Heidi Montag has done her fair share of reality TV, but she’s dreamed of being on The Masked Singer since it debuted — which made it doubly disappointing when an injury forced her to exit on the earlier side.
“I couldn’t even talk,” Montag, 39, exclusively told Us Weekly ahead of her elimination on the Wednesday, February 25, episode. “I had a hemorrhage on my vocal cord that I got during the show, because the helmet is just so heavy and it was so hard, and I was straining my neck trying to lift the head up. And then I was just singing so much and so hard, and so it did strain my voice and then cause the hemorrhage of my vocal cord.”
By the time Spice Girls Night came around, the Hills alum “had been whispering for two weeks straight” at home.
“I couldn’t even talk to my kids in the house. It was really intense off camera, and I was trying to just save my voice,” she recalled. “So, I was definitely in tears before and after, because I have wanted this for so long, and then to have to leave for a vocal injury was just devastating for me at the time. I just felt like I was being robbed of this opportunity I’ve been waiting for so long for … and I know it was magnified because of everything that I’ve been through.”
As Snow Cone, Montag was open about everything she and her husband, Spencer Pratt, have experienced since losing their home last January in the Pacific Palisades fire. In Wednesday’s clue package, she said she realized that “nothing good or bad lasts forever,” but their love will be their “legacy.”
While Pratt, 42, didn’t sing on the show, he did support his wife as Mr. Snow Cone, who silently appeared on stage and in her clue packages. They even reconnected with a producer who worked with them during their original run on The Hills, which made the experience “really fun” for the couple.
“It’s really rare to be part of a show that’s so positive and inspiring,” Montag added. “Usually, my experience from reality TV is they’re out to get you and to exploit you, all these different things. .. It was just a really great experience for me and Spencer to be able to do. It was our first really positive show we’ve done together, and in light of everything that we had just been through, it was a really big blessing for us.”
It was also a blessing for their sons — Gunner, 8, and Ryker, 3 — who are big fans of the show.
“Every time I go to L.A. now, they’re like, ‘Are you going to be Snow Cone? Are you going to your job at Snow Cone?’” Montag said with a laugh. “It’s the best thing I’ve ever done. The kids have never been more excited about anything. It has taken a life of its own in our house. And they love Mr. Snow Cone. They’re obsessed. I’m like, ‘Hello, Mrs. Snow Cone is singing! Mr. Snow Cone is just standing there.’ But they love the whole dynamic.”
While Montag wishes she got to stay on The Masked Singer a bit longer, she was absolutely thrilled to participate in Spice Girls Night (as any millennial woman would be).
“It was the first concert I ever went to. I was 12 years old,” she recalled. “Spice World is everything. I think I’ve seen that movie 1 million times on [VHS] … so I don’t think there could be a bigger Spice Girls fan. Growing up, I loved Baby Spice. She was my favorite. And as an adult, I think it’s Posh. I love Victoria Beckham so much.”
As a singer herself, Montag knows her way around a good pop song — and she promises that her new album will delight fans who are craving more after the release of last year’s Heidiwood.
“I’m really excited about this album,” she told Us of her next LP, titled Masterpiece. “It’s my best album I think I’ve ever done. It is less hyperpop. This is a little more classic, quintessential pop — early 2000s girly pop mixed with a modern twist. I think this will be a great staple for a lot of people. Definitely put it on your workout playlist.”
In the meantime, Montag is just grateful for what she and Pratt still have after losing everything last year. (Pratt announced his campaign for mayor of Los Angeles last month.)
“We still have a lot of challenges that we’re facing,” Montag explained. “It just puts everything in perspective. We could just die tomorrow, or anything could happen, or things that you think you’re planning for the future … like, let’s not plan too far in advance. That’s a big theme in our house now. We’re like, ‘Great, that’s a good outline, but let’s not commit to that, because we don’t know what the future is or where we’ll be.’ It’s definitely been a lot of moving parts, and we’ll continue to just take it day by day.”
The Masked Singer airs on Fox Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
