During the waning hours of summer in Kristin's Malibu beach rental, they kissed on the deck repeatedly. Justin even threw his version of a letterman jacket -- his leather biker jacket -- over Kristin's shoulders as the sun set.
"I can't -- for some reason -- let this go," Justin admitted. "What's funny is that my last conversation with Audrina, she told me I was gonna end up a lonely old man if I don't go after basically what I believe in, and I believe in this. I wanna have fun with you. I wanna do things with you. I wanna laugh with you."
I was actually almost kind of moved. Had the two who were the most jaded about love reluctantly fallen into it?
Of course not. Things are never as they seem on "The Hills."
Only moments after the end credits rolled, MTV aired a live after-show special from New York City. The program's hosts declared that Justin Bobby and Kristin would appear for the first time ever as an official couple.
First Kristin emerged, looking tan and fit with her blond hair slicked back into a ponytail. Then came Justin, sporting a James Dean-esque look complete with a black pea coat, cowl-neck sweater and permanent pout. Despite the network's proclamation about pair's newfound relationship, Justin and Kristin didn't look anything like a couple on stage. Instead, they seemed nervous and awkward -- like they were caught in an uncomfortable lie. I'm not sure the two made eye contact the entire time they were being interviewed, and they certainly didn't touch one another or give any physical or verbal signs of affection.
Backstage from the aftershow, a MTV publicist said she'd squeeze in a few minutes for me to chat via telephone with the lovebirds. First up was Justin Bobby, and I wanted to try to find out if his relationship with Kristin was even remotely legitimate:
Are you and Kristin in a romantic relationship?
Not necessarily. When we met, it was just kind of nice, and personally for me to be on the show and conversate with somebody I haven't yet on the show. We work and do our scenes and see each other and that's that.
One week this season, you told Audrina you'd never find someone like her. The next, you told Audrina that Kristin sparked something in you you'd never felt with her. Which was it?
That was a cut-and-copy. There was a lot more to that sentence. I was basically like, "Audrina, it's not like I'm never gonna find anyone like you again." They felt like maybe it was a good place to cut that scene.
Set the record straight. Were you and Audrina ever together?
Realistically, no. I've only had two loves of my life and then there's been a whole dating montage.
In earlier seasons, you seemed to have an aversion to the whole reality-TV thing -- this season, you were at the center of most of the episodes. How did that happen?
It wasn't planned out at all. I got to know Kristin and we clicked in that way and it ended up working out on the show. It's who you surround yourself with, and when you surround yourself with people who are energetic and all talk about work and business, it got me a little bit more comfortable. A lot of the scenes with Audrina were drawn out, and Kristin was new blood.
Do you watch the episodes?
You know what, not really. I'll hear about it and if I hear about it, I don't want to be near it.
You're such a mysterious dude. Who are you? Are you still a hairdresser?
Not particularly anymore. I did hair for, like, 12 years. I kind of ran my course with it and I'm in the midst of opening up a little salon with a good friend of mine in Orange County.
How did you start doing hair?
I was doing Victoria's Secret shows and working with some musicians.
Not completely. I do a lot of band stuff. I'm working with a band I've been with for seven or eight years. It's called EdstanleY.
After about five minutes, he said he had to cut things short because he had to go on stage. I didn't get the chance to grill him more about his impromptu Vegas trip and what exactly has transpired with Audrina over the past four years.
But Kristin was up next, and I was confident she'd be candid. Before the season began, we sat down for an interview during which she described just how fake "The Hills" really is:
"It's just so ... fake. There's no truth to it. At all," she said in September, adding that she will "pretty much do anything" the producers tell her to do. "They tell us what to talk about."
Surprisingly, Kristin has changed her tune since. In the approximately two minutes I got to chat with her before the phone was yanked away by a publicist, she got defensive about the show's supposed reality. And, she said, she didn't necessarily get down with either Brody or Justin this season.
How do you feel about how you were portrayed this year?
Overall, I'm very happy with the season. The first couple of episodes I felt like they were only showing one side of me, but throughout the episodes you got to see a few sides of my personality.
So were things romantic between you and Justin?
With music and editing they can make it seem that way, but it wasn't romantic with Justin and I at all because I didn't trust him.
But you guys were kissing -- you were intimate.
Just because we kissed doesn't mean we were intimate.
Were things ever intimate with Brody -- like that morning when he woke up at your place?
I don't know what scene you're talking about.
Brody and Jayde were on a break, and you had been hanging out with him. You and Jayde got into a fight at a nightclub and Brody left with you. The next morning it seemed like he had slept at your place.
He didn't wake up there. He came over. But I don't know what scene you're talking about.
You've said you often will do what the producers ask of you. Is that how you and Justin Bobby started hanging out?
Umm... I, um... First of all, I never said they made me hang out with Justin. And second of all, when you're surrounded with a group of people, you're bound to develop relationships. What you see on the show and what's going on are two different things. You're not going to see everything.
So in tonight's episode, you decided to give it a go with Justin Bobby. What's up with you guys now?
In the episode we decided we're gonna give it a try, and we're hanging out and talking. You're going to have to wait and see what happens on the next season.
That we will.
So -- will you all be tuning in for a sixth season of "The Hills"? With the ratings falling, will Lo and Audrina's rumored departure be the final nail in the coffin for the MTV series? And do you buy the Kristin and Justin Bobby relationship -- or is the jig up? Discuss in the comments, and check back next season for more on the stars of the reality show we hate to love.
Credit: Amy Kaufman for L.A. Times
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