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!