Spencer Pratt is back in the headlines, but not for the reason many people remember him.<\/p>\n
Once cast as reality TV\u2019s ultimate villain on MTV\u2019s cult \u201900s show,\u00a0The Hills, Pratt,\u00a0now 42\u2014alongside his wife,\u00a0now 39-year-old\u00a0Heidi Montag\u2014spent years as one half of \u201cSpeidi,\u201d a couple widely mocked as fame-hungry, overly\u00a0performative\u00a0and unlikely to last.<\/p>\n
They first met in 2006, while Montag was filming The Hills, and began dating shortly after, with their relationship becoming public on the show in 2007.<\/p>\n
Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag attend the 2025 American Music Awards at Fontainebleau Las Vegas on May 26, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada.<\/p>\n
Their relationship fueled some of the show\u2019s biggest storylines, defined by public feuds, tabloid\u00a0drama\u00a0and a reputation for blurring the line between what was real and what was staged.<\/p>\n
But\u00a0nearly two\u00a0decades later, as\u00a0Pratt\u00a0resurfaces in the news cycle with an unexpected run for Los\u00a0Angeles\u00a0mayor<\/a>, their relationship tells a different story.<\/p>\n In contrast to many reality TV couples\u2014from The Bachelor to Love Island\u2014which often unravel once removed from the pressures of filming and public scrutiny,\u00a0Pratt and Montag\u2019s relationship has endured<\/a>.<\/p>\n The pair are\u00a0married, raising\u00a0two\u00a0boys\u2014Gunnar, 8, and 3-year-old Ryker\u2014and continuing to\u00a0operate\u00a0as a joint media brand.<\/p>\n The\u00a0apparent\u00a0contradiction is prompting a reassessment of one of the most controversial pop culture couples of the 2000s.<\/p>\n At the time, audiences dismissed \u201cSpeidi\u201d as fake\u2014a relationship shaped more by production and publicity than genuine\u00a0connection.<\/p>\n Yet in hindsight, the couple\u2019s willingness to treat their romance as both a partnership and a performance may have given them a stability that eluded many of their contemporaries.<\/p>\n For media and cultural analyst Kaivan Shroff, the public\u2019s\u00a0perception\u00a0of the couple reflects a broader misunderstanding of reality TV itself.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of reality TV\u2019s biggest paradoxes is that audiences demand authenticity while simultaneously rewarding performances that\u00a0entertain,\u201d Shroff told Newsweek. \u201cSpencer and Heidi understood earlier than most that reality television is still television\u00a0[especially when]\u00a0viewers want larger than life interactions and drama.\u201d<\/p>\n Rather than\u00a0resist\u00a0that dynamic, the couple leaned into it.<\/p>\n \u201cThey leaned into being caricatures or extreme versions of\u00a0themselves\u00a0and viewers often interpreted that self-awareness as dishonesty,\u201d\u00a0Shroff said. \u201cIn hindsight, what looked \u2018fake\u2019 may have simply been a couple who understood the medium before most.\u201d<\/p>\n Actress Heidi Montag and actor Spencer Pratt arrive at the \u201cUs Weekly\u2019s Hot Hollywood 2007- Arrivals\u201d at Opera on September 26, 2007 in Hollywood, California.<\/p>\n That\u00a0perception\u00a0gap, he suggested, mirrors how modern audiences interpret influencer culture today\u2014where performance is often\u00a0expected, but\u00a0still criticized.<\/p>\n While Speidi\u2019s on-screen dynamic often appeared chaotic, Shroff argued their off-screen survival may come down to something more pragmatic: collaboration.<\/p>\n \u201cCouples can often survive public scrutiny when they treat external controversies as something they manage together,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cIf they can cooperate and become an even bigger brand together\u2026 then that can lead to real partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n In the early years, that dynamic was not always stable. The couple publicly flirted with separation and\u00a0conflict, but\u00a0ultimately remained\u00a0together\u2014something Shroff suggested\u00a0was crucial not just personally, but professionally.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they had separated, would we even be talking about either of them still today?\u201d\u00a0he\u00a0said.\u00a0\u201cWhen your business model relies on a partnership like\u00a0that\u00a0a real and deeper relationship can\u00a0emerge.\u201d<\/p>\n Reality TV\u2019s influence on public\u00a0perception\u00a0is undeniable, but it only tells part of the story.<\/p>\n \u201cThe edit plays a major role,\u201d Shroff said. \u201cReality stars who have a bad season blame the edit<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0those who are happy with their portrayal insist everything is perfectly authentic.\u201d<\/p>\n In the case of Pratt, however, he\u00a0argued\u00a0the persona extended beyond the screen.<\/p>\n \u201cThe list of scandals that has followed Pratt in particular following the show have nothing to do with editing,\u201d Shroff said, pointing to controversies ranging from his role in spreading rumors during The Hills era to headline-making behavior in the years since.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s part of what makes someone a good fit for reality TV in the first place,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Lori Bindig Yousman, professor of communication and media at Sacred Heart University, agreed\u00a0that\u00a0The Hills\u00a0was deliberately constructed to shape audience\u00a0perception.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough framed as \u2018real\u00a0life,\u2019\u00a0reality TV has always been very deliberate in casting and editing,\u201d she\u00a0told Newsweek, noting that Montag was initially positioned as a likable sidekick to the show\u2019s main star, Lauren Conrad (The Hills is a spin-off of earlier MTV show Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County) before becoming a villain once her relationship with Pratt began.<\/p>\n The way audiences now view relationships like Speidi\u2019s has also changed\u2014largely because the media landscape has shifted.<\/p>\n \u201cViewers now see many of these relationships as less authentic because they understand there is money to be made for the couple if they stay together,\u201d Shroff said. \u201cIt\u00a0undermines the central premise\u2026 [that] it is supposed to be authentic.\u201d<\/p>\n But that awareness has also\u00a0reframed\u00a0Speidi\u2019s approach. What once seemed manipulative now looks familiar in an era where couples routinely monetize their personal lives.<\/p>\n From left to right: Spencer Pratt, Gunner, Heidi Pratt and Ryker attend Monster Jam at SoFi Stadium on April 11, 2026 in Inglewood, California.<\/p>\n \u201cReality TV was seemingly the easiest entry point for stardom,\u201d\u00a0Yousman\u00a0said. \u201cIn the current social media landscape, anyone can create content and try to become an influencer\u2014the absence of traditional media gatekeepers\u00a0allows for\u00a0more people to enter that space.\u201d<\/p>\n As a result, she argued,\u00a0today\u2019s couples must strike a delicate balance between authenticity and performance\u2014something Speidi\u00a0arguably struggled\u00a0with at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cTrying too hard and being perceived as performative actually creates distance rather than bridges it,\u201d\u00a0Yousman\u00a0said.<\/p>\n Turning a relationship into a shared business may help sustain it,\u00a0but it also introduces new pressures.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce your relationship itself becomes a business project that adds another layer of pressure and stars can feel trapped in the dynamic,\u201d Shroff said. \u201cNow if the relationship\u00a0ends\u00a0they lose more than a partner, they lose their stream of revenue or their brand.\u201d<\/p>\n At the same time, public scrutiny can intensify existing flaws.<\/p>\n \u201cYou get a thousand opinions on if your partner is treating you well,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u00a0impacts people and opens their eyes to things they may not have seen themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite those risks, Pratt and Montag have\u00a0remained\u00a0committed\u2014not just to each other, but to the shared project of their public life, which has taken an unexpected turn since Pratt joined the 2026\u00a0Los Angeles mayoral\u00a0race.<\/p>\n Indeed, Pratt now appears to be a serious contender, polling at around 30 percent in some surveys and emerging as a likely runoff candidate, while also drawing support from a mix of high-profile backers<\/a>\u2014from tech billionaire Sergey Brin to celebrities including David Foster, Katharine McPhee and Kristin Cavallari.<\/p>\n For\u00a0Yousman, that\u00a0persistence complicates the narrative.<\/p>\n \u201cThe longevity of Montag and Pratt\u2019s relationship complicates our understanding of a \u2018brand\u2019 couple,\u201d she said. \u201cOther high-profile couples\u2026 may be less calculated\u2026 but without that shared drive, experiences and commitment quickly fizzle out.\u201d<\/p>\nWhen \u2018Performative\u2019\u00a0Doesn\u2019t\u00a0Mean Fake<\/h2>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
A Relationship Built As a Partnership<\/h2>\n
The Role of Editing\u2014And What\u00a0Can\u2019t\u00a0Be Edited<\/h2>\n
Ahead of the Influencer Era?<\/h2>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
When Love Becomes a Brand<\/h2>\n