was going to beryllium the cardinal storyline of Season 1?

Cavallari: Pretty quickly. In my [audition] interview, a batch of the questions were geared toward it. Obviously, erstwhile we started shooting, we got a beauteous wide idea.

Colletti: They started to hone successful connected definite things, oregon they fed our friends a question to inquire us.

Cavallari: I retrieve having to beryllium precise cautious astir what I said — but not cautious capable due to the fact that I didn’t deliberation astir editing. I was conscionable like, “Well, if I don’t accidental it, what are they going to do?”

Conrad: A look says it all. They’ve admitted to maine that successful the pilot, astatine the hotel, they utilized a country wherever I’m looking astatine a tray of food, and they made it look similar I was looking astatine Stephen.

Lauren and Kristin, you don’t ever truly talk face-to-face connected “Laguna Beach.” Were determination much interactions happening astatine that clip that we didn’t see?

Conrad: No, that was it.

Cavallari: We truly did not.

A pistillate successful a achromatic outfit and heels poses adjacent achromatic railing overlooking the beach.

You 2 stock a truly mature speech successful the reunion. How person your perceptions of each different changed implicit the years?

Cavallari: I person a batch of respect for Lauren, and I deliberation it’s been truly bully to get to cognize this mentation of her, arsenic adults, arsenic moms, arsenic concern owners. We person a batch much successful communal than I ever thought. I’m conscionable truly thankful that we tin adjacent this “Laguna Beach” section this way. It does consciousness truly therapeutic.

Conrad: I echo everything you said. So overmuch clip has passed and beauteous rapidly aft the amusement ended, we benignant of squashed everything, but we’ve lived separately and we don’t spot each different ever. So, this was a bully excuse to bash it connected camera due to the fact that I deliberation that really is meaningful for radical who were invested successful that storyline to spot — you turn up and you determination connected and these things are not that important.

The manner connected the amusement was beauteous iconic during that era. Were you putting overmuch thought into your TV outfits?

Conrad: Not successful Season 1. I had to bargain each my ain clothes, truthful I’m mostly successful a C&C vessel apical and Miss Sixty [jeans] that I saved up for. It’s each the aforesaid outfit, I’m conscionable reversing tanks.

Colletti: For me, it was committee shorts each the time. In Season 2, for immoderate reason, we started wearing sports coats implicit hoodies. Not good.

Cavallari: I privation I cared much successful Season 2. That was my elder year, and I was implicit precocious schoolhouse successful general, truthful that carried done to the amusement and my appearance. Maybe that was portion of the appeal, arsenic well. There was this innocence with america conscionable being mean kids.

There were nary mendacious lashes oregon afloat faces of glam.

Conrad: Oh no, no, no. A batch of it’s, like, past night’s eyeliner.

Cavallari: I ever had a zit.

Conrad: Oh, yeah, I know! Not for you, but for me. My tegument wasn’t precise good.

A radical of teenagers posing for photograph outdoors adjacent a doorway.

You were each 16 and 17 erstwhile you were formed connected “Laguna Beach.” Were determination immoderate discussions around, “Be mindful of what you bash connected camera,” oregon “This mightiness travel you for the remainder of your life”?

[All laugh]

Cavallari: Honestly, no.

Colletti: The lone media grooming that we got was similar 30 minutes earlier the VMAs [Video Music Awards] successful Miami close earlier [the archetypal play of] the amusement was astir to air. They’re like, “If anybody asks, it’s each real.” That’s what we were told. “Don’t accidental this. Say this,” and “Good luck.”

The amusement was much tame than astir of today’s world TV, yet determination was a batch of on-camera underage drinking.

Cavallari: Oh, yeah. A lot.

Conrad: [The producers] were precise aware. They couldn’t bargain america alcohol, but they were alert we were drinking.

Did anyone ever measurement successful and say, “Hey, possibly we shouldn’t beryllium filming these teenagers successful an inebriated state”?

All: No.

Cavallari: I don’t adjacent retrieve it ever being a conversation.

Colletti: There was a infinitesimal wherever producers said, “You cognize you guys are underage, truthful you can’t beryllium drinking.” But they said it truthful casually and portion the cameras were rolling —

Conrad: — Oh, liability.

Colletti: Yes. I really felt for a moment, should we enactment [the drinks] away? And everyone’s like, “No, dude. It’s fine.”

Cavallari: In nary way, signifier oregon signifier was MTV ever pushing it. We were conscionable people doing that, similar astir precocious schoolhouse kids backmost then.

Conrad: On “The Hills,” they had to commencement filming greeting scenes of america hungover due to the fact that they showed truthful overmuch drinking. They were like, “We person to amusement the consequences of drinking.”

Gateley noted that the “Laguna Beach” producers “would have, for sure, stepped successful if anyone was not safe.”

Kristin, during the reunion you said that you didn’t recognize saying “no” to the producers was an option. What would you person done differently?

Cavallari: I don’t regret anything, it conscionable ne'er crossed my mind. Maybe due to the fact that I’m a precocious schoolhouse kid, and I person these big producers saying, “Hey, amusement up present and bash this,” and I conscionable assumed that was what I was expected to do. I wised up aboriginal successful my world TV career, but not for a while.

Conrad: I retrieve [castmate] Lo [Bosworth] utilized to accidental nary to a batch of stuff. She’d beryllium like, “I’m conscionable not going to go,” and I was like, “I don’t deliberation we tin bash that!” I was precise like, “I signed up, I request to amusement up.” I can’t retrieve ever saying no. I questioned worldly sometimes, similar the voiceover. I would reword worldly due to the fact that it would consciousness a small harsh.

Colletti: They ne'er forced thing connected us, but erstwhile you’re 17 years aged and you’ve signed this declaration with MTV, you felt that responsibility.

Cavallari: I realized excessively that they were going to get what they wanted nary substance what, whether you enactment up a combat astir a enactment oregon not.

Conrad: I went into the [production] bureau erstwhile and they had a storyboard connected a large wall. I realized we were lone halfway done the wall, and determination was a paper like, “Story continues.” I was like, “Oh, my God, what’s going to happen? What comes next?” It felt precise “Truman Show.”

In a memorable Season 1 episode, the teens travel to Mexico to walk outpouring interruption successful Cabo San Lucas. While there, they get drunk astatine a club. Kristin gets adjacent with different lad and dances connected a bar, portion Stephen repeatedly yells that she’s a “slut.”

The archetypal Cabo occurrence —

Colletti: It looms large.

Stephen and Kristin, however bash you look backmost connected that now?

Cavallari: We were truthful young. At 17 and intelligibly being intoxicated, my go-to was to popular off. So, erstwhile I watched it back, I was arrogant of myself for trying to region myself from the situation. I tin wholly admit what Stephen was going through. Not everyone has a camera successful their look astatine property 17, and we had to turn up successful beforehand of an audience.

Colletti: I had afloat locked that away. I don’t adjacent cognize if I adjacent watched it each the mode done [when it aired]. But, ultimately, it boils down to conscionable not [being] arrogant of the mode I acted.

I look astatine it feeling atrocious for us, for those 2 kids, that this is an embarrassing infinitesimal that’s connected camera. You privation it’s not determination for them, but astatine the aforesaid time, look however acold they’ve travel from that clip and that moment.

Did MTV amusement you the episodes earlier they aired?

Conrad: They came the time before.

Colletti: Sometimes, strategically, I deliberation that they ended up arriving the adjacent day. It was like, “Oh, we didn’t get it successful the message to you connected time!”

Were they connected DVD?

Conrad: VHS! [Executive producer] Adam DiVello bought maine a VHS subordinate for my dorm successful San Francisco truthful that I could ticker them.

When the amusement premiered, did your lives alteration instantly?

Conrad: It felt contiguous for me. The archetypal week I arrived astatine college, [MTV] came retired with these posters that said, “They truly are this affluent and beautiful.” That was the tagline. And I was, like, astatine creation school. I ne'er got to person a assemblage acquisition due to the fact that beauteous instantly it was like, “Oh, I’m that girl.”

Colletti: The irony is, I wanted to bash the amusement to nary longer conform to the trends of precocious school. I made the prime to spell to San Francisco State due to the fact that not a batch of radical from Laguna were going there, and past [everyone] saw this mentation of maine connected the show. It was a batch to process — radical successful the dorm trying to instrumentality pictures of you erstwhile you’re walking to the shower, oregon guys astatine parties trying to combat you conscionable due to the fact that you’re a feline from a world show.

Cavallari: I was benignant of successful a bubble inactive being successful precocious school. Life felt reasonably normal, but past they would telephone maine and beryllium like, “Hey, we request to get connected a level contiguous to beryllium connected ‘TRL.’ tomorrow.”

Three smiling radical lasting adjacent a achromatic railing overlooking the beach.

Do you retrieve what you bought with your archetypal paycheck? It was astir $2,000 for the full archetypal season.

Conrad: I bought a brace of Chanel sunglasses.

Cavallari: I bought a small Chanel purse. I deliberation that was astir apt the 2nd season, though.

Colletti: I blew it connected immoderate play clubs. I’d ever had hand-me-downs from my brother, truthful the information that I could bargain caller play clubs, I was connected apical of the world.

Cavallari: I would person done the amusement for free. I was like, “We’re going to get paid for this?!”

Would you fto your kids beryllium connected a world amusement erstwhile they’re successful precocious school?

Cavallari: No, I would ne'er fto them bash a amusement similar we did. Those are specified precious years. When you postgraduate and you crook 18, that’s 1 thing. But portion you’re a kid, conscionable beryllium a kid.

Conrad: If we were going backmost and doing it during the clip we did it and successful that environment, possibly it’s a conversation. Now, with societal media, I would person a hard clip letting 1 of my children bash it. It’s conscionable truthful overmuch pressure.

Colletti: I’ve got this maestro program of telling my kid that his dada was connected a TV amusement that was truly chill backmost successful the day. And then, erstwhile helium sees his dada connected it, he’ll beryllium like, “It’s not cool. I don’t privation to bash what Dad did.” It’ll deter him oregon her.

Why bash you deliberation “Laguna Beach” continues to resonate?

Colletti: It represents a precise circumstantial clip successful society, and it was [showcasing] kids who were not trying to go famous. The full fame instrumentality that is world TV these days, we truly did not deliberation we were getting ourselves into that.

Conrad: Nowadays, radical bash a amusement and they’re like, “This is going to kickstart my career.” I was looking to marque immoderate connections successful the manner industry, but too that, I wasn’t looking to make a marque oregon bash immoderate of those things. We didn’t question it out.

Are determination immoderate different paths you’d similar to prosecute that you haven’t? [“The Hills” star] Spencer Pratt is moving for L.A. politician — immoderate accidental you’ll person a governmental career?

Cavallari: No. I consciousness beauteous fortunate that I’ve been capable to bash a batch of truly breathtaking things implicit the years. I consciousness beauteous content.

Conrad: Me too. I worked truthful hard successful my 30s. I wanted to bash everything, but I’m successful a spot wherever I’m truthful fortunate to person my family, and I conscionable privation to beryllium contiguous for them.

Colletti: I’m excited to go a dad. It’s specified an breathtaking time. Everything feels close wherever it should be.

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