Let's Be Honest with Kristin Cavallari - The Hills Miami Trip: The Story Behind the Scandal

Episode Date: July 7, 2026

We’re finally diving back into The Hills recaps with one of the most infamous episodes of the entire series: Miami Superbowl weekend.I revisit the weekend trip that turned into one of the biggest controversies of my time on the show. From the behind-the-scenes reality of filming in Miami to the drug rumors that exploded into tabloid headlines, I break down what was really happening, what was produced for TV, and how the fallout affected me for years afterward.We also get into Heidi Montag’s highly publicized plastic surgery reveal, the pressure of living in the public eye, and why I has more empathy now for everyone involved. More than fifteen years later, I look back on one of the hardest chapters of The Hills with fresh perspective, sharing the lessons I learned about accountability, resentment, and letting go.Peacock: Check out the new Peacock Original series based on Elin Hilderbrand’s bestselling novel, The Five Star Weekend. Stream it July 9th, only on Peacock. There's a lot to unpack hereWayfair: Get prepped for patio season for way less. Head to https://Wayfair.com right now to shop all things homeNutrafol: See thicker, stronger, faster-growing hair with less shedding in just 3-6 months with Nutrafol. For a limited time, Nutrafol is offering our listeners $10 off your first month’s subscription and free shipping when you go to https://Nutrafol.com and enter the promo code HONESTNeuro Gum: Leave the dumb gum behind. Make the switch to the smartest gum out there. For a limited time, you can get 20% off your first order at neurogum.com by using code HONESTArmra: Go to https://armra.com/HONEST or enter HONEST to get 30% off your first subscription orderJust Ingredients: Visit https://justingredients.com/HONEST and use code HONEST for 20% off your first orderVivrelle: Visit https://www.vivrelle.com and use code HONEST for your first month freeFor more Let's Be Honest, follow along at:@kristincavallari on Instagram@kristincavallari and @dearmedia on TikTokLet's Be Honest with Kristin Cavallari on YouTubeProduced by Dear Media.This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The following podcast is a dear media production. This is Let's Be Honest with Kristen Cavalery, a podcast all about getting real and open on everything from sex, relationships, reality TV, wellness, family, and so much more. And just a fair warning, there will probably be some oversharing. Hello, hello. Here we are. We are back with a little Hills recap as promised. I'm sorry that I took, what, six months in between the last one and now, but I am going to do

today's episode, which is the Miami episode, and then I'm also going to do the finale. I just figured, I don't know, those are the, to me, the episodes that kind of stand out the most as being really dramatic, crazy things happening. There are good stories behind it rather than just continuing to go through the whole thing because it was taking up a big chunk of let's be honest. And so I'm sorry to the people who did really love it. But anyways, these ones are really fun to do. And they were fun to go back and watch. So we are kicking this thing off. So season six, it is episode one. And it is titled Put on a Happy Face. So this is the infamous Miami trip for Super Bowl weekend. So the episode starts off with a last season recap, which was, so I did

seasons of the Hills. I did the first season and now it is my second season. And the last episode that I had watched was the last rewatch episode that I did. And it was like pretty heavy on the Justin Bobby, me and Adriena Love Triangle kind of thing. So I, it's, I don't really remember what happened on the Hills. There's like moments that I remember from the whole series, but I don't remember how the episodes are laid out. So I actually don't remember how Justin Bobby and I officially ended. Like, I don't, I don't remember. But in this recap, it has Justin and I talking and he's asking me if I gave our little thing 100%. And, like, clearly a lot had gone on with Brody and I. So it's just like giving the whole recap, which I was locked in on because I didn't

remember any of it. And when I watched this recap of my first season, like, taking a step back and not watching the whole episode and like just watching these snippets, right? And obviously from my own memory and my experience of it. Watching it, it felt so fake to me. I watched that recap. And to me, everything was so obvious. But then when I would watch the episodes, like, I totally get how you become enmeshed in it. And you do believe everything going on.

Like, I even in this, no, sorry, in the finale, which we're going to talk about, a different episode. But I even, it took me a second to remember what was going on behind the scenes. And for a minute, I was like, did I actually like Brody? I literally asked myself that. And then I was like, no, I know that I didn't. And I was dating someone else the entire time, which we will talk about that. But anyways, I just thought that was interesting. So we kick off the episode and they have the girls inviting me to Miami for Super Bowl weekend. So it's essentially the girls are extending an olive branch to me. And here's why that's just

frustrating for me because I was planning on going to Miami like for months, right? That was always my plan. was I was going with my real friends to Miami for Super Bowl weekend. And then all of a sudden, MTV caught wind of, I think maybe Brody had decided to go to. And so because a couple of us were going, they were like, well, we should go and film. And I was pissed because you guys have to remember, this was a job. Like, this wasn't me just actually going to a club with my friends and getting to do whatever I wanted. This was like, you have to be here at this time with these people. We're going to talk about this.

We're going to do that. It wasn't just me going to Miami and having a fun weekend with my friends has now turned into I'm working. But where I got into trouble in this episode is I was trying to do both. I was trying to go out and have fun and be with my real friends and also film. And the wires got crossed. And this is why I was in this situation. So it's also annoying too because they're trying to make it look like, look how nice the girls are inviting Kristen. And everyone's like, should we? I don't know. Like no one invited me. So I don't know. I just always painting me in that bad light of like, look how nice the girls are. I don't know. Like, why couldn't I invite the girls? I was the one

actually going. Why not me be like, hey, you know what, guys? I would like to extend an olive branch. No, it doesn't fit my character. And it's so funny to me that in this episode, Lowe and Stephanie, when they have a little sit down, Stephanie was coming from an AA meeting. And she's talking about how she's on probation. She's been in jail twice. Which, by the way, they never really say, I think they reference a DUI, but like she had a major drug addiction. And that's not lost on me that they had to just plug all of that in there on the episode that I get accused of doing drugs that Stephanie is sober now. And Stephanie, so Stephanie, to me, it's like them laying that groundwork to be like Stephanie knows, like Stephanie knows a drug addict when she sees one because she's been

one. Okay. So they are setting up the crew, the going to Miami, the girls are. And, And Adrina is on board with me coming. Now, for me, skipping a bunch of episodes, right? Like the second half of season five, that was sort of news to me. And obviously, I, having lived it, I knew that Adrina and I were buddies, my second season. We had squashed everything. I think I've told you guys this. In between the two seasons, we went to New York for, who knows, I don't remember what it was for. And maybe it was like a rap party. We used to do like, we always did like after shows, like live after shows and like a rap party that was then televised. So we did a lot of those things. But I remember in New York, because Justin was not there, I remember talking to Adrina and being like,

you know I never actually dated Justin, right? And she was like, what? Like she believed all of that. So we squashed all of that. I think it was nice for her to hear that none of that was in fact true. And so then moving forward, we were always very cool. And you can tell, like knowing that backstory, you can tell in just the way that she is speaking about me now, how she is with me even in scene later in Miami. Like, to me, it's a wild difference with, I don't know how they, like, patch that up. I don't know if they, I don't think they did. I don't think they ever really, like, patch that up on the show. It was just now all of a sudden, like, Audreyna was cool with me. Okay, so the B's story of this episode, or maybe we're the B story, I don't know, but is

Heidi's plastic surgery. So Heidi, of course, did 13 surgeries in 2000. And I guess this was 10. And it was a huge deal at the time. You know, I think this is also before people were really talking about plastic surgery. Like, I don't think it's changed the amount of work that people are doing or did. I think Heidi was just the first one to sort of address it publicly and come out and just really own it. And I mean, she was on the cover. I think, I think it was us weekly talking about everything. And it was a huge deal at the time is basically the point I'm trying to get across. So the, her big reveal. on the hills was a huge deal.

Because this is the first time that you are seeing all of the work. And they cleverly, I think, sort of tease it. Like when they first show her, you only kind of see her back. She's packing up her bags, talking about how she's going to go to Colorado to go see her family, who is, of course, very upset about all of this work she's had done. And they never actually show her face until she gets to Colorado. And her mom opens the door. and you get her mom's genuine reaction to seeing her face for the first time,

which is probably similar to a lot of the people's faces at home. I will say, and I said this at the time, and I've always stood by this, I always thought Heidi looked really good in person. Like, when I saw her, she looked great. I always thought she looked better in person than she did in photos. She got a ton of hate for this. You know, she had a lot of backlash over this. And I just, you know, it was something that she wanted to do.

And this was a pretty intense episode between my quote unquote drug addiction and Heidi's plastic surgery and the conversations that she had with her family about her mom's really implying that it's basically a huge insecurity on Heidi's part. And her and her sister, or Heidi's mom and her sister throughout the episode are saying, you know, you used to be the most confident girl. Like what happened to that girl basically? And it's sad because Heidi is saying that, you know, essentially they don't understand the pressure that she's under living in Hollywood, being on TV, being famous. You know, she doesn't say it in the episode, but like I know that that's what she's referencing. And her mom is basically saying, if that's the pressure that you feel and you have to go to these great lengths, you know, to get all this plastic surgery, then maybe you shouldn't be in Hollywood. Maybe you shouldn't be in entertainment. And as a mom, by the way, I totally get that. I would be devastated if one of my kids felt that they needed to do that. But again, Again, you have to remove yourself from the situation. I fully understood Heidi's point of view

because no one understands that pressure unless you've been in the public eye. And if we look around at people in the public eye, there's a reason why most people get plastic surgery, why most people are getting Botox and doing all the things. And by the way, that happens in the real world. That's not just entertainment. But when your picture is constantly out there and you're being criticized, it is hard and you do pick it yourself. And I mean, if you think about it just in your own normal life, if you're out one night with friends and you guys take a couple pictures and the next day you're like, hey, send me those photos. We instantly, all of us go to the things we hate about ourselves, right? Like, my nose looks weird in certain angles. Like, I'm always like going

right to that. Like, there's certain things that like I always look for. That doesn't change whether you're in the public eye or not. But the difference is now take that photo of you and your friends that you hate of yourself. And now it's posted on the internet. And now all of these people get to have an opinion about your look as well. And it only will enhance insecurities. And it can, even the most confident people have, like, you just, it's hard to always be like, screw it. I don't care what they say or what. Like, it's just, it's easy to let that stuff eat you alive. So when Heidi was trying to explain that to her mom, like, I really had a lot of empathy for Heidi because I get it. I've had moments where even just recently, you know, a couple months ago when I was doing

Laguna Beach Press, like, I hate, like, I always try to favor my left side. That's my good angle. And they're, when you're doing press with a bunch of people, you don't always get to pick your side. And there was one interview. And it was from my right side. And the lighting was low and it was horrible. And I just was like, oh my God. I was like, I've got jowls. Like, what is happening? My point with that. is, I also think sometimes lighting can make things look 20 times worse. But again, it's like, it's just when, when your looks are being criticized on such a large scale and we are always our own worst critic, it's very easy. And I can understand why Heidi was feeling like she wanted to do

all of these surgeries because, yeah, she was feeling insecure and she thought this was going to make it better. And so that scene between her. and her mom and her stepdad and her sister, they're at dinner. It was hard for me to, not hard for me to watch, but I, I just had a lot of empathy for everybody involved, mostly her mom and Heidi, because I can understand both perspectives. And they're both heartbreaking for different reasons. And so anyways, I just felt like those were very real emotions. And listen, my hats off to Heidi and her family for being vulnerable enough to put that on camera because that's, you know, and especially I think for her family, because it's one thing Heidi signed up to do

this show and Heidi's used to putting her life out there, but to have your parents come in and also film in a really, really hard thing. I mean, that's not easy. And so I really just, I had a lot of respect for them for being able to do that. You guys know what time it is. Let's talk about Nutraful. You know I love them. Good hair days do more than we give them credit for. When your hair feels healthy, you show up differently. You're more confident, more relaxed, and you're not constantly checking mirrors or adjusting your hair. Your hair becomes one less thing competing for your attention throughout the day. Nutraful is the number one dermatologist's recommended hair growth supplement brand,

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need. It has zero sugar. It's aspartame-free, gluten-free and vegan. So every true is a smart choice for your body. And this is a limited edition. So once it's gone, it's gone. So you're going to want to stock up for summer now. For a limited time, you can get 20% off your first order at neurogum.com by using code honest. That's Nirogum.com and use code honest for 20% off your first order. You can also find Nero at Walmart and Amazon. And if you don't know, Nero is spelled N-E-U-R-O. So now we're in Miami. And they really are playing up this story that I'm essentially sad about Brody and Adrina flirting because I've always liked Brody. I've always had a thing for Brody. and Brody and I did not work out. I guess they reference, I think I had said to him at one point that I

wanted to be together and he said he was dating someone else or like, I don't know, which is funny because that never happened. And they're really like painting the picture that Brody and Adriina might hook up in Miami. And like, and I guess thank you MTV for giving me an excuse to party my dick off because that was I guess why they're saying I was like just out of control because I'm so upset about Brody. And the first scene of us is on the beach. And so, okay, so here's what happened. So I went to Miami before MTV with my friends. I was staying in a room with a couple of girlfriends. I was dating someone at this time, okay? I was dating someone. And I actually didn't remember that at first. And then later I was like, oh, yeah, I really didn't want to be filming because I was dating

somebody. And I was with him the night before MTV came. So we all went out the night before. I don't know if you guys have ever been to a Super Bowl weekend, but it's bananas. It's crazy. There are so many parties. It's Miami. Like, Miami, you already party a lot. I think I'm 23 here. Like, I think I had just turned 23.

And this was in my party phase. I was going out. I was having a good time. And so I went out the night before. And then MTV came. And what we had to do was, I think we've immediately filmed an arrival. So they had me, like, bring my suitcase down after I'd already been there and get in the car with everybody.

And we're pretending like we're just getting there. all together. And we had to do it multiple times. And they never ended up using it. And I was so tired. I was hung over from the night before just sitting in the car just so miserable. And I was so pissed about MTV being in Miami from the get go. Also, that's on me. Like once they said they were coming, I really needed to let it go because that pissed off attitude did not serve me well. And like, what's the point? It's happening. So you may as well just lean into it because you're not going to win this fight, Kristen. So I was so pissed. And then they had us going to the beach. And my energy is just off. Like that was what I noticed from it. I just, you could tell I did not want to be there.

I didn't want to be with these people. And that is no offense to them. I just had my real friends with me. And again, to me, it was like, this is my trip. This is like my one weekend that I don't have to film. Actually, we didn't actually film on the weekends very much. And that I think was why I thought I can go to Miami and have my weekend. And then I was like, no, no, no, no, no. You guys don't get to just, like, rain on my parade and crash my weekend. That's not how this works. We film, I think we filmed Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Is that what we did? We only filmed three days a week. So I was like, I thought I was in the clear by booking this Miami trip. Anyways, I'm not the victim in this at all. I'm just telling you my point of view. And so at the beach, my energy is low. You can tell,

I think I'm yawning. Like, I'm tired the whole time. Yeah, I don't want to be here. And Lo and Stephanie are just always, you know, MTV must have loved them because they're like the little shit starters that are always down to just like stir the pot and like get the story going. A very important role, by the way, on these shows. Okay. So then I guess it's that night and they have us girls cheering before we go out in Miami. And again, I mean, you can just tell. I just, I really don't want to be there. But what I will say is so they all, they had us all going out together and we went to the Maxim party. And I remember this being really fun. We had a good time. It was our our hills crew. I want to say my friends were actually with us too. So a lot of times that would happen

is they would get us all, like if we were all going out, everyone would be with us. But then what they would do is they would have us walk in as like the cast, you know, crew walk in together. And then they would try to sit us all together. But you can even tell like when we're sitting in the little booth area, like Taylor is there, which he's also kind of a key, like a, I don't know what you call that. I was going to say a key player. He was, he was a player in the show. Like he was a cast. member, not a main one, but like, I'm pretty sure my friends were around. And, but I remember this actually being really fun. We were having a good time. We were taking shots. Like, this was all real. We were having fun. To me, the editing here with the Brody and Adriena stuff is a little forced,

but they definitely make it seem like they're flirting and like I'm watching that. Like, I mean, the look on my face, I would never do, like, even if I was, I mean, okay, so they have me looking like I'm just like, like, devastated. And like, I can't take my eyes off of them, which I would love to know what I was actually looking at. But here's the thing with me. If I was so sad, if I was upset about something, you would never know.

You would never know. I wouldn't be staring at them. I would be acting like I didn't give a flying fuck. So that's just funny. And then there's Adriena. They've got wild lions with Audubes. Adriena talking about leaving and me saying I'm not ready to leave. And all of this is wild lines. They also use my audio twice about when I'm like, let's take a shot. Definitely said it.

But then they use the exact same audio again, like just a couple minutes later. Like I'm just getting completely fucking blasted, which I was. But I didn't actually say that there. This, I don't know if you guys remember this or not. But I think this is a GIF. And this was like one of those like things that I did that drama, drama. And that's from this scene. Again, would love to know what I was actually talking about because I wasn't talking about the girls leaving, me staying, Adrina and Brody. But I just, I was like, oh, that's where this came from. Oh, yeah. Because people will, like, send me these gifts sometimes. So, and also, we all left at the same time and went to another club, which they made it seem like was the next night. I have the same dress on.

The fact that they thought they could get away with this stuff. I have the same dress on. Like, I'm that much of a drug addict that I can't even change my dress the next night. They literally took one night, spliced it into two. But that club that we went to, so we were here at the Maxim party, we all left, went to another club, which they strategically cut everyone else out of except for all of a sudden now Stacey, the bartender's here. It's like, I'm sorry, where did Stacey come from? I don't know what?

Like no reference of it whatsoever. Just all of a sudden Stacey's here. That was random. but they took that after part of the other club and made it seem like the next night. So what happened was? Okay, hold on now. Here's where. Okay.

So the next morning, they are talking about how Adriena and Brody went to a bar alone, just the two of them. And they're, of course, making it seem like I'm upset. And this Adrina talking, there's, it's mixed with real what she was really saying and wild lines, but talking about how like all those boys are really flirty. She's kind of like downplaying the Brody thing. because I think this was obviously very MTV led and she, it's funny. To me, Adriena this season seems different in the sense that to me it seems like she wise is like trying to wise up a little bit and be like,

I'm not falling for MTV's bullshit. Even though we all knew and know that MTV no matter what you do, like they always do get what they want. But to me, it seemed like she was trying to like put a kibosh on some of these storylines before they even began. And actually that storyline doesn't then take off, which is interesting. So, but okay, so, and then they have me saying I got home at 5 a.m. Probably true. And my voice is so raspy and I look like absolute shit. Like, there's no denying that. I was partying my ass off. And I lost my voice. Any time I would go out, I would lose my voice. I remember one time, no, it was after this. Was it after this? It must have been. It was after this They had me go to New York and go to Regis and Kelly, which is now Kelly and Mark. And of course,

I had to talk about this. Also, fuck you, MTV. This is when you guys want to send me to go do press in New York after this episode. Like, that's kind of fucked up, you know, but I did it. But I went on Kelly and Regis and my voice was raspy and I had lost it because anytime I get little sleep and that was, so I flew from L.A. to New York, obviously. And the three hour time difference, I don't think I got much sleep the night before. I went on Kelly and Regis and I was a little raspy when I went on. And I remember being like, I lose my voice a lot, being like, you know, I got accused of drugs. But like, here I am today at, you know, 7 a.m. And I'm, you know, I essentially sound the same. I don't look a little bit better. But that still happens to me. If I get little sleep, if I'm going nonstop, also me just being in a

club having to yell will make me lose my voice. I lose my voice and my voice gets raspy very easily. it's just something I've always dealt with. So that's not an indication of me being a drug addict. Is that an indication of me probably going out and yelling and stuff? Absolutely. But that doesn't mean I'm a drug addict and have a problem. All right, guys, let's take a quick break here. I want to talk to you about a new Peacock original series based on Ellen Hilderbrand's bestselling novel, The Five Star Weekend. It is a star-setted cast. We have Jennifer Gardner, Darcy Cardin, Gemma Chan, Regina Hall, and Chloe Sevenie. Stream it only on Peacock July 9th.

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So are you ready to upgrade your home for Wayless? Head to Wayfair.com right now to to shop all things home and get your space ready for less. That's W-A-Y-F-A-I-R.com. Wayfair, every style, every home. Okay, so then, okay, so here's what happened. So that night, the first night that we all went out, so we were at the Maxim Party, then we went to the club. So that night, no, sorry. It's not right. Oh, okay. So here's what happened. So the next night that we were in Miami, we all, the entire cast, collectively talked and said, we do not want to film like late night, right? Like we had filmed all day and then I think a couple, maybe the guys actually went to the Super Bowl. That may be what it was so that we, we weren't

filming for a few hours. And then they wanted to get everybody coming home. And everyone was like, no, we've been out all night. Like, we are not filming when we come home. So all of us collectively said, we are not filming. So I thought, cool, I'm going out all night. And let me just preface this by saying, this is on me. Even though we collectively decided we're not filming, I was getting paid and we were getting paid a lot of money for the hills. I was in Miami and I was working. So even though I had a shitty attitude about it, looking back, had I just shown up for my job and done what I was supposed to do, I would have completely avoided this mess. And I didn't understand that concept for years. For years, I blamed everybody else for what I'm about to tell you guys happened on this episode.

And it wasn't until years later, I took accountability. And I said, you know what? What could I have done differently that I was able to let it go, learn from it and move on? So this, for me, was a pivotal moment in my life of growth and also realizing everything in your life you have to take accountability for. And you putting blame on other people gives them power. That gives everybody else power. And since this, I've never been the victim ever again, ever again, because I was trying to fucking play my little violin and be the victim here for a while. And it ate at me. It really was eating me alive. And like I said, it wasn't until I could take accountability that then I was able to let go of it. But okay,

so here's what happened. So I go out all night, just having a grand old time. And what was told to me, me was low Stephanie Nadrina were out also. And when they got back to the hotel, the producers were in the lobby and they grabbed them to film a scene. They didn't want to do it, but there was nothing they could do. And so what happens is you have the girls in the room and they are acting like they're waiting for me to go out for the night. Like basically, I just ditched the girls and they've been waiting for me and how upset they are. And, you know, it's, I, yeah, I ditch them. And then they're saying that my, basically, I'm moody. I'm moody. I'm really up and down. And they're kind of like dancing around the topic. And then Lowe says the word drugs, that I'm on drugs. So Lowe started it and Stephanie

finished it. Because then she jumps on. But not only did Lowe say that I was on drugs, she really went for it. And she called me and I believe my friends crackheads. And I was pretty appalled watching this back because is it one thing to, I don't, first of all, you should never accuse anyone of doing drugs unless you've seen me do drugs, which that never happened. So I think it's one thing to say, I'm kind of worried about her. You know, this is giving maybe she's doing drugs. like this is the type of behavior.

But like, the way that Lowe was speaking about me was pretty disgusting, quite honestly. And I've told you guys this. But so what happened behind the scenes was the producers wanted this, right? And I think, so what happened was Adam DeVello,

who was the creator of the show, who I also worked with on Laguna Beach, told Lowe that if she called me out on camera for doing drugs, he would buy her a Birken purse. Now, Bergen purses, if you're not familiar, are very expensive purses. They were very, this was like the height of their popularity. They're still popular, but this was like, if you didn't have a Birken, you were not somebody. These purses can range from 20,000 to like 150,000. I'm probably off a little bit, but you know what I'm saying. They're

very expensive purses. And Lowe said, okay. So she did. So she called me out on camera for doing drugs. And so then what happens is the next day. Well, okay, so what happened was, so I got home that night. And by the way, that night, I'll never forget it. That night I was out with my friends. We came back. We were hanging out with Brody. We were with fucking Brody and Frankie. Okay. Like, we were in our rooms just hanging out, having a good time. Like, was I doing drugs in Miami? Yeah, I was doing drugs in Miami. Did I do drugs periodically at this point in my life? Absa fucking lootly. I didn't have a problem. I never, ever had a problem. with drugs. Not that there's like, like I, I partied. I absolutely partied. I've never been shy about that. I never had a problem. And this is the only time in my life that I like didn't show up for work. And again, I think you guys understand the scenario at this point. But so the next morning, I was sleeping. I took an ambient that night. And the next morning, a producer came and woke me up. I'm not going to say her name. I don't think she could obviously, of course, she couldn't get in trouble all these years later. But if you're listening, you know who you are. And I absolutely

fucking love you for this for trying to have my back. She came in and she said, she woke me up. And she said, Kristen, the producers are going to come in here with cameras soon. Like, trying to give me a heads up for what they were trying to do. And I was like, okay, thank you so much. And I fell back asleep. So they did. They came in and they woke me up on camera. The only time in my life that's ever happened either, by the way. We did so many wake-up scenes between Laguna Beach on the hills. None of them were real. This was real. And Lowe, Audrina and Heidi are just immediately go into this whole thing, right? Accusing me of being a drug addict. The room smells. Why are you wearing sunglasses? Like this whole thing. First of all, drugs are no drugs. I'm wearing sunglasses because

you just woke me up and there are cameras. Lo's like, we're your friends. Why are you wearing sunglasses? low because I have cameras in my face and we're on a hit TV show and I probably look like shit. That's why I'm wearing cameras. Not because I'm a drug addict. And it's like shit like that's like was that necessary? That's where it's like low took it a little too far. Clearly. I mean, my God. But so and my friends bolt because no one wants to be on camera. It's not because we're drug addicts. It's because no one wants to film getting woken up. I'm tired. I'm tired. I'm I'm exhausted. I've been partying for three days straight. Yeah, I don't want to fucking even talk to you people. So now I'm in my room like packing up and they're like, we've to go to the airport. We have to go to the airport.

Which like, we're not racing to go to the airport. Let's just clear that up. So they're like in the kitchen area of my suite. And I can hear them talking shit. And I go out there and I'm like, are you guys really just out here talking shit? By the way, I wish I really had no voice. If I had a voice, it would have been a lot worse. Like I definitely would have of, I would have been even more confrontational than I was. And they're like, yeah, Kristen, you don't want to know what everybody's saying about you. And because I had nothing to fucking hide, I go, say it. Say it on camera. What do you want to say? But everyone's saying you're doing drugs. And Stephanie says, my legs are skinny. My legs are skinny. So I must be a drug addict. My response back, by the way, was so are yours. Like, what? The whole thing is so.

crazy. And honestly, as a 39-year-old adult with kids, who has clearly moved past all this whole phase of my life, watching it back, I was actually just kind of sad for everybody involved. For Lowe, for Adriena, for Stephanie, for me. I just think this was a really, really shitty situation for everybody, you know, quite honestly. And so then also what happened was leaving. They make it seem like we're leaving right away for the airport, which I don't even think that was a real, that wasn't real because I would have left with my friends. So they had us getting into the car and pretending to go to the airport and they told me to hang back. I was ready to go. And they held me to make it seem like I was lagging behind and like racing to get in the car, you know? And even in that

state, I played their game. You know, I did. So the aftermath of this was we go home. And it's in us weekly and all of the tabloids the next week and detailed stuff where I knew it was coming from the inside. I knew it was coming from a producer because you know. And by the way, the hills relied so heavily on the tabloid world for ratings essentially because when when there's drama going, I mean, we see it now with all these shows. When people are in hot water, whether it's the housewives or Vanderpump or Summerhouse, like we see it all the time. Their ratings skyrocket. And so, and MTV Adam DeVello specifically knew that very early on. And he would feed a lot of the drama to the tabloids. So then people were really invested and they wanted to see it on the show how

it played out. And so I knew. I was like, this is coming from MTV. And I, for some reason, I just knew it was Adam. And then what happened was. we were filming at my house. Actually, it was when we saw Heidi for the first time on camera. So maybe this was the next episode. I haven't watched it, but I just remember this. And on camera, on camera, I was saying, I know it was Adam DeBello the whole time. I said it the whole time.

So of course, that gets bubbled up to him. Oh, and by the way, because what they wanted was on camera for the blame to be put on Stephanie. Because by the way, I was a fighter. Well, you weren't just going to take me down like that and me just roll over. Like, you don't actually get to do that to me and me not put up a fight because I'm going to call out everyone who was a part of this. And again, as I say these things, I am not the victim. I'm just saying, even though I don't think I'm the victim, I do think this was really unfair. I absolutely do think this was really unfair. How I was consistently singled out for stuff like this. And to me, we were all in this together. The whole.

cast. And then that's why it felt, it felt really, I felt like I got backstabbed by the girls because I thought we were all in this together. And then this is what unfolded from the whole situation. And again, there's a lot I could have done differently to avoid this. But here we are. And so I, they wanted the blame to be put on Stephanie. And of course, Stephanie is like, hang on a second. Like, I didn't actually do this. This is all from Adam. And once she confirmed with me, because I think there was like a little, a period where people were like, it could have been Stephanie. You know, like, Stephanie was definitely capable of doing that stuff. But once Stephanie was like, I know for a fact, it was Adam Debello, I was like fucking

guns ablazing. So Adam calls me at some point in the midst of all this because I'm running my fucking mouth on camera. So now everyone who works on the show is seeing me saying, I know it was Adam Debello. He isn't like that, right? Because that's bad press for him with his colleagues. Everyone at MTV knows I'm blaming Adam. And by the way, I think Adam went rogue and did this himself. This wasn't like an MTV,

like the head of MTV being like, this is what we need to do. This was Adam boots on the ground being like, this is the story we're doing. So he calls me and he basically told me, I need to shut my fucking mouth on camera. And I said, no. I said, I'm not doing that because you did this. You gave it to us weekly. Like that was my thing. I was like, because, okay. So what happened was it turned into this whole media frenzy. Every tabloid was saying I was a drug addict and then I needed to go to rehab. Like I was, I now, this little Miami stint turned into a whole public fucking crazy backlash that I had to deal with. And this is before social media. I couldn't just be like, hey, this is bullshit. Like literally I'm like answering to family and friends and like people thought

like I was on the cover of every fucking magazine saying I needed to go to rehab. So I was pissed. And so I said to Adam, no, you did this. Like, you started this whole fucking fiasco. And there was a lot of back and forth. I said, fire me. What are you going to do? Adam, fire me. You don't have a show without me. So fire me. And of course he didn't. But like, that's how bad it got. So then because of that, what ended up happening was all of the girls, Adrina, Stephanie, Lowe and I, and our teams, our managers, our publicists, our agents. We would, into MTV and we had to have a big meeting with all of our attorneys. The head attorney from MTV was on the phone. He was in New York. He was on speakerphone and we all were sitting in a room together

hashing this out because quite honestly, when I look back at this, I think I could have taken legal action. But and but I never, I never, I never would have. That never even crossed my mind. But I think the reason MTV was taking this so seriously is because I probably could have done something. And I will forever love Audrina so much for this because we are all sitting in there and Adam is denying everything. And sweet little Adrina who was so harmless, like I love Adriena. She couldn't hurt a fly, quite honestly. She was the one who spoke up and she said, no, but Adam, you bribed all of us with a purse. Like she literally, literally called it out.

Because, by the way, everyone else was so fucking scared to talk in front of their representatives and MTV and everything. And I'm like, I literally was like, fuck all of you guys. Adrina had my back. Adrina put it all on the table. And it was, I mean, it was, it was very serious. That was probably the most serious thing I've had to deal with as far as like the entertainment world goes and legality and just like, and I've had some other, like, but that was like,

that was intense. and I was so young. And this was a very serious thing that I was dealing with. So that was hard for me. That was hard. But fuck, Audrey and I love her for that. I'll forever love her for that. And then what happened from there, honestly, was it just sort of went away. I mean, in a nutshell, like, clearly I wasn't going to take legal action. You know, when there's no real story, it does just die down. I wasn't like out every night, like, fucking, you know what I mean? So it went away. And I think maybe we talked about it on like the first two episodes. But again, I don't know because I didn't watch it.

But it didn't like drag on. Let's put it that way. Because there wasn't an actual story. So that was that episode in a nutshell. That was the Miami episode. It's kind of hard to go back and watch. But, you know, ultimately, it really did give me a good lesson in my life. And I fucking hated Adam for a long time after that, man.

God, did I hate him. And I was really pissed at Lowe specifically. I don't know why in a way it was like Stephanie sort of got off the hook with me on that. Stephanie was always really good at being so great to your face and then being really two-faced behind your back. And that probably had something to do with it. Like to my face, she was like, oh my God, I would never do that. And like, oh, my God. You know, I don't know. I think with Lowe, it really stung because I had own Lowe for so long, obviously. And Stephanie was always a loose canon. Like, you never kind of knew what you were going to get with Stephanie. And I don't, I don't know, like put her in a different category, which isn't fair either, by the way. But I think because Lowe and I had history, we went to

high school together, I don't know. It felt really shitty. It felt really shitty. And I will say, out of all the girls Adrenna, in this whole episode, was the least accusatory. I don't even know if that's accusatory. I don't know if that's a word. She wasn't coming in guns ablazing. She was trying to soften everything. And she was trying to be a little more neutral, which I appreciated. So yeah, I held a grudge for a while with Lowe and DeVello specifically from this. And like I said, years later, when I could finally release it and I stopped blaming Adam. It was amazing what did for me, you guys, because I was carrying it around for a long time. And then I could finally move on for it. So if there's any takeaway in that, I don't know. I just think passing blame on other people

for anything your life is never the right move. I'd really try to tell my kids that. Even if something seems so unfair and so shitty, you have to ask yourself, but what did I do to contribute to this? What could I have done differently? And when I asked myself those questions, well, guess what? There were a few things I definitely could have done differently. And I'm someone who prides myself on being really professional. And anyone who's ever worked with me, I know would say that about me. And this was not me. And look what happens when you step out of your own boundaries. When I was like, fuck it. I'm not going to show up for work. Look what it did. And so I don't know, I think just staying true to who you are and taking ownership of your life is the most important thing.

So there you go. The next one, we will do the finale. And I loved this episode. And so I will see you guys for that one. Thank you for listening. Judge me from this episode. Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.