Heidi Montag says Lauren Conrad's absence from MTV's "The Hills: New Beginnings" revival of "The Hills" made for a more "freeing" experience.
"I actually was kind of excited Lauren wasn't on it because I felt like it was more freeing and fair, like, for me," Montag said.
Montag's co-star Audrina Patridge agreed about Conrad.
"Without Lauren, like, she was always the one -- she's the leader, the one that would tell you what to do, what not to do," Patridge said.
"So now it's kinda like we all get... you kinda get to make your own choices and be your own self," she added.Montag and Conrad clashed during "The Hills'" original run on MTV.
Montag recalled Conrad's famous "I want to forgive you, and I want to forget you" line in an interview with Entertainment Tonight published Monday.
Montag said she kept in touch with Conrad "off and on for a while" after "The Hills" ended in 2010 but hasn't spoken to the star recently.
She and husband Spencer Pratt teased renewed drama with their co-stars in the reboot.
"It's a volcano," Montag said.
"Oh my god, these are people that I have been avoiding these conversations [with] for 10 years," Pratt added. "It's like, 'Oh, I didn't forget. I have a notebook.'"
"The Hills: New Beginnings" will premiere on MTV on June 24 and features returning stars Montag, Pratt, Patridge, Stephanie Pratt, Whitney Port, Jason Wahler and Frankie Delgado.
