Let’s pause for a moment and think back to 2006. George W. Bush was president, J.T.’s “SexyBack ” dominated the airwaves, and Lauren Conrad and Heidi Montag were just blossoming pals embarking on a new life — and spinoff reality show — in their new apartment in the Hollywood Hills. After the success of MTV’s Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, there was little doubt that The Hills would be a ratings juggernaut. However, no one, not even the stars, could have predicted its lasting (and unwritten) pop culture impact.
Six seasons, four apartments, and one notorious tell-all later, The Hills is officially gone but not forgotten. While filming has ceased, many of the homes (and events that transpired in them) remain permanently etched in our memories. Who could forget the killer kitchen in Conrad and Montag’s first apartment or the letters “L-A” spelled out above the sofa in Lo, Audrina, and L.C.’s purple-walled living room?
In honor of the fast-approaching reunion, we’ve rounded up a few of the cast members' coolest homes, then and now. Scroll ahead for a drama-filled walk down memory lane, and a reminder that while fame often comes at a price, it can also come with some really dope real estate.
Lauren Conrad, Then
Back in 2006, L.C. and Heidi — new friends and students at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising — had just moved into their first L.A. apartment together and unknowingly changed the course of television history. The apartment at the “Villas ” would go on to set the stage for some of the most memorable scenes of the series, and is also where castmate (and neighbor) Audrina Patridge was discovered.
You can still rent a two-bedroom apartment in the complex. Amenities include granite countertops and a balcony. You’ll have to supply your own drama and decor.
Lauren Conrad, Now
The days of Les Deux may be behind L.C., but the City of Angels certainly isn’t. Although L.C. flew the reality-show coop midway through The Hills' season 5, she never left the greater Los Angeles area. Today, Conrad lives in a super-posh place in the Pacific Palisades, which she bought for $4.4 million in 2015. It came complete with a Laguna Beach-style lagoon and hottie husband (okay, okay, that wasn’t part of the real estate transaction). The five-bedroom, five-and-a-half bath house has plenty of room for L.C. to run her fashion line, Paper Moon (and collab with Kohl’s), write for her blog, and never, ever think about Jason, at all.
Photo: Courtesy of The MLS.Whitney Port, Then
In 2008, with the success of The Hills raging on, L.C.’s beloved confidante and fellow Teen Vogue intern moved to New York City, and to the delight of all, got her very own East Coast-focused spinoff series. The City centered on Port’s blossoming career in fashion and featured an insanely hip Gramercy Park apartment where she undoubtedly lost lots of sleep over Jay Lyon and Kelly Cutrone, respectively.
Want to relive Whitney’s early-aughts dreams? You can rent a one-bedroom with a balcony in the same building for a cool $5,000 a month. Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure a starting salary in fashion won’t quite cover that rent.
Whitney Port, Now
These days, Port is back in Los Angeles, where she runs a cool lifestyle site and oversees her namesake fashion line, Whitney Eve. In 2015, she married Tim Rosenman — a former associate producer for The City — and the two now share an adorable abode in Venice Beach. It even has a screening room, where they can binge-watch old episodes of their show and live happily ever after thanks to its success.
Photo: via @homepolish.
Lo Bosworth, Then
By season 3, Heidi was out of Lauren’s life — and her apartment — and Lo Bosworth was back to being the real best friend we always knew her to be. In true BFF form, the pair went out and purchased a darling $2-million Spanish-style villa on Orange Grove Avenue in West Hollywood — even letting pal Audrina Patridge move into the guesthouse!
Photo: Lester Cohen/WireImage.
Lo Bosworth, Now
Nowadays, Lo spends her time bossin’ it up in NYC, running TheLoDown, her well-known website about healthy living. She’s even got herself a baller downtown apartment — designed with the help of Homepolish — proving that life after the Hollywood Hills is definitely just as sweet (but probably involves fewer pool parties).
Photo: Via @homepolish.
Heidi & Spencer Pratt, Then
Oh, Speidi: It was the best of times, but also the worst. After Heidi hightailed it out of her place with Lauren, she moved right into an apartment with Spencer. The decor there was definitely a lot less feminine — who could forget the graffiti in the living room? Heidi living with Spencer marked the end of a friendship and the beginning of a new, um, romantic era — one that involved lots of fighting and steak tacos at Don Antonio’s.
Photo: Evan Agostini/Getty Images.Heidi & Spencer Pratt, Now
After their fifth-season wedding and the end of the show, the couple went on to do several other mainstream projects, including stints on Celebrity Big Brother and an album release from Heidi (produced by Spencer).
As of today, they’ve taken a much-needed break from the spotlight, no longer residing in Los Angeles but at Spencer’s dad’s secluded beach house just outside of Santa Barbara. While the pair tries to avoid giving major interviews, Spencer clearly lives for Twitter — and the healing power of crystals.
Honorable Mentio n: Audrina Patridge
Who could forget Audrina, who lived at the hacienda on Orange Grove with L.C. and Lo — and had an apartment at The Villas — before infamously bouncing with Justin Bobby and moving into the Hollywood Hills home she only just put on the market last year.
While the new mom has yet to formally post pics of her latest residence, true to form, she didn’t shy away from bringing cameras along for the bicoastal search.
Photo: JB Lacroix/WireImage.Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
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