We Had The Most Chaotic Chat With Spencer Pratt About The Hills Drama, Mischa Barton & Crystals

The resurgence of the noughties has blessed us with several revivals of the folks behind your favourite music, films and TV shows, but just because the OG players reunite, doesn’t necessarily mean they’re able to recapture the magic of the shit you loved in the noughties. But one pop culture phenomenon that pretty much picked up right where it left off is The Hills whose reboot, The Hills: New Beginnings, hit us riiiiiight in the nostalgia.

The reboot received such a glowing reaction from fans and critics that they’ve come back at us with a second season which looks vastly different from the first season, but still has enough of the OG juice to keep it going. And by that, I, of course, mean noughties golden couple Speidi, a.k.a. Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag.

I spoke to the crystal god himself ahead of the brand spanking new season to get the crystal-infused tea on what to expect.

On the current cast of The Hills New Beginnings

“The cast has so much potential, I just hope it’s what I know and see of these people. If [the audience get it], the cast is great.

My interactions with most of the cast was that they were being very fake. I felt like I was being attacked for no reason. They were trying to put Speidi back in the 2009 situation. I’m not going to say I dislike everybody, but pretty much.”

On Kristin Cavillari’s return to The Hills

Kristin [Cavillari] introduced Heidi and I, so I love Kristin for eternity. It was such a blessing [her coming back onto the show]. And to me, she just brings the energy I love from reality TV: she’s so authentic and she doesn’t put on an act. And I felt like the chemistry between her and Brody [Jenner] was super interesting and entertaining.

If she lived in LA and not Nashville, I think a lot of things could’ve happened. I think they almost happened too…”

On Mischa Barton’s exit

Mischa [Barton] was a fun thing last season but she didn’t deliver. It is hard to go from being an actress to this, I understand, but I’m not going to miss Mischa as a TV personality.”

On the OG The Hills

“I’ve been trying ever since The Hills got cancelled in 2010 to bring it back. The Hills was great but it was just imagined out of Lauren [Conrad]’s world with the editors and the producers, it was a fun soap opera, but I wanted an actual reality show where it wasn’t so one-sided. In my mind, she would’ve been the villain. I’d want it to be like the audience gets to choose, The Hills wasn’t reality at all.

I want to do a show where you get to see who all these people really are. I’ve been calling MTV since 2010 to get this going.”

On social media

“I wish I had social media [when the original series aired] because I could’ve jumped on IG Live and been like, ‘I actually didn’t say that to Audrina [Partridge], I said that to Heidi and they edited it and put that scene like I was on the phone to Audrina. I didn’t actually say that.’

I could’ve been able to at least give the audience the reality. It’s stuff out of my control. I was very emotional because of how the production back then was, we have a new company now who does the Real Housewives and they’re professionals. Back then it was a team of adults against Heidi and me. I got bullied and I just wish I [could’ve clarified it with social media].”

On his current friendship status with Brody Jenner

“It’s been a long time since I’ve considered Brody a close friend. This season is definitely a rollercoaster in that friendship and towards the end I thought there was a resolution but post-filming [stuff happened].

I’ve come to the realisation that it isn’t personal. Brody talks about so much that he’s dealing with, but I’ve just heard enough that I’m like ‘Dang, okay, I don’t deal with any of that’.”

I don’t know, that’s the answer. I thought I did, but then recently… A lot has changed since the finale.”

On the Justin Bobby-Audrina-Brody-Kaitlynn “love square”

“The strangest thing happened. I’m sorry you didn’t get to see this [on-screen], but the other day, we did a Zoom press tour and Audrina and Justin [were there]. I don’t think Justin knew that Audrina and Brody were talking about their kissing [this season]. And he saw it for the first time in the trailer and he was acting so strange and giving off jealous energy, but then complimenting Audrina. It was as weird as it gets. I feel like he did not like that it’s not Audrina / Justin in the trailer. I think on this season he thought it was [focused on them them], so I think he’s like, ‘Oh wait, she was also having the same kind of conversations with Brody’.

I don’t know if they’ll use the footage, but Justin was also kind of seeing Kaitlynn for a minute, [as in] Brody’s Kaitlynn. It was so strange. I wish I actually could narrate some of these scenes. So people like, ‘Hello everyone, reminder: Brody and Caitlin were just together for six years. And now Audrina’s talking about how her and Brody have always had a flirty chemistry relationship.’

It’s a strange crew, let me just tell you that. I don’t think they could do a season three. That’s how weird everything went this season.”

On Heidi Montag’s “bulletproof” music

“Her music, that people tried to destroy, it’s bulletproof now. This new generation, who’s not professional hater energy, they love her and she’s making so much money from streaming. We spent $2.7 million on that album, Cathy Dennis, who wrote music for Britney Spears, worked on it, and people tried to say it was horrible. It’s not horrible. It’s bulletproof.”

On crystals…

“Once I was done filming [The Hills], they were still such a part of my life and now it’s so much easier to zen out. After The Hills, we did, like, one reality show a year for like seven years, and we’d only shoot for a few weeks a year, and the rest of the year we’d be listening to Enya and playing with my crystals and grids and the moon and trying to tap into other dimensions and astral travel. Nothing was working, that’s what got me into crystals.”

On *that* iconique crystal scene

“I feel like that is something that was so meant to be, everything I’ve dealt with ahead of that moment, even though it’s a meme, there’s something so much more to it, with spirituality.

It’s so important for people to find something, especially with what we’re going through now.

I mean, it’s a joke and ha-ha, but when you think about ‘Why is he doing that?’ It’s because it opens up a doorway, because I didn’t know what a third eye was until three weeks before than scene, then you start researching and there are people who have tapped into another level of it. I’m thankful for it, and sometimes I think, maybe that was my purpose, to come to earth and bring crystals to the mainstream.

I appreciate it and think it’s more powerful than we realise.”

The Hills: New Beginnings airs on Thursday nights on MTV.

Head on over to Spencer Pratt’s online store, Pratt Daddy, to purchase crystals and other mystical goods.

Matty Galea is the Entertainment Editor at Pedestrian who also dabbles in woo-woo stuff like astrology and crystals and has been penning horoscopes since the start of his career. He also Tweets about pop culture and astrology and posts spicy content on Instagram.

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