It's been nearly two decades since Spencer Pratt was introduced to (or unleashed on) the world, as Brody Jenner's best friend via Fox's short-lived Princes of Malibu, a reality show that L.A. native Pratt had developed and sold in his early 20s. Two years later, in 2007, Pratt and Jenner infiltrated season 2 of MTV's The Hills, the Laguna Beach spinoff about a glamorous friend group in the Hollywood Hills, by dating Heidi Montag and Lauren "LC" Conrad, respectively. That's where Pratt cemented his place as a chaotic reality-TV villain - the constant antagonist to star Conrad - and wrote a whole new blueprint. Since then, his arc has been unpredictable and surprising, most recently with the announcement on Jan. 7 - the anniversary of the Palisades Fire, which claimed his house - that he'd be running for mayor of Los Angeles. Community activism may be top of mind these days, but Pratt is open about the fact that fame and money have driven most decisions he's made, from staging paparazzi shoots and faking divorce filings with Montag to appearing on shows like 2009's I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! "I was never thinking of it like 'villain' in a negative way," he tells Us. Then things got away from him. "Throughout the fame journey, it gets heightened, and then you're emotional and making emotional decisions. It goes sideways." He points to a particularly low time after The Hills wrapped in 2010, when he and Montag lost touch with reality, "worrying about the Galactic Command and trying to fight evil." They moved to Costa Rica, where he was arrested for gun possession; for a while, they lived in a state of suspicion. The next few years were populated by stints on shows like Celebrity Wife Swap (2014) and Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars (2015), and a vague sense of irrelevance. Then in 2017, unexpected popularity on Snapchat revealed a new version of Pratt. He was carefree, funny, a new dad, running a successful crystal business, obsessed with hummingbirds and always listening to Taylor Swift's Reputation. He still doesn't totally understand how he went from most-hated to Snapchatter of the Year (yes, that's a real award he won), but he doesn't take it for granted. KOURY ANGELO "In that little piece of time, everywhere I was going, people were like, 'I love your Snapchat! I love you!'" he recalls. "I thought it was just the most Groundhog Day-esque, boring content. But some people messaged to say they loved it because they knew exactly what was going to happen every day. That was the best time; energy-wise, financially, it was so good." Good but short-lived: Covid shut down Pratt Daddy Crystals, and the 2025 Palisades Fire claimed the Pratt home (as well as his parents'), where he and Montag lived with their sons, Gunner, 8, and Ryker, 3. That pushed him into Villain Era 2.0, only this time, Enemy No. 1 isn't LC, but California Gov. Gavin Newsom, whom he blames for the fires. (Pratt, Montag and other Pacific Palisades residents are currently suing the city of Los Angeles and the LAFD for mismanagement.) Lauren, Kristin and Audrina Look Back at 'The Hills' Finale With Us He covers all of it - every phase, from pot stirrer to community activist (with a combined audience of more than 4 million across Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram - in his memoir, The Guy You Loved to Hate: Confessions from a Reality TV Villain (out Jan. 27 from Gallery Books). "When you start reading and you really go through everything, it all makes sense how I lost the plot," Pratt tells Us about his journey. The process of writing and reflecting "made me very upset, mad and also appreciative that I am where I am. I could be dead." Talking to Pratt across two lengthy interviews raised as many questions as it answered. Decked out in Montag merch - his wife is also active on social and continues to work on her music career - he got emotional discussing the loss of his home but also joyfully confessed that his LC impression for the audiobook recording was deemed "too mean." KOURY ANGELO We tried to figure out, as best we could, the real Spencer Pratt, meta implications and all: Us Weekly has, of course, been along for his entire ride, covering the ups and downs of the Speidi-verse for years. "I've been waiting my whole life for this moment," he says about sitting down with Us. The Hills Are Alive Pratt's villain origin story evolved out of the sense that he was using Montag when they were on The Hills - that she was a damsel in distress and he the big, bad, opportunistic wolf. He challenges that characterization. "The Hills didn't show Heidi's dating game. They didn't really show the Heidi I met," he says. "If they had, it would have been so much more empowering for women, because she wasn't ever a sucker or a victim. She was hip to the game and was like, 'I'm having fun. I don't care.'" Pratt and Montag were a team, and a falling out with Conrad made them feel like they had to play their part. "Once there was the separation of Heidi and Lau