Lauren Conrad is back in the spotlight and fans cannot get enough. 20 years after Laguna Beach, she is returning to screens with the reunion special everyone has been waiting for. But while the world knows Lauren, almost nobody knows the man standing quietly beside her through all of it. His name is William Tell and he is a former rock star turned lawyer, a devoted father and the person Lauren Conrad calls her “smoke show.”
1. Lauren First Saw William Tell at 16
This was long before Laguna Beach, before The Hills, before any of it even existed. Lauren first laid eyes on William Tell at one of his concerts when she was just 16 years old. He played rhythm guitar for the Southern California rock band Something Corporate. She sat in the crowd, noticed him and then life moved on.
A full decade passed before mutual friends set them up on a Valentine’s Day blind date in 2012. Lauren showed up having already Googled him and she liked what she found. “My husband’s a smoke show!” she told People. Some love stories just take their time.
2. William Tell Traded His Guitar for a Gavel
When Tell decided music was not his forever he did not ease into a new chapter. He walked away completely. In 2011 he enrolled at USC Gould School of Law, interned at Warner Bros. Records and powerhouse firm Ziffren Brittenham and graduated in 2014 as a practicing entertainment lawyer. The same year he married Lauren.
In October 2023 when Something Corporate reunited for a special Las Vegas show Tell stepped right back on stage like no time had passed at all. Rock star. Lawyer. Husband. In that order.
3. William Tell Proposed and Lauren Did Not Think Twice
Eighteen months after their first Valentine’s Day date William proposed and Lauren said yes without hesitation. “We both dove in almost immediately. We fell hard and got engaged a year and a half after we started dating, which is pretty quick,” Lauren shared in her People cover story last week.
On September 13, 2014 the two married at a winery in Santa Ynez, California with Lauren’s best friend Lo Bosworth as one of nine bridesmaids. No cameras. No drama. Just Lauren Conrad finally getting the chapter she always wanted. “Once we got married, I was like, ‘I’d like to make people with him,'” Lauren added. “I knew he’d be a good dad.”
4. Liam and Charlie Are the Best Plot Twist
Lauren and William welcomed son Liam James Tell on July 5, 2017 and son Charlie Wolf Tell in October 2019. The boys are now 8 and 6, growing up in Laguna Beach, California, completely unbothered by their mother’s two decades of fame. William coaches every team the boys play on and handles all the funny voices at storytime. “He’s so engaged with our kids. It’s been really fun to parent together,” Lauren shared. When she tries to show the boys her old TV work their response stops her every time. “No, we’re good, Mom.” As for William, he has seen very little of Laguna Beach himself. “I don’t need to see it. I know you now,” he told her.
5. Lauren and William Tell’s Marriage Runs on Two Words
No name-calling. That is it. That is the entire secret. Lauren told People, early in their relationship William set the tone without fanfare. “He said to me, ‘I don’t name-call. I’m never going to call you a name. Let’s not do that.’ I was like, ‘Oh okay. We’re adults.'” From that one quiet moment an entire marriage took shape. Strong communication, mutual respect and two kids who will someday understand just how lucky they are. “I feel very settled and happy,” Lauren says now. “I just feel grateful right now.”
Catch Lauren back on screen when The Reunion: Laguna Beach streams April 10.
