HER BEST LIFE

Admitting she’s still a work in progress, Lauren Conrad talks juggling kids and business

Lauren Conrad shares her thoughts on balancing the needs of her family with a demanding career.

Successful entrepreneur. TV star. Podcast host. In the 16 years she’s been in the public eye, Lauren Conrad, 34, has taken on a lot of different identities. But these days, none of them is as important as being a mom to Liam, 3, and Charlie, 9 months. “I think, for us, the biggest thing has just been, be a person that your child can be proud of and someone that you hope your child will grow up to be,” says Lauren of the philosophy she shares with husband William Tell, 40, whom she wed in 2014.

“I’m constantly working on myself…. It’s been about setting an example.”

For Lauren, setting a good example hasn’t come without its sacrifices. Speaking during the #Blogher20 Creators Summit on June 26, the former Laguna Beach lead opened up about the realities of being a working mom and shared how she’s learned to, mostly, balance it all. “With some of my businesses, it [can be] a little weird holding a baby during a Zoom call,” acknowledges LC, who says she finds more common ground when collaborating with fellow moms, like Hannah Skvarla, cofounder of her lifestyle boutique The Little Market. “We work around nap times and figuring out childcare or

asking a husband to step in. We’re figuring it out, like everybody else!”

IT’S OK TO BE PICKY

At times, juggling being a parent and a public figure can be a lot harder than it sounds. While in the past, Lauren moved from filming for the small screen to runway shows to red carpets with ease — even penning a few books in the process — all that changed when she became a mother. She made the decision not to reunite with her former reality castmates on the 2019 launch of The Hills: New Beginnings, despite having been the show’s central character during its first run. Instead, she chose to focus on projects like The Little Market, a nonprofit organization which sells goods from artisans around the world, and her eponymous fashion line for Kohl’s, which has been a work priority for more than 10 years, because they both allowed her to spend more time with her family out of the spotlight.

Now she’s intent on raising her kids to be kind, unspoiled — and aware of the world around them. “They’re both still very young… but kids are always listening,” she says. “They’re watching your actions and they’re listening to the way you speak to people, how you speak about people. As parents, we’re [ learning] day to day and trying to do our best.”