Lauren Conrad and Kyle Howard split after three years

Lauren Conrad, late of "The Hills" and "Laguna Beach," can also see Kyle Howard in her rear-view mirror — the couple of three years have reportedly called it quits.

The split was mutual, sources close to the two told E! News, with no ugly third-party involvement. Though they began dating midway through the six-season run of "The Hills," Conrad managed to keep the details of their relationship off camera. Howard appeared on the series "My Boys" from 2006 into 2010.

The aspiring fashion designer left her series in 2009, a season ahead of the rest of the "Hills" gang. Plans were announced in September for a third MTV series with Conrad, but it didn't air.

According to Conrad, a show was shot and delivered, but MTV decided it was too "high brow" for its audience.

"In my case, becoming a designer wasn’t always the central focus of 'Laguna Beach' and 'The Hills,'  but it’s been my lifelong dream," she wrote Monday in her first post as a "celebrepreneur" for Forbes.

In January, rumors that Howard, 33, and Conrad, 24, had gotten engaged were denied by Conrad's rep.

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Top-earning reality stars of 2010: Kardashians, Lauren Conrad are making millions

— Christie D'Zurilla

Photo: Lauren Conrad at a Hollywood event in April. Credit: Mario Anzuoni / Reuters.

 

 

 

Kristin Cavallari engaged to Chicago Bears QB Jay Cutler

TV personality Kristin Cavallari is engaged to Jay Cutler of the Chicago Bears, her beau of less than a year.

The NFL quarterback whisked "The Hills" gal off to Cabo on a surprise trip over Easter weekend so he could propose, a source told People.

The two have been dating since last fall, and at the beginning Cutler played it down, telling the Chicago Sun-Times, "I had dinner with her, and that was pretty much about it."

Though Cavallari is currently in Los Angeles, she has family in the Chicago area. Cutler joined the Bears in 2009, the Fabulous Forum noted, coming from the Denver Broncos.

"My mom is there -- and that side of my family -- so, I get to spend time with my mom who I don’t get to see that often," she told "Access Hollywood" in February, after gushing that Cutler might be the one. "But it's been great. I love the city and during the football season I was there a lot. Now, we're both out here."

Cavallari was famously part of a love triangle involving Stephen Colletti and Lauren Conrad on MTV's high school reality show "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County." Cavallari and Conrad then went on to do "The Hills."

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-- Christie D'Zurilla

Photo: Jay Cutler and Kristin Cavallari arrive at the "Source Code" premiere in Hollywood in March. Credit: Charley Gallay / Getty Images

 

Lauren Conrad lands three-book deal with HarperCollins

Adjust those Oliver Peoples kitten frames, Lauren Conrad fans — the former "The Hills" star has signed a three-book deal with HarperCollins.

Conrad will be writing a young adult series as a follow-up to her New York Times bestseller "L.A. Candy."

"This series is about a girl who loves everything that fame is, and that's all she's ever really wanted," Conrad tells Us of protagonist Madison. "[She] has fun with the press, she enjoys the attention, she welcomes scandal!"

What a stretch.

In all seriousness, Lauren has done quite well for herself on and off the bookshelf. She also has a successful clothing line and a fragrance from mark cosmetics. 

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— Matt Donnelly
twitter.com/MattDonnelly

Photo: Lauren Conrad in 2009. Credit: WireImage.

Sightings: Jennifer Love Hewitt gets slim, Lauren Conrad lunches

Had your fill of awards coverage? Let the Ministry catch you up on celeb whereabouts off the red carpet.

Lauren Conrad recently had a lunch date with beau (but not fiance) Kyle Howard. The pair had a casual meal at Whole Foods Market in Westwood. She scooped from the salad bar, and he indulged in some sushi. Despite the low-key locale, romance is still alive -- Howard picked up the tab.

Jennifer Love Hewitt has been mindful of what she's eating. Spotted a few weeks ago at the Slim-Fast 3-2-1 booth at "Access Hollywood's" and On 3 Production's "Stuff You Must ..." Golden Globes lounge, the actress revealed her interesting secret for looking her slimmest on the red carpet: chicken broth ice cubes.

At the same space, Jane Lynch stopped by the NB TrueBalance toning shoes booth and, in true Sue Sylvester fashion, put expert trainer Harley Pasternak through his paces by sitting on his back -- while he did push-ups.

Across the pond in London town, Brit "it" girl Gemma Arterton attended a party at One Mayfair for fashion house G-Star Raw.

Top-earning reality stars: Kardashians, the Situation are making millions

Just in time for the Christmas crunch comes a perhaps-confounding list of top-earning reality stars for 2010.

For the small price of diminished privacy, these "real" personalities rake in a ton of dough. With their per-episode salaries, endorsement deals and nightclub and other promotional appearances, these folks are taking their boom mikes and camera crews directly to the bank.

Not surprisingly, Kim Kardashian and her colorful sisters top the list, compiled by the Daily Beast.

Kim herself nabs the No. 1 spot (another top ranking for her in 2010), with an estimated $6 million in income. Just don't expect that cash pile to pay off any self-named credit cards. The name you might not expect is that of the second-highest earner: Lauren Conrad.

Clocking in with $5 million in earnings this year, Conrad hasn't technically been a reality star since May 2009. However, the legacy she's carried — a successful franchise of novels and more successful clothing collections — earns her 2010 cash-cow status.

Fear not, Conrad will be back on MTV, though not for the lunches and love lives she touched on "The Hills." The new show will focus on her enterprise.

"The Real Housewives of New York" star Bethenny Frankel arrives at No. 3 with $4 million, with Conrad's "Hills" pal Audrina Patridge next at $3.5 million. Matching Patridge cent-for-cent, according to the report, is reality mom Kate Gosselin.

With a nod for the boys, at No. 6 we find Mike "the Situation" Sorrentino, earning $3 million for hawking products including his own fitness DVDs and a protein-infused vodka. Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian come in after the Sitch with $2.5 million each, rounded out by another "Jersey Shore" fist-pumper, Paul "DJ Pauly D" Delvecchio, with $2 million for the year.

Former playmate Kendra Wilkinson claims the No. 10 position with $2 mill as well. What do you think of the highest-paid reality stars? Tell us in comments below.

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— Matt Donnelly
Twitter.com/MattDonnelly

Right photo: From left, Kourtney, Kim and Khloe Kardashian are the best-paid family in reality television. Photo credit: E! Entertainment.

Left photo: Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino at The Times' Photo Booth on Dec. 5, 2010, at the "VH1 Divas Salute the Troops" concert at the Marine Corps base in Miramar. Credit: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

 

Lauren Conrad on her new MTV reality show, clothing line

You met her in "Laguna Beach," then she headed for "The Hills," but nowadays Lauren Conrad is all about keeping it level.

The designer and author chatted with us Friday night at Teen Vogue's Young Hollywood bash, a packed affair on the Paramount Pictures lot that featured a fashion show from Michael by Michael Kors. (Click on the picture of actresses Nikki Reed and Emma Roberts below to launch a gallery of arrival photos.)

Her recently announced MTV series will follow Conrad as she embarks on building her brand and collections, but we had to wonder -- is she afraid of going back to the oft-dramatic territory of reality TV after leaving "The Hills" and its drama behind? 

"The reasons I left 'The Hills' aren't an issue in this case. I'm a producer on the project, it's focused on my career and all the things that I'm doing that I'm really proud of," she said.

"You know, my career has always served as a backdrop to talk about boyfriends and fights. This is an opportunity to show the things that I love to do."

Conrad also cleared up an inaccuracy from the show's announcement: She'll be designing a contemporary line, not evening wear.

"It's a little more specialty; it'll be sold in boutiques and, fingers crossed, we'll get into a department

Lauren Conrad returning to MTV with new reality series

She may have fled "The Hills," but Lauren Conrad is circling back to reality television with a brand-new series at MTV.

The documentary-style reality project for Conrad will chronicle the building of the young star's fashion empire.

"I'm happy to be partnering with MTV because I have had such an amazing relationship with them and love being a part of the network," she said.

Conrad has an eponymous collection of casual pieces, a successful bridge collection with Kohl's and several best-selling novels. The series will track her first attempt at a range of evening wear.

The blond made her reality TV debut on the network's "Laguna Beach," followed by her juggernaut spinoff "The Hills."

Will you watch Conrad's new series? Sound off in comments below.

-- Matt Donnelly
Twitter.com/MattDonnelly

Photo: Lauren Conrad's last promotional photos from "The Hills." Credit: MTV Networks

Get more on the busy Lauren Conrad, and the latest from MTV

 

Lauren Conrad will appear on 'The Hills' finale post-show

Don't count Lauren Conrad out of "The Hills" completely, even though the blond mini-mogul has said before that she wouldn't surface.

She won't appear in the final episode, true, but Conrad will participate in a live post-finale show to air July 13 on MTV, "Hills" creator Adam DiVello confirms.

"We have a live finale after show ... Lauren Conrad will be at that finale event, along with Whitney Port and the entire cast," DiVello told Ryan Seacrest on his morning radio show. 

Conrad was featured on MTV's "Laguna Beach" before landing her own spinoff; "The Hills," became a not-really-reality phenomenon in 2006, with touchstone characters Kristin Cavallari and Audrina Patridge and the side show of Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt. 

Conrad's final appearance as a main character aired in 2009. She has since launched a successful clothing line with retailer Kohl's and penned several books.

-- Matt Donnelly

Photo: Lauren Conrad unveils her national Milk Mustache "got milk?" ad at the Grove on June 15, 2010. Credit: Christopher Polk / Getty Images for Got Milk

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PREACH IT! Don’t look at Lauren Conrad! She hates it!

Just kidding. Look. No, really. Please look at Lauren Conrad. She’ll put out another clothing line if you don’t.

This week, Conrad “revealed” in an interview with Glamour magazine that she hates all the attention garnered from her reality show, “The Hills.”

“I get very uncomfortable with people watching me,” she told the magazine. “And I know that sounds silly because of the show, but we were filming with people that we’d known for years, and it was a job. [Now] when [I’m] in a movie theater and [I] can hear the whispers, it’s like that really bad dream where you go to school naked. You feel so self-conscious."

For the record, Conrad has striven in vain to keep a low profile. She’s had only two reality shows spanning six years -- starting when Conrad was in high school -- and two fashion lines, including the subsequent runway shows starring Lauren Conrad. She’s also survived two endorsement deals, four TV guest star appearances, two novels and countless red carpet appearances. And now we know the truth: Every single minute of every single one of those gigs was sheer molten hell. Poor, selfless girl, suffering for the kids like she does.

She’s not alone. Tons of other celebrities have loved to play the transparent I-hate-fame card ...