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She spent her high school years in front of a camera, with her friendship dramas, partying and a love triangle playing out to millions.
And , 40, has admitted she has only recently come to terms with her Laguna Beach past, after 'a lot of embarrassment about some of my behaviour'.
Lauren, who went onto star on The Hills throughout her twenties before launching her eponymous fashion and lifestyle brand, has reunited with her Laguna castmates for an upcoming televised special to mark the show's 20th anniversary.
Reflecting on her two seasons as the lead star of the reality show, Lauren explained she spent years ashamed of her teen antics.
'I think, for a while, I had a lot of embarrassment about some of my behavior as an 18-year-old, things I would say or do,' she told Entertainment Weekly.
'But I also think that that unfiltered thing we had was one of the reasons the show did really well. We weren't super self-aware.'
Lauren Conrad has admitted she has only recently come to terms with her Laguna Beach past, after 'a lot of embarrassment about some of my behaviour'. Pictured L-R: Stephen Coletti, Kristin Cavallari, Trey Phillips, Lo Bosworth, Morgan Smith, Christina Schuller amd Conrad)
'We hadn't really seen a show like this before, so we didn't know what was getting used or not used. I think that's what actually made it feel more authentic.'
'I think I'm finally at the place now where I can laugh at it and say I was 18. I've hopefully grown since then.'
Lauren now lives in her home town of Laguna with her husband William Tell and their two sons Liam, eight, and Charlie, five.
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Much of Laguna Beach's drama came from the angsty love triangle between Lauren, rival blonde Kristin Cavallari and the object of their affection - surfer boy Stephen Colletti.
Stephen, who went on to have an acting career on the likes of One Tree Hill, admitted to EW that there is one moment from the reality show that he would love to 'do over'.
During 2004's season one the group vacationed in Cabo, only for Stephen and his then-girlfriend Kristin to have an almighty row.
Infamous scenes saw Stephen screaming at Kristin, pushing her, and calling her a 'sl*t' for dancing on a table and making out with another guy. He later revealed he was blacked out on tequila from drinking for the past 12 hours.
'We definitely have those moments of scenes that I wish were not included or we could have a do-over,' Stephen has reflected now.
Lauren, who went onto star on The Hills throughout her twenties before launching her eponymous fashion and lifestyle brand, has reunited with her Laguna castmates for the first time in years for an upcoming televised special
Much of Laguna Beach's drama came from the angsty love triangle between Lauren, rival blonde Kristin Cavallari and the object of their affection - surfer boy Stephen Colletti
Lauren now lives in her home town of Laguna with her husband William Tell (pictured) and their two sons Liam, eight, and Charlie, five
'Of course, Mexico comes to mind when we were down there in Cabo, and really did not fully grasp the fact that we were being filmed. We did not know the repercussions there. So that's the big do-over for me.'
Stephen and Kristin have remained friends over the years, despite their teen drama, even reuniting for their Laguna Beach rewatch podcast Back to the Beach with Kristin and Stephen.
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But Lauren has chosen to distance herself from the show and some of her castmates over the years, admitting that filming the reunion special last year was the first time she had spent time with most of the cast in years, calling the experience 'therapeutic.'
The Reunion: Laguna Beach will air in the US on April 10 on Roku.
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