Source: Spencer Pratt-Heidi Montag Split a Sham

Take this with a grain of salt ... but then again, you likely took the original story with a boulder of salt: Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag's split may be fake.

According to one report, Spencer dropped into Malibu to visit his "estranged" wife earlier this week, perhaps outing their sham separation in the process.

Sources say Spencer Pratt showed up Wednesday at Heidi’s million-dollar beachside hideaway with Jen Bunney, just days after the couple's big breakup.

What he received was far from an icy reception, as well.

“Heidi and Spencer are obviously on speaking terms,” dished a source, claiming the split's not legit. “I'd be surprised if he isn’t even living at the house."

BLOWING SMOKE: Is Speidi just effing with us? [Photo: PacificCoastNewsOnline.com]

It was reported by TMZ last week that the fame-hungry Speidi was splitting up, and perhaps because it came from that site and not the plastic pair, it appeared real.

“There are so many lies out there about me and I just needed space – even away from my husband,” Heidi said, confirming the so-called split a few days after the fact.

This being Speidi, however, suspicions were aroused immediately. Heidi’s swift new living arrangements seemed awfully well planned, as did this hilarious photo shoot.

Minutes after the supposed break-up, Heidi confirmed she was moving in with her pal Jennifer Bunney to film an upcoming reality show about their "girl time." Really.

Yesterday, Spencer surfaced for the first time and was either blindsided by the whole charade or does a much better job of playing along than we gave him credit for.

Speidi's breakup is ...