Lauren Conrad dishes on the reality of The Hills

Lauren Conrad hit the scene on Laguna Beach years ago and immediately became a fan favorite, leading producers to give her a spin-off that you’ve probably heard plenty about — The Hills. The show quickly turned into a reality TV phenomenon, but as with all reality shows, The Hills had its critics who questioned how real the show really was.

According to Lauren, it was pretty real. “I think the story they told wasn’t a dishonest one,” Lauren tells Allure Magazine in a new interview. “The way they did it sometimes was. They aren’t going to be there for everything. Sometimes two of their main characters will get into a fight, and that’s important to the story line. The [producers] need that reenacted.”

At the end of the franchise, producers poked fun at all the speculation when they zoomed out of the shot and revealed that the scene had been filmed on a Hollywood set. It left viewers everywhere scratching their heads, wondering if it was a joke or if the whole thing was actually scripted.

As for one major story line on the show, Lauren’s relationship with Brody Jenner, Lauren reveals that it wasn’t quite as it was shown. “Brody and I did date,” she says, adding that it was pretty brief. “There was definitely editing to drag it out.” During The Hills‘ reality run Lauren and Brody were arguably one of MTV’s most popular couples and many fans hoped that they would one day reunite.

Speaking of dating, Lauren didn’t always have the easiest time finding a good match, especially after leaving the show. “The last year and a half, I was dating a lot, and it’s slim pickings.” Back in February, Lauren began dating law student/singer William Tell and after eight months of dating, the two finally made their red carpet debut this past weekend in L.A. Talk about keeping things private! Following her Hills exit, Lauren has been extra private and who can blame her?

^ Lauren Conrad and boyfriend William Tell at a polo match earlier this month

“I think anyone in the public eye is going to be hated, and a lesson that I needed to learn quickly is that it is impossible to please everybody,” she explains. “One person will call you classy, and another will call you boring. People felt that a lot of the things I had were undeserved, maybe because I didn’t have a specific talent. I was more of a regular girl and maybe didn’t deserve the attention.”