Lo Bosworth has absolutely no desire to release her inhibitions or feel the rain on her skin.
The 34-year-old reality TV personality, who rose to prominence on Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County before becoming a regular part of spinoff The Hills, reminisced about her years in the limelight during an appearance on the podcast Unzipped that was released on Wednesday, June 30.
In explaining her shift to a career as an entrepreneur rather than a life in front of the camera, Lo told co-hosts Shenae Grimes and AnnaLynne McCord that her time on the MTV staples made her realize she doesn't actually enjoy being on TV. As such, she did not join former co-stars Audrina Patridge, Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt and the rest of the gang in returning for sequel series The Hills: New Beginnings, which is currently airing its second season.
"It's interesting to me to see the people that have chosen to continue to participate in The Hills," she said. Lo continued with a laugh, "I'm like, 'Wow, you guys are really leaning into your TV persona for whatever reason, right? For a paycheck, for attention, fame—whatever it is that you need that fulfills you.'"
The star, whose given name is Lauren, shared that producers' decisions in how to shape the characters and story lines became a downside as well. "More so, I was just not interested in other people in an editing thing deciding, 'OK, for Lauren the person, who are we going to present her and what she's going to be doing,'" she recalled.
Lo went on to say she would be "totally happy and content if nobody on this Earth knew who I was," given that she's now passionate about projects including Love Wellness, the personal care brand she founded. As she explained, her experience as a member of UCLA's Class of 2008, which overlapped with the peak of The Hills' popularity, played into her decision to leave Hollywood in the rearview.
"All of this stuff, like still to this day, makes me feel a little uncomfortable," Lo said. "Probably, it comes back to just being young, being on TV for the first time, being at college, kids making fun of you. I think that initial trauma has never really left. I would prefer to just be an anonymous person, but I opened Pandora's box. I can never close it again."
She added, "But in the way that the people who are doing The Hills are leaning in, I'm leaning in just a totally different direction."
This is hardly the first time the TV personality has made it clear she has no desire to film again with her former co-stars. On an episode of her Lady Lovin' podcast in February 2018, Lo said she no longer wanted "any association with any of those people."