Spencer Pratt acknowledges that his marriage to Heidi Montag was fake — but only because he was uninformed. “I didn’t even know you have to legalize a wedding,” claims Spencer, who tied the knot with Heidi, 22, in a nonbinding ceremony on November 19 in Mexico. “I thought growing up, you say ‘I do’ and you’re married.” And Heidi agrees. “We had our elopement, and to me, that counts,” she said at Christian Audigier nightclub in Las Vegas on December 31, but she adds that they are now planning to make it official. “We’re going to have a bigger wedding for friends and family.” And it will be a major production. “We’ll definitely have it on TV because of the fans and haters,” vows Spencer.

For more on all of this week’s celebrity news, pick up the latest issue of In Touch Weekly, on newsstands Wednesday.