Whitney Port Hopes The Hills Reboot Shows the Cast's “Real Struggles”

The Hills are alive once again — and Whitney Port couldn’t be any more thrilled.

“I was really excited to reconnect with everybody and get back into the swing of things,” she told InStyle about taking part in MTV's upcoming reboot, The Hills: New Beginnings, which will star original cast members Heidi and Spencer Pratt, Audrina Patridge, and Brody Jenner. A few new stars, including Mischa Barton and Brandon Thomas Lee, will pump some fresh blood into the updated series, as well.

While Port, who appeared in four seasons of the original series, couldn't give too much away about what to expect from the revamp, she did reveal that she’s already banked a few of her pivotal scenes. “I wish that I could tell you more, but I’ve been specifically asked not to talk about it because I have loose lips sometimes,” said the 33-year-old TV personality. “We just started filming a couple weeks ago, and so far, it's really been about us reconnecting. I'm excited to be where everybody's at and have a new group of mom friends.”

Things have certainly changed for Port since she left The Hills in 2008. She went on to star in her own spinoff series, The City, which aired for two seasons, and Port met her future husband, producer Tim Rosenman, during filming. The couple tied the knot in November 2015 and welcomed their first child, a son named Sonny, in July 2017. As filming continues on New Beginnings, Port is determined to keep the realities of her life today, well, real. "I’m hoping [the series] shows the relationship I have with my family and with my work, and how the two things can work together," she said. "And also how it can be hard for them to work together at the same time."

Her professional life has been evolving just as much as her personal one these last few years. She’s kept busy by using her platform to team up with brands that she feels passionate about. (Her most recent endeavor? Partnering with Lactaid milk. “My husband is lactose-intolerant, so it was really important for me to help him get that under control,” she said. “With Lactaid, he has a healthy option whenever he wants to have real dairy without the lactose.”)

Family is Port's top priority, and when The Hills returns, she's looking forward to sharing more of her life as a wife and mother. And viewers might be surprised to see that things aren’t always quite as picture-perfect as they might think. “I’m hoping [the producers] just show the real struggle that a lot of working moms have,” she said. “That's what I'm guessing they'll probably focus on [for me], because that's the reality of my life at the moment. But at the same time, I'm not the producer, so I don't really know what angle they're going to go.”

Of course, it won’t be all diapers and spit-up. After all, this is a show that, in its first run, prided itself on filming its stars parading around the trendiest and most exclusive spots in L.A. “I think there are sides to all of our lives that do have still a bit of that glamour,” said Port. “I think it's going to show how we still are focused on our dreams and goals and have lives that are out in the public. It's not all about just being a mom.”

When it comes to motherhood, Port is decidedly chill. “I'm pretty relaxed as a parent, and I think that people might be surprised by that,” she said. “Even when I was pregnant, I didn't really read much [about parenting], and I don't read too much now or ask too many opinions. I really just try to go with my gut. Timmy and I really try to parent the way that we feel the most comfortable, and I think that works for us.”

Port maintains a similarly healthy outlook when it comes to life in the spotlight. “With me sharing everything that I'm doing on social media, people might think that I'm constantly comparing myself to other people, but I'm really trying not to do that,” she said. “With the unique state that we have of being on a TV show and being in the public eye, I think it's a really important message to teach our kids. Because with social media, it's so easy for us to compare ourselves to other people. It's a slippery slope, and I hope that I can teach [my son] not to do that and to just be on his own path. But [in terms of] the conversation we’ll have about it, I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.”

Similarly, if her son wanted to star in a reality show when he’s older, Port wouldn’t brush off the idea — but she says she'd give the matter some serious consideration. “I think it depends what kind of kid he is,” she said. “If he's a good kid and I trust him and think he has his head on straight, good character, and good morals, then I don't see why he shouldn't do it. I think it was the same with my parents — at first, I think they were nervous about me doing it when I was 20 years old, but they trusted me. They knew they had raised me right, so they knew that I would make the appropriate decisions. I feel the same with Sonny. I feel like if he is a good, responsible kid, go for it. If he’s not, then I would probably urge him not to do it.”

Port herself was, undeniably, one of the more responsible and level-headed figures on The Hills. During filming, she was focused on pursuing a career in fashion — so naturally, her favorite memory just so happens to be the show’s most stylish. “The moment that always comes to mind when I think fondly about The Hills is when Lauren and I got to go to Paris,” she said. “I was in my early twenties, and I had never been to Paris. The thought of the Crillon Ball was so glamorous — wearing designer gowns, getting hair and makeup done, and meeting all these amazing people. I think that that was probably the most exciting part of the show for me; it still is. I've been thinking about it lately and I kind of want to go back and watch it. I forget a little bit, and it's cool that I have access to see what that whole experience was like.”

She may want to relive her first time in Paris, but for the most part, Port steers clear of watching reruns. “I feel like it's hardly ever on,” she said. “A couple of Thanksgivings ago it was on, though, and my family and I decided to sit and binge it for a while. That was really fun, but I don't just randomly watch it now. Before the [new] show starts, I feel like they'll probably do some marathons and stuff. So that will be fun to watch.”

It certainly will.