Christy frames the rivalry as a product of societal pressure on young actresses, emphasizing that she holds no grudges and now celebrates the freedom of their separate, matured lives.
Insiders suggest the Chateau Marmont encounter was classic Lohan: high-status, low-effort cruelty. Christy’s admission that she tried to bond with a teenage Lohan while drunk adds a layer of awkward vulnerability to the story.
Christy Carlson Romano, 42, and Lindsay Lohan, 40, attended the second annual Virtual Reali-Tea (VRT) Awards on Oct. 6, 2026. Romano’s memoir 'Once Upon a Trainwreck: The Rise and Fall of a Child Star' was released the same day.
Christy Carlson Romano is owning her narrative with brutal honesty and a healthy dose of humor, proving that the most stylish move in Hollywood is finally telling the truth.
If there is one thing I admire in the current celebrity landscape, it is the audacity to name names while looking absolutely immaculate. Christy Carlson Romano, the 'Even Stevens' icon who has long served as a quiet testament to surviving the Disney machine, appeared on the red carpet of the second annual Virtual Reali-Tea (VRT) Awards on Tuesday to drop a bombshell anecdote about Lindsay Lohan. Speaking exclusively to Page Six at the Edison Ballroom, the 42-year-old actress recounted a chillingly casual moment of shade at the Chateau Marmont, the West Hollywood hotel that has served as the backdrop for countless industry power plays and paparazzi ambushes.
Romano recalled an awkward exchange where Lohan, now 40, glanced her way and muttered, "I guess they’re letting anyone in here." It was a line that could have been scripted for a mean-girls sequel, yet Romano handled it with the grace of someone who has since graduated from the need for external validation. What makes this revelation particularly compelling is the timing. Romano launched her new memoir, 'Once Upon a Trainwreck: The Rise and Fall of a Child Star,' on the same day as the awards show.
The book doesn't just skim the surface of child star struggles; it dives into the murky waters of bulimia, the allure of cocaine at Paris Hilton’s Halloween parties, and the toxic competitiveness that defined the early 2000s Disney era. In the text, Romano admits to attempting to bond with a then-17-year-old Lohan over their mutual 'Cadet Kelly' connection, Hilary Duff. She describes rambling "lame, drunken bulls—t" while Lohan stared back with an energy Romano described as radiating "darkness and danger." It’s a vivid, almost literary depiction of the intimidation factor Lohan wielded before she became a tabloid fixture in her own right.
Romano’s perspective on this rivalry has evolved from humiliation to a nuanced understanding of their shared history. She noted that society pressured them, along with peers like Hilary Duff, to be competitive, a dynamic that has since dissolved into separate, maternal lives. "I think everyone has grown into these very different lifestyles too," Romano reflected, acknowledging the strangeness of their divergent paths.
Despite the Chateau Marmont insult, she offered Lohan points for being "savage," a testament to the actress's unapologetic nature. "She’s unapologetic, and it seems so freeing," Romano wrote, highlighting a shift from resentment to a grudging respect for Lohan’s ability to exist without apology. Beyond the memoir, Romano is also clearing the air about her post-Disney career trajectory.
She revealed to Page Six Radio that she was nearly cast in the 'Real Housewives of Austin,' a project that was ultimately scrapped in favor of Bravo’s 'Secrets, Lies, Texas Wives.' The cast she was pitched alongside included Loreal Sarkisian, Poppi founder Allison Ellsworth, and Becca Tobin from 'Glee.' "We were really cooking for a minute and then it kind of just derailed," she explained. As she navigates this new chapter, Romano’s willingness to share these specific, unflattering details proves that the most powerful accessory a celebrity can wear is the truth, especially when it comes with a receipt for a drink at the Chateau.
