SPENCER’S PAINFUL PAST

THE REALITY STAR SPEAKS OUT ABOUT A DARK TIME DURING HIS EARLY DAYS OF FAME

He’s reality TV royalty, but Spencer Pratt has talked about how difficult the earliest days of his fame were for him. “I was very volatile and emotional during the earlier seasons of The Hills because of how shady the production on the show was back then,” the 37-year-old tells WHO. “At that time, I felt like it was a team of adults against [now wife] Heidi [Montag] and I. It was like, ‘If you don’t do this, you won’t get millions of dollars and we’ll sue you.’ So I was, like, 22 and did what they wanted me to do. I became the villain guy, but I had no say in that. If I look back on it now, I was bullied.”

Pratt is speaking out ahead of the second season launch of The Hills: New Beginnings. The iconic docuseries returned to screens in 2019 and reunited the cast of The Hills, which aired between 2006 and 2010.

Both series follow the friendships and enmities between castmates, including Audrina Patridge, Brody Jenner, Whitney Port, Justin

“Bobby” Brescia and “Speidi”, as

Pratt and Montag were dubbed.

What is so special to you about The Hills and what drew you back to do The Hills: New Beginnings?

The original series of The Hills was such a fake show. It was great, but like a soap opera. It was all Lauren [Conrad’s] world. It was fun, but I always wanted to do a show where you could see who we really were – not just, like, I’m the villain and Heidi’s the bad friend. So I’ve been, like, trying since The Hills was cancelled in 2010 to bring it back, but in a way that wasn’t so one-sided. A few years ago, I got a call from our new production team and they were like, “Why don’t we do a show with you and Heidi?” I was like, “Hello, there is one. It’s called The Hills!”

Do you have any regrets about your career in reality TV?

I wish I could’ve been on a show, in the early days, that showed more of the authentic me and gave the audience a bit more truth. Sure, you can not like me, I’m fine with that, but I wish the real reasons for you not to like me were shown. I wish I’d had social media back in the day, so I could just jump on and share my truth on an Instagram Live. I look back at old clips of myself and I do see a crazy guy, but I wasn’t really that crazy. I was just dealing with stuff and not knowing how to handle things. I think anybody would crack like I did. I also regret that Heidi truly became a victim in the situation. Like, at least I wanted to be famous. Heidi just came to the show as Lauren’s best friend and then the next minute she’s portrayed as a bad friend. What can we expect from this season of New Beginnings?

All of our cast say this is the most vulnerable they’ve been on screen, so I look forward to seeing that. It’s like, we see a new Brody. He really opens up about the mental drama he’s been going through. Mischa [Barton] won’t be back. She was a fun thing last season, but she didn’t deliver. It’s hard to go from being an actress to being yourself on TV. Our new castmate Caroline D’Amore at least wants to be on a reality TV show. Kristin Cavallari is a part of it. She introduced Heidi and I, so I’ll love her for all eternity. She’s such a blessing and she really brings the energy to our show.

How would you feel if your son wanted to become a reality TV star?

Gunner is only three, but he already appears on New Beginnings. He loves filming. We wouldn’t let him do it if he was weirded out by it, but he’s like, “I want to work!” He goes up to the audio technician guys when we’re filming and asks for his “walkie talkie”, meaning his microphone. The producers are like, “This kid is upstaging the main cast!” I’m like, if in 10 years time, or whatever, he wants to do a reality TV show, I would let him because despite what Heidi and I have been through over the years, I still think they’re superawesome. But ultimately, I hope he wants to become a professional athlete and, like, goes to play soccer for millions of dollars in Spain.

By Melissa Field

The Hills: New Beginnings premieres Thu., May 13, at 8.30pm on MTV.

I look back and see a crazy guy” – PRATT

SPEIDI GOING STRONG They wed in 2009 and welcomed son Gunnar in 2017 – and now, Pratt says, he and Heidi will add to their family soon. “She actually thinks she might be pregnant now,” he says. “But she’s been saying that for the past six months!”

FAMILY GUY “Heidi is a literal angel,” Pratt says of his wife. “Despite all the hate she’s had over the years, she calms me and Gunner down and has such a peaceful energy.”