Lauren Conrad Opens Up in Rare Interview About Leaving Fame Behind to Raise a Family with Her 'Smoke Show' Husband (Exclusive)
Lauren Conrad Opens Up in Rare Interview About Leaving Fame Behind to Raise a Family with Her 'Smoke Show' Husband (Exclusive)
Brianne TracyTue, March 31, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC
0
Lauren Conrad Opens Up in Rare Interview About Leaving Fame Behind to Raise a Family with Her 'Smoke Show' Husband (Exclusive) -
PEOPLE's cover star Lauren Conrad reflects on stepping away from fame to focus on family life and her fashion career
She recently reunited with the Laguna Beach cast for a 20th-anniversary special but prefers a private life now
Conrad shares how parenting her two sons with husband William Tell has brought joy and balance to her life
Lauren Conrad isn’t on TikTok, rarely posts on Instagram and certainly hasn’t heard of “Proof of Mom.”
But after learning about the social media trend — which encourages mothers to get in front of the camera with their family rather than always being the photographer — during her PEOPLE cover interview in early February, she’s in total agreement the movement is much needed.
“That’s a real thing: I’m never in a photo!” says Conrad, who’s mom to two sons, Liam, 8, and Charlie, 6, with husband William Tell. “We just went to Hawaii for a week, and I was laughing because the only family photo we took was in the reflection of the elevator.”
Not that she’s complaining. After spending her young-adult years on MTV’s revolutionary reality shows Laguna Beach and its spinoff The Hills, Conrad is now happiest away from the spotlight, raising her kids and focusing on her fashion empire. “I really appreciate private moments,” she says.
Lauren Conrad for PEOPLECredit: Ari & Louise
Four years ago the star, who spent most of her 20s and 30s in Los Angeles, planted roots back in her hometown.
“Nobody cares who I am here,” says Conrad, 40, tucked on a couch at a charming hotel miles from her home with Tell, 46. “It’s such a privilege to be able to live my life for myself after putting many years on camera.”
Lauren Conrad with her husband William Tell and their two sonsCredit: Ari & Louise
Conrad was only 18 when Laguna Beach first debuted in 2004. While the show followed a group of high school seniors, she became an immediate breakout star, winning over fans with her girl-next-door personality and California-cool style.
Two years later the cameras followed Conrad to L.A., documenting the ups and downs of her Teen Vogue internship, love life and friendships on the massively successful The Hills. Then in 2009 — at the peak of her TV fame — she left the show after five seasons to focus on her then-budding fashion career.
“I always looked at reality TV as a temporary thing to make my connections and then go on to my dream,” says Conrad, who launched her first collection with Kohl’s that same year. (She later launched her children's collection, Little Co., in 2020.)
Conrad with Stephen Colletti, Kristin Cavallari, Morgan Smith, Christina Sinclair, Trey Phillips, Lo Bosworth and Talan Torriero during promCredit: Lauren Conrad/Instagram
She recently let the cameras back in briefly for a much-anticipated 20th-anniversary special, The Reunion: Laguna Beach (available April 10 on The Roku Channel). Along with the rest of the season 1 cast, including fellow fan-favorites Kristin Cavallari and Stephen Colletti, Conrad revisited their local hangouts and iconic scenes from the show.
“I thought it was going to be easier, like riding a bike,” she says. “But I actually had a pretty hard time getting back into it.”
Hesitant to watch the series — which largely focused on her teen love triangle with Cavallari and Colletti — for years, Conrad now looks back with fresh perspective. “I’m able to laugh at myself now, whereas when it first came out I was definitely embarrassed,” she says.
Both women say they felt pitted against each other at the time.
“We’ve matured a lot,” says Cavallari, a mom of three. “There’s a real level of respect for one another that obviously we didn’t have as teenagers.”
When Cavallari, 39, posted a behind-the-scenes photo of her and Conrad from the reunion last October, fans joked their millennial hearts had been healed.
“We have so much in common and have been having so much fun talking and texting,” Conrad says. “As you get older, you’re not worried about the small stuff.”
Advertisement
Conrad has always been one to see the bigger picture. In the third grade, “I was like, ‘I’m going to be a fashion designer,’” she recalls announcing to her parents. “I always liked playing dress-up.”
Lauren ConradCredit: Ari & Louise
When she got the offer to join the cast of Laguna Beach, Conrad tapped her dad Jim, an architect, for advice.
“He was like, ‘A lot of people who work in entertainment also work in fashion. This could be a really good opportunity for you,’” she says.
During her time on TV, Conrad’s fans were just as invested in her fashion choices — thick headbands, sky-high heels and winged liner were her signature — as her dating life. Today, “I dress more practical with two kids,” she says. “I’m a jeans and T-shirt girl. I know it won’t always be this way, but I want to be able to get on the floor and not worry about what I’m wearing.”
Lauren ConradCredit: Ari & Louise
When Conrad and Tell began dating in 2012, the couple — who were set up on a Valentine’s Day date by mutual friends — knew early on they were ready to settle down.
“[I thought he was] super cute. My husband’s a smoke show! We both dove in almost immediately,” she says of Tell, an attorney and guitarist for the pop-rock band Something Corporate. “We fell hard and got engaged a year and a half after we started dating, which is pretty quick.”
After tying the knot in September 2014, the couple welcomed their first son, Liam, in 2017.
“Once we got married, I was like, ‘I’d like to make people with him,’” Conrad says. “I knew he’d be a good dad.”
Now that they’re parents to two rambunctious boys, Conrad is grateful for a strong partner. “He’s so engaged with our kids,” she says. “He’s the parent who does funny voices when he reads the story, he coaches every team they’re on. It’s been really fun to parent together.”
Lauren Conrad and her husband William Tell with their two kidsCredit: Ari & Louise
A typical day for the Tell family? The kids start getting ready for school at 6 a.m., and Conrad drives both boys to school every morning. Then, depending on the time of year, she and Tell shuttle between soccer or baseball practice, while weekends are spent surfing.
“The fields they’re playing on are the same fields I played soccer on,” she says. “I feel really lucky to be able to raise my kids in the same space I grew up. It’s a really special place.”
While their mom is synonymous with the town, both boys are unfazed by her fame.
“I don’t think they really understand, and I don’t think they’re that interested, to be honest,” she says. “Once in a while, I’ll be like, ‘Oh, look! Mama did this.’ And they’re like, ‘Okay....’ Someday, they’ll get it.”
Earlier this year, Conrad celebrated her 40th birthday with a senior prom-themed bash. While stepping into a new decade might be anxiety-inducing to some, “I was looking forward to my 40s,” she says. “I think in my 30s, it felt like a checklist, like, ‘By the time I’m this age, I want to do this and this.’ Now I’m like, 'You’re good. You can slow down and enjoy it.'"
Conrad, center left, clockwise with Trey Phillips, Lauren “Alex H” Hooser, Dieter Schmitz, Stephen Colletti, Christina Sinclair, Jessica Evans, Talan Torriero and Kristin Cavallari in 2025Credit: Roku
For the first time in years, Conrad’s back in the public eye — and she’s already looking forward to retreating back to her peaceful life once the frenzy dies down. “I feel very settled and happy,” she says. “I just feel grateful right now.”
For more from Lauren Conrad, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE on stands Friday.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
