Everyone who was anyone in their high school watched The Hills in the early 2000s. The semi-scripted drama almost felt eerily similar to what was happening in our halls amongst the locker chatter. Along with my neon green fuzzy frame that held my BFF’s faces was also a poster of the MTV cast. The series was extremely popular amongst teens as cameras followed the youth of Orange County. It seemed that their biggest issues were boys and catching a good wave. Between Lauren Conrad, Heidi Montag, Whitney Port, Kristin Cavallari, and Audrina Patridge, the exclusive community seemed to be what every American teenager wanted for themselves.
So, 18 years on, it is time to take a look back on the semi-charmed lifestyle that helped form the Millennials of today. I remember some of the cast working. But most of the time, their day’s goal was to catch a pretty sweet sunset. So take a walk down memory lane with me, and don’t forget those butterfly clips.
The friend breakup heard around the OC
Perhaps one of the most iconic moments on The Hills was Lauren’s statement to Heidi after they failed to reignite their longtime friendship. The fashion designer drew a line in the sand, making it clear that she would no longer be accepting any more bad friends. Heidi got the message loud and clear after Lauren stated, “All there is left to do is forgive and forget you. So I wanna forgive you, and I want to forget you.”
No amount of yellow roses could help Heidi get what she wanted. Lauren had just had enough with rumors being spread by Spencer Pratt but Heidi was riding hard for her future husband. I remember watching this scene at 16, thinking about how iconic that line was. Flash forward to 37, having to end a friendship of my own with the friend that I watched this scene with. Talk about a full-circle moment. And Lauren never looked back.
Heidi explained her surgery
Heidi’s face has changed A LOT over the years. And no one was more concerned for her than her mother, and rightfully so. Heidi explains to her horrified mother she had “her nose redone. I had my own fat injected into her cheeks, I had my ears pinned back. I had injections in my lips. I had my chin shaved down. I had my breasts redone. And my back is shaped. And then I had a little bit of inner and outer lipo.” As I typed this, I forgot how much she had done and found myself saying “Jesus” a lot.
Lauren’s single teardrop
In Season 4, Lauren sheds one single black tear while speaking with Audriana. The two used to be thick as thieves, but after constantly battling back and forth via text, it all came to an end. Lauren felt Audriana had become more and more dismissive, and the final conversation came to a head. A single mascara-mixed tear ran from LC’s eyelash as she sobbed, “All I want is for you to just be my friend again.” The moment turned into one of the most popular GIFs, with Lauren later admitting that the producer slowed down the tear to make it even more dramatic.
Kristin appears
The replacement for Lauren was a master of creating fights wherever she went. Kristin had a very unique sense of drama and no one will ever forget “Stephen!!” Perhaps one of her best moments was when she lost control while at Heidi’s beach party. Almost immediately after walking in and hugging Justin Bobby, she proceeded to tell everyone in attendance, “I’m sorry that I walked here and was saying hi to my friends, and you guys came at me like f*cking piranhas.” She then turned abruptly to Audriana, yelling, “If it’s gonna be like this, it’s f*cking on, bitch. You don’t wanna be on my bad side.” It was also pretty great she called Stephanie Pratt a “sidekick.”
The kiss
Audriana knew she should have never wasted her time on Justin Bobby. Week after week, fans would pull their hair out watching this dude disrespect Audriana. So when he finally crossed a major line by kissing another girl in front of her, we knew it was going down. Everyone knew he was a cheater but sadly, Audriana had to see it with her own eyes to accept he was no good for her. The moment classically took place in a parking lot, where the duo then proceeded to cry behind a dumpster. It wasn’t the best look for Audriana who still went home with Justin Bobby at the end of the night. Yikes.
You can stream The Hills on Netflix and Paramount+.
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