Reality TV strives to sell us on the idea that its stars are just like us. However, sometimes they really aren't, as happened with the cast of The Hills, an MTV reality series that netted millions of dollars for leads Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt during its time on the air. (Two million per year per person, to be more exact.) However, unlike some of the other stars from The Hills, Montag and Pratt ended up squandering their earnings. They now live in a guest home owned by Spencer Pratt's parents and can't afford nearly as much as they used to. Here's how they lost their reality TV millions.
Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt didn't engage in a Ponzi scheme or make some risky stock market bets. In fact, the couple actually blew through their money in a fairly short time by buying into the good old American dream of accumulating more stuff. This week, the couple told People that they spent a lot of their money "playing house." A good chunk of their fortune was spent on Heidi's designer wardrobe, which cost her $1 million to accumulate. The couple also bought plenty of $3,000 bottles of wine while out to eat and paid for bodyguards to follow them everywhere. In addition, $1 was spent on Spencer Pratt's collection of crystal. It's not mentioned in the story, but Montag also spent quite a bit on plastic surgery.
Those who knew about the situation told them to slow down, according to Heidi Montag:
We had business managers who told us to stop spending but we acted like we knew what we were doing.
Spencer also added that they couldn't stop trying to keep up with an a-lister lifestyle that they really couldn't afford.
We were keeping up with the Joneses, but we were going against Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.
Just hearing that Heidi Montag spent $1 million dollars splurging on clothing makes me feel a little sick to my stomach. If you have the money and want to blow it, that's your business, but the problem here is that the two stars of The Hills really didn't have the money and were blowing it anyway. Now they are in their early thirties and have nothing to show for it. They have to rely on Pratt's parents for their living situation and they can't even splurge on moderate dinners or clothing, anymore.
Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt aren't the only celebrities who have ever blown through a significant amount of money in a relatively short period of time. The couple does seem to be trying to learn from their mistakes however, and have stopped pitching wild movie ideas and more in favor of taking reality roles on shows like Celebrity Big Brother and Marriage Boot Camp. Hopefully, one day this will get them out of that guest house and into their own home.
