Laguna Beach is going back, back to the beginning — and revealing some behind-the-scenes romances that never made it to air.
During the Friday, April 10, 20th anniversary special, titled The Reunion: Laguna Beach, the season 1 cast spilled all the tea on the relationships that were — and weren’t — highlighted on the series. The reality show, which ran from 2004 to 2006 on MTV, followed the trials and tribulations of Laguna High School students as they navigated love, friendship and their impending graduation.
But before the secret romances were revealed, host Casey Wilson had a few hot-seat questions for Laguna’s most iconic love triangle: Kristin Cavallari, Stephen Colletti and Lauren Conrad.
The love triangle was a major contributing factor to Laguna Beach’s insta-popularity, as the pilot episode picked up right as Stephen was seemingly choosing between Kristin, his on-off girlfriend, and Lauren, his longtime best friend. According to the trio, cameras actually started rolling after the drama was over, but producers “stretched” out the conflict to keep things interesting.
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Warning: Spoilers below for The Reunion: Laguna Beach.
“Stephen and I were together for about a year before cameras ever came. So my sophomore year, his junior year. We then broke up beginning of my junior year, [his] senior year. That’s when Talan [Torriero] and I had a little something and [he and Lauren] may have had a little something, and then we got back together, and this is all before MTV ever came,” Kristin explained during the special. “And then when they came, they obviously caught wind of that … and MTV knew it was a juicy story line, so they kept it going as much as possible.”
Kristin admitted she felt most “threatened” by producers asking Stephen and Lauren to “hang out” alone, as she was afraid that he might pick Lauren over her. Lauren, meanwhile, said she was mostly broken up about losing a friend in Stephen.
As for when the height of the drama took place, Lauren recalled a disastrous winter formal.
“[Kristin and Stephen] were starting to get back together, and [Stephen and I] were in the back of a big party bus talking. And I was saying, ‘Well, if you guys are getting back together, that’s fine, I don’t need to be a part of this,’” Lauren shared. “And [Kristin] came back and got really upset. It got a little heated.”
Neither Kristin nor Stephen could remember the incident, but according to Lauren, “A shoe got thrown. We had people pulling us [apart].”
Keep scrolling for every surprise hookup and romance revealed during The Reunion: Laguna Beach:
Trey Phillips and Alex Hooser
Alex revealed during the reunion that she and Trey have “shared a smooch.”
Dieter Schmitz and Alex Hooser
While Alex’s love life wasn’t highlighted on Laguna Beach, the former reality star confessed that she dated more than one person from the show. “Dieter and I have … ‘dietered,’” she said with a laugh.
Jessica Smith and Stephen Colletti
Although briefly discussed on Stephen and Kristin’s “Back to the Beach” podcast in 2022, Jessica recalled how she and Stephen “hung out for a summer, a blip,” although she “wouldn’t call it dating.”
Stephen, for his part, called it a “flash in the pan.”
Christina Sinclair and Talan Torriero
Christina caused jaws to drop when she announced that she was Talan’s “first girlfriend.”
Talan confirmed the news, telling the group, “I remember she was the first girl that I kissed in the quad, with people looking and [we] held hands,” revealing it was “sophomore or junior year” when they got together.
“That’s something that people don’t know,” he said, to which Christina replied, “I thought you forgot!”
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Kristin Cavallari and Lauren Conrad’s Ex Doug Reinhardt
When Lauren recalled her off camera relationship with Doug Reinhardt in high school, Kristin revealed that she actually dated him too during her freshman year.
“Can’t you let me have one thing?!” Lauren jokingly yelled at Kristin before admitting, “We’ve got great taste.”
Lauren Conrad and Dieter Schmitz
While portrayed as best friends on the show, Dieter noted that he and Lauren were an item — in middle school.
“It was a roller-coaster,” he quipped.
