The cast of the MTV reality show got back together for the first time in years to celebrate the 20th anniversary.

Laguna Beach reunion first look: Kristin Cavallari, Lauren Conrad, and more talk show’s ‘repercussions’ (exclusive)

The cast of the MTV reality show got back together for the first time in years to celebrate the 20th anniversary.

By Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American *Journalism Review* and *The Shreveport Times*.

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March 9, 2026 10:00 a.m. ET

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The 'Laguna Beach' cast reunites. Credit:

Brian Roedel/Roku

- The cast of TV's *Laguna Beach*, including Lauren Conrad, Kristin Cavallari, and Stephen Colletti, reunited for an upcoming Roku special. These exclusive photos offer a first look.

- The three say they've overcome their early embarrassment of the MTV series that spawned their careers in the entertainment industry.

- 'I think I'm finally at the place now where I can laugh at it and say I was 18,' says Conrad, who was depicted as a rival to Cavallari for Colletti's affections. 'I've hopefully grown since then.'

There was a time when Lauren Conrad would cringe looking back at MTV's groundbreaking reality series *Laguna Beach*.

"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," Conrad tells **. "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. 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."

The series, officially titled *Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County*, captured the goings on of a group of, at that point, non-famous friends at California's Laguna Beach High School, whether they were having a party, going to prom, or graduating. It debuted in 2004, when reality TV was still a novelty to viewers, but with the look of a scripted series and fresh faces who didn't know to perform for the camera.

The combination was a smashing success, and the show took off, propelling its stars to careers in the entertainment industry and elsewhere after the show ended in 2006. Though *Laguna Beach* itself lasted just three seasons, its cast members have built impressive careers, whether through TV spinoffs, such as Conrad's *The Hills, *or costar Kristin Cavallari's lifestyle brand Uncommon James.

Christina Schuller, Stephen Colletti, Trey Phillips, and Lauren Conrad.

Brian Roedel/Roku

Kristin Cavallari and Alex Hooser.

Brian Roedel/Roku

But Conrad and her former costars went beyond their blush-worthy moments — saying that catty thing, fighting with a boyfriend in public, or wearing a very 2000s-era outfit — to embrace all the show and the experience of making it meant to them in an upcoming reunion. Ten members of of the cast, including executive producers Conrad, Cavallari, and Stephen Colletti, got back together.

"I think I'm finally at the place now where I can laugh at it and say I was 18," says Conrad, who was depicted as a rival to Cavallari for Colletti's affections. "I've hopefully grown since then."

Cavallari confirms that there was "no drama" at the event, which was taped in the fall. "We knew that wasn't the mission of this show. This is more nostalgia. It's not table flipping."

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As viewers will recall, the show itself was rife with drama — or, at least, dramatic looks.

"We definitely have those moments of scenes that I wish were not included or we could have a do-over," Colletti says. "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."

The much-discussed incident features a major argument between Cavallari and Colletti, which the two discussed on their rewatch podcast, *Back to the Beach with Kristin and Stephen*, in 2022. (Cavallarri says that, looking back, she's proud of how she handled the situation at 17.)

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As for Colletti, who's worked as an actor and producer, he says his thoughts on *Laguna Beach* no longer "weigh on me."

But he argues that anyone would probably blush in his situation: "Imagine having a hundred voicemails of yourself calling friends from high school that are sprinkled on the internet for anybody to consume, including all of your coworkers.

The 'Laguna Beach' cast at the reunion.

"Back in the day, I mean, I had guys that wanted to fight me. I had people just yelling Kristin or Lauren's name from across the street and offering their advice on dating. All sorts of weird interactions," Colletti continues. "As years have gone on, people would approach me and they're much more reflective about it. They'll be like, 'You know what? I remember watching the show and it was interesting to relate to what you guys had going on.' And to me, when you hear that, 'Man, that's why I'm even in this business.'"

And, with a show like *Laguna Beach*, there's also the memory of something significant that happened that *wasn't *reflected on the show. Conrad recalls that the friends/cast had thrown a black-and-white-themed party in the pilot that looked much different onscreen.

"At the end, they said, 'We'd like to get some beauty shots of you,'" Conrad recalls. "So I went out to the balcony and [the episode] ended with sad music and me being alone. Because I left the party, but everybody came back to that party, and it ended up being an amazing night, and we had so much fun. I remember watching it being like, 'Wait, what?' I'm being so bummed about it [in the episode]. I don't care now, but that's just something that comes to mind where I was like, 'Oh, this is what this is gonna be.'"

Casey Wilson hosts the 'Laguna Beach' reunion.

Brian Roedel/Roku

Colletti, too, recalls that "there are a lot of moments that weren't necessarily completely real" and that the cast members really hadn't known what to expect.

Creator Liz Gateley says that the show's format and the cast's innocence was part of the appeal of *Laguna Beach*, which she is proud of today.

"I have to give all credit to them," Gateley says. "They trusted us. So many of them talked in the reunion about how they [thought], 'Oh, this is never gonna air. MTV's just following us around. They had no idea how big it was gonna be. And because it was the first show like this and there was no social media at the time, it was truly innocent and they weren't affected by the cameras. And of course they were aware of them, but they really let us in. And I think we really protected them."

After 20 years, the reunion was a cathartic experience for the former students.

"We haven't all been together in a couple decades," says Conrad, who now resides in her hometown. "One-on-one we've visited each other or a few of us all hang out, but even when we do that, we don't really talk about the show or the experience we had. Everyone kept saying it was really therapeutic, just to look back and talk about how it was for each of us. I think we all learned some stuff. It was a really nice healing thing."

*The Reunion: Laguna Beach* premieres April 10 on Roku.

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