As fans count down the minutes until "The Hills" returns, Lauren Conrad is opening up about her MTV phenom, which she insists is very real! "I think 'The Hills' does pretty well because it's reality, it's not written." She tells Entertainment Weekly. "It's not predictable. You don't really know what's going to happen."  

MTV's highest rated show returns on Aug. 18 at 10 p.m., and according to the mag, L.C. is in for more run-ins with her arch-frenemies, Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, along with trips to New York and Las Vegas, where Brody Jenner winds up in a "casino jail," and a "teary blow-out that even had producers crying," between her and Audrina Patridge and Lauren "Lo" Bosworth.

L.C. tells EW that her celebrity status can be difficult at times -- especially with all of the scrutiny that comes with it. "Honestly, I wish I could say I totally didn't care, and people could say whatever they want about me  ... but there are days when it gets kind of difficult, where people are saying things about you, especially when there's no truth to it."

For more details about the upcoming season, visit www.ew.com.