She helps keep ‘The Hills’ alive

HEIDI MONTAG, 20, is the best friend and not-quite-trusty sidekick of Lauren Conrad. They appear each week on MTV’s reality show “The Hills,” a spinoff of “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County.” We caught up with Heidi as she was driving in the Palisades after filming. (And no, there were no cameras in the car.)

How often are there cameras on you? Every second at work? Every trip to Pinkberry?

Four days a week I have cameras on me, so we don’t film every day. It depends what’s going on in our lives and if it’s exciting.

So there’s a boring Heidi?

Definitely there is! I love more than anything laying home and watching movies. I definitely lay back and just hang out, and there’s a lot of sides to me you can’t see.

Do you have regrets yet about being on reality TV?

Not really -- yet! I don’t usually regret things. You either like it or you don’t, I can’t help you. It’s just a TV show! People get so worked up about it. I’m sure you’ve done worse things than me, but is it filmed? No.

If you go on the Internet, people think you’re a total monster.

Well, I haven’t heard that yet! But apparently so. My whole thing going into this is: I don’t care. If people are paying me to be on TV I am stoked. I’m on a great show. I have great friends. This is just my life, and people are watching it. I don’t read the message boards. At the end of the day I don’t care.

What do you think you’ll get out of it? You’re doing an album, and you’re planning to be in movies?

I’m doing an album right now, I have some really good songs I’m excited about. Hopefully that’ll be coming out in the next few months or sooner. I have a couple other things going on. Just, you know, capitalize on this as much as I can.

The girls on the show are always out at clubs. How much drunken driving do you think really goes on in L.A.?

I think way too much. I don’t drink anymore, so not personally. But I would say a lot. It’s pretty disgusting, and it’s dangerous. There’s people on the road and like families! I feel like if you get a DUI you’re screwed.

True or false: Your boyfriend, Spencer, is a total dog.

False!

But he’s so mean!

But he’s not! You have to know Spencer. He would never ever hurt somebody intentionally. He’s the sweetest, nicest guy I’ve ever met in my entire life. I’ve never met someone so amazing. I’ve never been really impressed by guys. I love him more than anything.

Spencer just can’t be a good guy. Didn’t it break your heart when you had that fight with Lauren, and she said, “Every day used to be Lauren and Heidi day.”

You know, it doesn’t break my heart at all. I feel like that’s what happens with friends. You’re with your best friend every day until you find a boyfriend you wanna be with. I don’t think it’s sad we spend less time together. It’s just a change. It’s just what happens.

Clearly things are going well, because Spencer’s your manager even today.

But we definitely have some ups and downs. And more things to come.

So he just comes off so mean on TV?

I guess I can’t see that because I knew him before. Spencer is so funny. And he’s 100% for entertainment value. He knows what he’s doing! He knows there’s cameras watching him too.

Spencer’s pals with Brody Jenner, who recently told the press that he was only dating celebutante girls for publicity. What’s the deal with these guys?

Yeah, I feel like that was Spencer before we started dating a lot. Everyone’s a player until they find someone who’s worth not playing for. I was! Girls do it too. These are the only people who are admitting to this -- you don’t think everyone has that in the back of their minds?

Do you think you upstage Lauren, the ostensible star of “The Hills”?

I wouldn’t say upstage. I would say we’re costars. We’re very different. I’m crazy and outgoing and love to have fun, and she’s more quiet and mellow and, you know, doing her own thing.

How coached are you guys by the producers? Do they sit you down and say, “OK, can you please talk about this or that now”?

No! It’s very natural. It’s very much like us and our lives. Our lives are like, “Oh, what’s going on in your lives?” And we talk about what’s going on in our lives.

You have a little ADD

A little! I like to be running around, doing things.

Do you cringe when you see yourself on TV?

I don’t cringe, but I laugh. Like, ‘Oh, my God, here we go.’ This whole experience at the end of the day, it’s just a TV show. You can’t take it too seriously, you can’t take it home with you. You could drive yourself crazy, literally.