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Can you even fathom it’s been ten whole years since Lauren Conrad dropped Heidi Pratt (nee Montag) as a friend because the latter was dating “a sucky person” who spread a vile rumour about her.
On May 31 2006 in the 10pm timeslot, the MTV network in the United States aired the first episode of it’s newest reality program; one that would follow the personal and professional lives of four young, all-American women living in Los Angeles. Two seasons in and the reviews had gone from “mediocre” to “insanely watch-able”. L.A. was suddenly reduced to a mini-microcosm which focused in on the happenings at Les Deux nightclub or The Villas at Park La Brea on West 6th Street as we followed Lauren, Heidi, Audrina and Whitney.
The turning point – and featured plotline – for the entire series however was the relationship breakdown between Conrad and Pratt. On April 5, 2007, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton posted an article reporting Conrad and her ex-boyfriend Jason Wahler had made a sex tape. Conrad took to her website immediately to clarify the “sick rumour”. “Jason and I would like to make it clear that we did not make a tape”, she wrote. “Jason and I are both shocked and hurt that people would say such horrible things about us. I can’t believe that somebody would go to such great lengths to try to damage my reputation.”
“Honestly, they videotape my life five days out of the week,” Conrad later told US Weekly. “I don’t need additional footage, you know?”
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Conrad also made note that one of her good friends didn’t call or text her after the news broke, which was a dig at Pratt because it was later revealed her now-husband Spencer was behind the shady leak.
While not really addressing the issue on primetime television, audiences were dealt now cult-classic lines like “You know what you did!” And Conrad and Pratt were never ever the same again. While repeatedly denying the couple had anything to do with the rumour that broke up the childhood friendship, Spencer Pratt – who was clearly looking for publicity and relevance at the time – told Complex magazine he spread the sex tape rumours. “Lauren is a cold-hearted killer,” he said. “That’s what people don’t get. She will cut you in your sleep. She tried to destroy us. If you want to throw missiles, I’m throwing a nuke. This is how I operate.”
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Conrad – who is pregnant with her first child – probably doesn’t even care about this anniversary. But until the 20 year anniversary, let’s take a look back at one of the best television feuds of our time. And yes, you can still feel the tension.
