New season premieres Monday at 10 p.m. on MTV.
By Jocelyn Vena

Heidi Montag
Photo: MTV

When "The Hills" premieres on Monday, it will be the last season for Lauren Conrad. But according to Lauren's greatest frenemy, Heidi Montag, it's all a new beginning for the show. In fact, Heidi said, "This is going to be the best season ever," and doesn't seem to mind that Lauren won't be coming back after it.

" 'The Hills' hasn't even really begun, yet I think this is just the beginning," she told MTV News about Lauren's grand finale, adding, "We don't need her. We'll miss her. I just don't know if we need her."

Montag — who also spoke with us about her forthcoming album and her uncertainty about whether she'll marry Spencer Pratt — said she wasn't surprised by Lauren's choice to leave the show, and even though the two are attempting to make amends and text-message regularly, she thinks that it's for the best that Conrad is moving on.

"I'm not surprised she's leaving. I know she hasn't been wanting to be do this for a while, and [the life she really leads] is not on camera. So I think it's a closing chapter for her. I'm sure she'll have fun and success," she said, adding, "She's gotta leave the dramas to the pros!"

Now that Lauren has already made the decision to leave the show behind, what happens next on "The Hills" is an open question — but Montag definitely wants to be around for it. "I love 'The Hills' and I definitely don't want to go anywhere anytime soon. That's my home and I'm so grateful to be on it, so we'll see."

The new season of "The Hills" premieres Monday at 10 p.m. on MTV.