Heidi Montag expressed concern for husband Spencer Pratt’s new cowboy hat in the trailer for the new “Hills” episodes. He’s been seen all over Los Angeles rocking the hat, and he seems pretty comfortable in the Western gear — but his friends don’t quite get it.

Kristin Cavallari just sort of laughed the fashion statement off in her devil-may-care style. And former bro Brody Jenner can’t quite figure out what Spencer is up to now that he’s in his wild, wild West phase of life.

“Every time I go to film or I’m filming with somebody else, I hear stories that Spencer’s wearing cowboy hats all the time now and wearing charms, some kind of necklaces,” he told MTV News. “I’ve heard a lot of things, but I haven’t been able to see it myself.”

Little sister Stephanie Pratt thinks the whole cowboy look is just odd. “It’s really fun to make fun of him lately. … I go over to their house, and I’m like, ‘Spencer, stop going through Heidi’s clothes.’ It’s really fun,” she said. “He says the cowboy hat is, like, a gift from Dad and blah blah blah, but he’s, like, getting really scary.”

It seems Spencer is the only one who doesn’t see what the big deal is. “Well, it was because my new father-in-law gave it to me, and he gave it to me with such a serious speech connected to it [about] how much it truly meant to him and his life and everything,” Pratt explained. “For me, it wasn’t really more a fashion statement — it was more something for my father-in-law.”

Lauren Conrad was feeling the love with boyfriend Kyle Howard at new West Hollywood nightspot MI-6, where the couple was spotted making out and flirting on the dancefloor. But when the former Hills star ended up seated near her old nemesis – Kristin Cavallari – there might as well have been tumbleweeds blowing between the two women. The frenemies shot glares back and forth as Conrad texted on her phone and whispered with pal Lo Bosworth, who had Frankie Delgado for backup.

Cavallari, meanwhile, was sitting with her new businessman boyfriend and friends – and the new Hills star bounced back and forth, chatting with everyone except her castmates. And while Cavallari wasn’t too affectionate with Smith, at one point she did put her arms around him.

Though her days of battling Kristen Cavallari and Speidi in the realm of reality TV are officially behind her, no way is Lauren Conrad headed for the unemployment line.

But she doesn’t expect to run up the aisle to collect an Oscar, either.

The former “The Hills” star, best-selling author, fashion designer and spokesperson spent her week launching a second clothing line and finalizing a deal to convert her semi-autobiographical novel “L.A. Candy” into a feature film.

“I think my acting is offensive!” Conrad, 23, told PEOPLE in response to a question of whether she’d consider playing the movie version of Jane Roberts, the heroine of her novel.

“I’m an awful actor, I’m not super comfortable with it. In fact I was just trying to do lines … and they’ll tell you, I cannot memorize lines.”

The Hills are alive with the sound of Kristin Cavallari, the 23 year old newcomer to the Los Angeles based reality show with a special knack for stirring drama and holding a grudge. And while the buxom blonde certainly delivers on her reputation as ‘the mega bitch’ in the new season of The Hills, a great debate was born last night; Is K-Cav more entertaining than LC?

Totally!

The Hills rose to fame with star and narrator Lauren Conrad documenting her life outside of the Laguna Beach bubble she inhabited during high school, leaving behind a life of Steven Colletti, beach parties, love triangles, bad grades, inevitably bitchy trips to Cabo San Lucas and what she then believed, her rival Kristin Cavallari.

But cut to late 2008 in Los Angeles, the new season of The Hills coming to fruition in the minds of Adam DiVello and associates, and you have Lauren Conrad going public with her plans to leave the hit series to pursue a normal, paparazzi free life and clothing line; news hot on the heels of the arrival of Kristin Cavallari, uber bitch and boyfriend stealer, who then goes on to replace LC and spearhead the show as lead cast member and narrator! Wait, Audrina the failed actress/ stage five clinger and Lo weren’t bumped up to narrator? ‘Fraid not!

Despite their lengthy runs on the show, neither Audrina Patridge nor Lo Bosworth was given narrator duties for The Hills. The honor, however, was bestowed upon Kristin, as well as first billing in the opening title sequence. Ouch.

And people love the uber bitch, a fresh new bite on the almost over-done series.

In an interview with night show host, Chelsea Handler of Chelsea Lately, Handler praised Kristin’s raw honesty, confidence and her ability to admit that, ‘yeah, The Hills is fake,’ while maintaining elsewhere that the directors do reply on casting people who “bring the drama”, something this Laguna Beach alum does quite well.

Making a ‘total bee line’ for Audrina’s ex, Justin Bobby, in the first episode of season 6, (who, P.S. Didn’t even say hi to Audrina, god, can you, like, believe that?) Kristin rubbed every single female cast member the wrong way, with the only Hills starlet not to take a post-party stab at the newcomer being Heidi, member of the American marital mess known as Speidi with husband and pratt, Spencer Pratt.

The remainder of the episode centred around Stephanie, Lo, Jayde and Audrina consistently talking about Kristin, what Kristin does, what Kristin is like, should Jayde be worried about Brody now that Kristin is here, does Brody still like Kristin, how Kristin likes Justin Bobby, how Justin Bobby seems to like Kristin, what Kristin and Justin Bobby might be doing, how Justin Bobby and Kristin probably went home together after Frankie’s birthday lunch, how big Kristin’s ego is, how Kristin is a boyfriend stealer… Kristin, Kristin, Kristin!

But for Cavallari, it’s all a job.

The reality star and actress happily admits she was brought on board to purposely shake things up, to do the one thing she knows the directors will love; bring the drama. And at exactly 6 minutes 55 seconds deep into the first episode, Kristin Cavallari is a job well done.

Well, we’re only one episode of Kristin Cavallari-centric “Hills” deep, and I already miss Lauren Conrad.

Which is odd, I know, because let’s face it — Lauren wasn’t adding a whole bunch to the show toward the end of last season, complacently sifting through clothes racks at People’s Revolution and constantly being forced into awkward situations with frenemy Heidi.

But there was something about Lauren’s calm demeanor and subtle eye rolls that endeared her to me. Perhaps the part of her life she revealed on the show wasn’t all that dramatic, but it never seemed like she was spewing outright lies.

Enter Kristin, wearing daisy dukes and very high heels while hopping out of her summer Malibu rental and into her shiny black BMW convertible.

Last week, Kristin admitted she will “pretty much do anything” the producers want her to do on the show. The first of which seems to be feigning romantic interest in resident bad boy Justin Bobby.

There is just no way I can believe that Kristin actually finds JB attractive. Reality check — she has dated the chiseled Brody Jenner and clean-cut “Final Destination” star Nick Zano. They don’t exactly have the snarly beard, suspenders and combat boot look going on.

“He’s so not your type!” I pressed when we met last week at Magnolia restaurant in Hollywood.

“He is a good-looking guy,” she insisted. “No, he’s not someone I typically would go after, but I do have to say after getting to know him a little bit on the show, he’s a good guy.”

Okay. But even if Kristin hypothetically were into JB, her constant Audrina name-dropping made the entire setup feel all too fake.

“How do you think Audrina’s going to feel about us going on a date?” she asked coyly when Justin offered to take her on the back of his motorcycle.

“I think Audrina is still in love with you,” she later said nonchalantly over dinner with Justin at STK. (Honestly, producers? Are we meant to believe a trendy Hollywood steakhouse is JB’s number one choice for a dinner date?)

Justin proceeds to tell Kristin that Audrina was never his girlfriend and that the pair were never exclusive. Is that really supposed to be a huge revelation? Audrina spent an entire season pleading with Justin to make things official. When he refused to put a label on things, she kept seeing him and tried to convince herself and her friends she was OK dating without labels — which she clearly never was.

And in the season opener, at least, it really appears that she’s still in love with Justin.

When Stephanie abruptly dropped the bomb that Kristin and Justin may have gone home together, Audrina’s face instantly dropped and her eyes welled up. Yikes.

Plus, “the stage five clinger,” as bartender Stacie deemed her, prematurely flipped out on Kristin within a couple of minutes of her arrival at the pool party at the London West Hollywood Hotel. I mean, Justin was the one who approached Kristin, and the two had barely exchanged a couple of faux-flirty words before Audrina and sidekick-to-everyone Stephanie got up in Kristin’s face.

“I’m sorry I walked up here and you guys came at me like piranhas,” Kristin said.

“You need to respect Audrina, bottom line,” Stephanie shouted back at her. No wonder she’s ready to exit the show at the end of this season — all of her story lines involve being obsessed with her friends lives instead of her own!

Meanwhile, Spencer and Heidi’s house-hunting pursuits somehow ended up seeming like the most realistic events of the evening. First the pair headed to a suburban house in Brentwood. Spencer wore an interesting get-up, composed of a cowboy hat and boots and a flannel shirt — Poppa Montag’s style influence on his new son-in-law must have been far-reaching.

Despite Heidi’s insistence upon a cozy home with a room for a nursery, Spencer settles upon a modern, glass-filled house perched below the Hollywood sign. I’ll take it that means the children discussion is on hold until that visit to Kitson Baby later in the season.

So, weigh in: Did Kristin’s much-hyped debut live up to your expectations, or did her entrance fall flat? Do you think she and Justin Bobby will make a real love connection? And will Heidi succeed in persuading Spencer to start a family by the end of the season? Chime in below in the comment section.

Photo: Kristin tries to reel in her potential new love interest, Justin Bobby, on “The Hills. Credit: MTV.

The new season of “The Hills” with Kristin Cavallari debuts tonight on MTV — but the show may be over before it even begins.

Stephanie Pratt, Spencer’s sister, says she won’t return to the reality show after this season’s 10 episodes. She also told Hollyscoop that Lo Bosworth, Lauren Conrad’s best friend, may also be exiting.

News comes on the heels of Audrina Patridge’s announcemement last month that she’s “almost done” filming the series and will move on to develop her own reality show with “Survivor” producer Mark Burnett.

“I don’t know how much more I can take of ‘The Hills,’ Pratt said. “It is very brutal. … It’s not because of Kristin. I was going to stay and see what happens after these 10 episodes, but I just don’t think I can stand ‘The Hills’ anymore.”

[Update 5:24 p.m.: In an e-mail to ShowTracker, a rep for Pratt wrote: “At this point Stephanie isn’t certain whether or not she’ll be returning next season. Her focus is on this season’s show.”

Yikes! Is anyone left? It certainly looks like the drama in “The Hills” could be coming to a close.

Through her publicist, Pratt could not be reached for comment. Earlier this summer, she posed in a bikini on the cover of US Weekly next to a headline reading “‘The Hills’ Made Me Bulimic.’ ”

What do you think? Could “The Hills” survive without the girls we’ve all come to know and love? Would you watch the “Spencer and Heidi” show?

So how much do the cast of the hill make per episode?

“Cavallari is being paid $90,000 an episode, which is almost as much as Conrad was making: $125,000 an episode (or $2.5 million a year), according to a person with knowledge of the show’s contracts. Conrad’s deal stipulated that no other star’s salary could match hers while she was on The Hills, but those of supporting cast members Audrina Patridge, Lauren “Lo” Bosworth, and Montag come close: $100,000 a show. As for Pratt, his rate is a slightly less at $65,000 per show, because he only joined as a regular in 2008. (In comparison, the stars of The Real Housewives series receive a reported $30,000 a show.) In the case of Brody Jenner, Conrad’s BFFWB (Best Friend Forever With Benefits), he takes in $45,000. Read the rest here

‘Probably Not!’ But she does plan to support pal and former co-star Whitney Port: ‘I’ll watch ‘The City.’ ‘On Tuesday, new episodes of “The Hills” will debut, and it will be the first season without original star Lauren Conrad. Fans will get the chance to watch all the drama that Kristin Cavallari will be stirring up, but that doesn’t mean Cavallari’s onetime “Laguna Beach” frienemy will be tuning in.

“Um, it’s more of a relief,” Conrad told MTV News about life after “The Hills.” “It’s kind of nice.”

When asked if she would tune in to see any of the drama she said, “Probably not!” But she does plan to support pal and former co-star Whitney Port: “I’ll watch ‘The City.’ ”

Back in June, Conrad told MTV News that she has no plans to pop up on “The Hills” anytime soon. “I’m not planning on it,” she said. “I’m happy with the time I walked away, and I think that from now on, they’re going to pick it up and do a great show. But I think that my time on it is done.”

As for her future in TV, Conrad said it will probable be more like her recent guest spot on “America’s Next Top Model.” “I wouldn’t do a show like ‘The Hills,’ ” she said. “Nothing with my personal life, but possibly something hosting. I think I have a little bit of time to figure out what I’m going to do next.”

To see if Kristin Cavallari can fill Lauren Conrad’s shoes, tune in to MTV on Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET for new episodes of “The Hills.”

Enjoying a little quality time together, Lauren Conrad and Lauren “Lo” Bosworth were spotted out at La Scala in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon (September 21).

With LC using Lo as a human shield, the former “Hills” co-stars laughed and hugged one another as they made their way out of the popular local eatery.

Over the weekend, Miss Conrad kept busy by splitting time between boyfriend Kyle Howard and her Kohl’s launch duties.

As part of her line’s launch, Lauren took part in California Coastal Cleanup Day, plugging her new offerings by telling press: “I am very excited to be launching LC Lauren Conrad at Kohl’s later this month because it’s going to 300 stores and it’s going to be on Kohls.com.”

Earlier this week, we pitted Lauren Conrad against Whitney Port in a VMA fashion face-off after the glamorous twosome hit the annual MTV insane-o-fest.

Now the BFFs and former co-stars have come together again at the 2009 VH1 Divas special event at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City.

Neither is known for disappointing fans with her style choices, so it comes as little surprise that both gals sparkled as usual. But who looked better?

At Clearly chic , according to their site, will be an exclusive membership only site, providing access to women’s coveted fashion and luxury brands at 80% off retail. YES, 80%.

Some of the authentic brands and items they will feature are Coach Bags, Fendi, Marc Jacobs, Ed Hardy, J brand jeans and tons of other high end fashion brands. check them out!

Check out these super cute I Love My Boyfriend T shirts

Why am I not surprised that Lauren Conrad’s ridiculously over-priced line of “clothing” died? Um, that’s right, because it sucked. It sucked a lot.

But reps aren’t blaming the actual bad dresses for the demise of the line, they’re blaming, what else, These Economic Times. And I partially agree with that statement, if by “These Economic Times” they mean people are fed up with paying for absolute poop.

But Lauren insists the hiatus will be beneficial for the brand, saying she has decided to “revamp her line and design with more high-end fabrics… things she couldn’t do the first time around. With everything going on in the economy and in her life, she wants to rework her line and offerings.”

I blame the fight between long-time besties Lauren and Heidi for the lack of creativity and poor construction of her line.

Oh and Brody Jenner. He ruins everything.

Lauren Conrad isn’t the only reality star over The Hills. Her costar Audrina Patridge has her sights on her own reality show.

Patridge has inked a deal with Mark Burnett Productions (the company behind the popular franchise Survivor) to star in a new series that will follow her personal and professional life, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The show has yet to find a network home.

“I wanted to collaborate with the best possible team for my first big project after The Hills,” Patridge tells PEOPLE. “Mark Burnett really understands my vision and I am excited about the concepts we’ve developed that will show people a different side of my life.”

As Patridge prepares to move on, MTV has yet to confirm a sixth season with fellow Hills stars Heidi Montag and Conrad, who has also stated the upcoming fifth season, which begins April 6 (on MTV at 10 p.m. ET/PT), would be her last.

With so many of the original stars moving on, what will happen to the popular MTV franchise?

“We cannot confirm a 6th season at this time,” says an MTV spokesperson. “However, The Hills will continue as long as there are stories to tell and as of now we don’t see an end in sight.” –Elaine Aradillas

Lauren Conrad narrowly missed out on a chance to say farewell to her nemesis, Spencer Pratt, at Star Magazine’s Young Hollywood party at Apple Lounge Wednesday night.

Spencer was there with faux wife Heidi Montag, who said she’s releasing a new album soon and using actual professionals to shoot the videos instead of her boyfriend. But as soon as the two finished interviews on the carpet, they left the party.

Of course, not before Spencer had a chance to sound off on L.C.’s upcoming departure from The Hills.

The reality-TV troublemaker says he’s really going to miss Conrad: “I’m actually very depressed,” he told me of her departure. “Who am I gonna beef out with? I gotta find some new enemy on the show.”

So how did Lauren and BFF Lo Bosworth avoid this awkward run-in?

They skipped the carpet altogether and hung out inside at their own VIP table as Lady GaGa played. Stephanie Pratt apparently felt no family loyalty, as she headed to their table and sat with the girls.

Laguna Beach alum Kristin Cavallari was also on hand for the bash, showing up with Scott Disick, Kourtney Kardashian’s ex-boyfriend. The two stayed together on the patio as Scott smoked a cigarette.

But that didn’t discourage the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star—Kourtney also made it to the party, she just rolled solo.

wow sources say that Lauren Conrad spent last night “hugging and whispering” and “exchanging phone numbers” with The Miz, a professional wrestler. What did they talk about? My guess is the fungible nature of reality and also waxing techniques. “OMG, Nads is the worst!

“Reality?TV, as in a show like The Hills? I don’t think I could do it,” Lauren confessed at Barbie’s 50th birthday bash in Malibu. “Never say never, but at this point I think I’m ready to step away and do my own thing.”

She just finished filming last week, but said she’s been as busy as ever since cameras stopped rolling.

So what will she miss least about doing the hit MTV show…and will her roomie Lo Bosworth be leaving the show, too?

While L.C. says she’ll miss the crew she worked with, she won’t miss the constant camera presence.

“I get a little bit more privacy back and?be able?to make mistakes and not have to deal with the repercussions of my decisions [on-camera],” she said. “I’m going to keep a few things to myself.”

Like her relationship with boyfriend Kyle Howard?

“You’re making me blush! He’s very sweet,” she answered, when asked about her favorite thing regarding her actor beau. “He’s a good guy.”

Lo said she’ll?still be a part of The Hills, but?they won’t?be filming in the new Westwood apartment they just moved to.

“We don’t want Star Tours to come by anymore!” Lo explained of the decision.

And, at least for last night, L.C. and Lo seemed to enjoy not having cameras on them as they took shots and sipped white wine at the party.

The queen of reality TV, Lauren Conrad, is opening up about her decision to leave The Hills (the fifth and likely final season debuts March 30 on MTV).

Combined with two years of Laguna Beach before that, she’s had a heck of a run. But having turned 23 last month, LC is anxious to move on.

“You see us on the show and we appear to have seminormal lives, but if you read any celebrity news, the cast is being swarmed by paparazzi,” she says. “I’m excited to go back to having just one life. There were times that I got them confused.”

But the decision to leave is still bittersweet.

“I’ve spent the last five years making every decision be about the show. The people I date have to be able to film, the places I work have to let us film and the places I live have to have set lighting,” said the beautiful star.

“I loved doing it and had so much fun for the past couple of years, but it came to a point where I had done it long enough.”

Lauren Conrad has kept her growing relationship with My Boys’ Kyle Howard (above) off The Hills, which was a tall order. She says the balancing act is “very difficult, because when you’re with someone, they become a very big part of your life.”

She also admits it’s stressful being followed 24-7-365.

“There have been some scenes - extra scenes that may never come out - of me getting upset, taking my mic off and locking myself in my room,” she says. “There was a time I was really stressed, and would get sick a lot. I think all of Season Three!”

Producer Liz Gateley said they’re still figuring out how to give Lauren Conrad a big send-off - and how to potentially continue the show without her.

It looks like art is imitating life for Lauren Conrad.

The star of The Hills reveals on her MySpace blog that her new book, L.A. Candy – which is “loosely inspired” by her own experience – follows the story of 19-year-old girl named Jane Roberts “who moves to L.A. and unexpectedly becomes the star of a reality television show.” In the book Jane’s best friend is named Scarlett.

The novel, the first in a three-book series being published for young adults by HarperCollins, will be released June 16.

“Some of the characters may symbolize people in my life,” writes Conrad, who has gone through a multitude of drama on the MTV series, “but it is in no way calling anyone out.”

Adds the star, “I’ve always loved books that I could lose myself in, ones that would transport me to another place, but had characters I could relate to. So, I’m so excited to have this opportunity to write books like that for other readers.”

We’ve all seen it- there’s trouble brewing between Heidi and Spencer. When I watched the previews for the new season, I could definitely tell that something wasn’t right between them. I even heard Heidi say, “When we get back to L.A., I need you to move out… I’m not the one who wanted to see other people!”. Did Spencer cheat on Heidi? Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t…it remains to be seen…but personally, I think he did. What do you think?

They’ve been talking a lot about how Spencer’s cheating is hurting their relationship. When they talked to Us magazine, Heidi said that she and Spencer were having a lot of ups and downs, and that she’d never been cheated on before. Then she said, “Spencer and I may differ on what it means to cheat.” Here’s what Spencer had to say: “We’re definitely on a roller coaster. I’m not too happy about a lot of things.” Heidi’s also had a really hard time dealing with her stepbrother’s sudden death, in a freak accident. Both Heidi and Spencer are also talking a lot about what we’re going to see on the fifth season of the show. I can’t wait!

Heidi’s never been one to take life lying down. She’s using the publicity she gets from the show to help her in other parts of life, like designing those cute and oh-so-sexy clothes. (I wonder what LC has to say about that!) She’s also doing some acting- I thought she was really funny on How I Met Your Mother. After all, she’s in good company, because Britney, Mandy Moore, and (hot!) Heidi Klum have been on the show too. Heidi’s singing career is taking off too, slowly but surely. The critics, and a lot of listeners, didn’t like “Higher”. Heidi took it sort of personally, crying herself to sleep because of the reaction to the song. I really liked the song, thought it was catchy. Hopefully her next single will do a lot better.

LC’s saying that this is her last season, but Heidi and Spencer want to take it to at least ten seasons.

In Star magazine, they wrote that Spencer wants to end the marriage, and they claimed that Heidi and Spencer staged most of their fights for the benefit of the show. But, I think that Spencer really loves Heidi, even though their relationship isn’t the greatest right now. Are they just seeking attention, or trying to outdo LC? What I don’t understand is, if they never made the marriage legally binding, how can either one of them file for a divorce?

Heidi and Spencer really seem to be taking their fifteen minutes of fame, and getting all the mileage they can out of it. I wonder what they are going to do next?

Stay tuned to find out!