Laguna Beach first debuted back in 2004 and only went for three seasons. Despite the show’s short life span, it launched the careers of Lauren Conrad, Kristin Cavallari and Stephen Colletti. The show was so influential that shows like The Real Housewives and Vanderpump Rules just wouldn’t have happened without it. It’s been over 10 years since the show went off the air, so here are 10 behind the scenes secrets about the famed reality series:
10. Manufactured Love Triangle
According to Kristin Cavallari, the producers created the love triangle between her, Lauren Conrad and her boyfriend at the time, Stephen Colletti. “Normal high school relationships are dramatic enough, but ours now had the added pressure of being seen by MTV viewers across the country as well as being manipulated by the show’s producers, a set of adults were very suddenly involved in the intricacies of our lives,” she wrote in her book Balancing in Heels. “Surprisingly, the producers had a bigger effect, as they controlled and mapped our lives more than we were aware. One of the most hurtful things they did was pressure Stephen to spend time with another girl from the show, Lauren, while he and I were dating. It certainly provided some juicy conflicts, but it also affected me deeply. I felt threatened. On one side, it seemed like the producers were trying to break us up, which was intimidating. On the other side, I was worried that my relationship with Stephen was becoming less stable, even though I knew if we hadn’t been on television, he wouldn’t have been spending time with another girl.”
MTV