The Hillsstars are looking back on their stunning series finale fifteen years after it aired on June 17, 2025. The series shocked fans when, after Kristin Cavallari and Brody Jenner said goodbye, the cameras pulled away and revealed a Paramount lot set. A backdrop of the Hollywood sign was rolled away,leaving fans to wonder ifThe Hillswas fake the whole time.
The Hills stars are looking back on their stunning series finale fifteen years after it aired on May 23, 2025.
In an interview withUs Weekly,Kristin Cavallari revealed that theHillscreator Adam DiVello came up with the"genius"twist for the series finale. She shared,"[I remember thinking] this is going to make you be like,‘Wait, what just happened?’ It was one of the most amazing jaw-dropping moments. I thought it was absolutely brilliant."
Lauren Conrad stated,“It’s cool they took a chance and did something unexpected.This wasn’t a scripted series, so it’s hard to tie everyone’s lives up nicely with a bow. We were all young and just going to go on living the next day.”
Audrina Patridge revealed that the lines between reality and fiction were fuzzy even for the stars ofThe Hills.She said,“There was, and still is, so much controversy about whether the show was real or fake. Even for us, the lines between real emotions and story lines created by producers got pretty blurry at times. That moment really played into that mystery.”
Kristin explained that she believed thatThe Hillsseries finale shocker wasa nod to the fact that so many fans thought that the show wasn’t real. She explained,"[It wasn’t] The Hills saying everything was fake, which I know a lot of people [thought]. I took it more as a little nod to the audience — like we know what you’ve been saying and we’re still not going to confirm or deny."
However,Audrina admitted that some ofThe Hills’storylines were manipulated. She said,“At the end of the day, the heart of the show was still real, even if some of the situations were shaped or manipulated to help move the story along.”
Lauren remembered that fans were"a little divided on the ending.“She added,“It was clearly a nod to the question of ‘is it real?’ that had always followed the show. They waited until the final moment of the show to literally break the fourth wall.”
Audrina also commented on fans' shock about howThe Hillsended. She said,“There was always a lot of speculation, but after that final scene aired, fans were definitely surprised — and a little caught off guard. So many people were like, ‘Wait … was the whole thing fake?’ It sparked a ton of questions and curiosity. I think it made people rethink everything they had watched.”
Audrina also acknowledged that the series finale ofThe Hillsgave the show a place in pop culture history. She stated,“It made The Hills more than just a reality show — it turned it into a cultural conversation. That twist blurred the lines between real and fake in a way that still has people talking. It gave the show a lasting legacy and kept it relevant along with people connecting to us long after it ended.”
Kristin confessed thatThe Hillswas"70 percent fake,“but Lauren stated that it"captured a lot of very real moments for me.“However,some of those moments had to be recreated for the show. Lauren said,“Things need to be reshot, restaged and edited. Cameras weren’t with us 24/7, so if they missed something important, we understood we would be reliving it in the near future.”
Audrina gave an example of a real moment that ended up having to be staged. She recalled,“One was the scene where Lauren and I had a heart-to-heart about me moving out. That moment was real, sad and honestly heartbreaking. We would’ve handled it differently off-camera, but we had to wait until everything was set up so we could capture it ‘in the moment.'”
There was, and still is, so much controversy about whether the show was real or fake. Even for us, the lines between real emotions and story lines created by producers got pretty blurry at times. That moment really played into that mystery.
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It’s very interesting that eventhe stars ofThe Hillsaren’t exactly sure what was real and what wasn’t with the series. This shows how manipulative producers of reality TV can be. It’s interesting that Kristin admitted that most of the show was fake, while Lauren felt that it reflected her real life.They were so young, and it was probably very hard for them to navigate the situation.
However, it’s not reality if people have to reshoot important moments in their lives because they weren’t caught on camera. That’s what makesThe Hillsand all other reality TV shows fake. Even shows such asBig Brother, which has live feeds where fans can watch the houseguests 24/7, can be manipulated when it comes to the the edited episodes.The producers can do this by omitting scenes or even adding music that can sway viewers’ emotions.
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The Hills’divisive series finaleexposed the truth about reality TV in a way that the genre hadn’t done before. For years, people had questioned if reality TV was actually real, andthe final moment ofThe Hillsleft it up to viewers to judge for themselves.
It’s intriguing that, fifteen years later, so many people, including the stars of the show, are still debating about whetherThe Hillswas real or not.Viewers have to be very savvy in order to figure out if the TV they’re watching is actually reality.
