Seventeen Features Lauren Conrad

Lauren Conrad, 24, gives the March 2010 cover of Seventeen magazine a big smile.

Inside, she dished about The Hills and leading a “double life.”

Conrad started on the hit MTV show when she was 17 years old. She admits that she didn’t see the show as a platform for a career in fashion but just really wanted to be on TV.

“I wish I could give myself more credit and say I had a while business plan, but really I just thought MTV was cool and that it would be fun,” she said.

It wasn’t until the show became a hit that she saw the show as an opportunity to get into fashion, she said. Now The Hills alum has a fashion career and is the author of two books.

A successful career isn’t the only thing that she got out of the show. Conrad was able to balance her TV life and real life. She said, “Most of my closest friends were never on the show; my family was rarely on. I think it’s better that way. It’s not normal to put every part of your personal life on camera. You have to have something for yourself or you’ll go crazy.”

That explains why her boyfriend, Kyle Howard, was never on the show.