Kristin Cavallari Reveals She’s Dating Retired Athlete

Kristin Cavallari has a new man in her life following her split from Mark Estes in September. The Hills alum, 37, revealed her new romance on the Dec. 30 episode of Bunnie XO’s Dumb Blonde podcast, confessing that she is dating a 40-year-old “retired athlete,” but isn’t ready to share his name just yet.

“I’m kind of dating someone else now,” she told Bunnie, who is married to country star Jelly Roll. “I’m not gonna say who it is, and it’s really new.” When Bunnie quipped that Cavallari seems to love an athlete, the MTV alum responded, “They love me, I think!”

“I’m a f—ing WAG through and through,” she continued. “He’s such a good guy, and it’s new, but he checks all the boxes where I’m like, ‘F—, this is what I’ve been needing.’ He retired a couple of years ago, and he has so much depth. And I just love talking to him. He’s 40.” Cavallari said she can “connect on so many levels” with her mystery man, and that he is coming to stay with her for a few days this week, which excited her.

The Very Cavallari star split from 25-year-old TikTok star Estes in September and admitted to Bunnie that the substantial age gap caused issues in their relationship. “I think when you are young and you don’t have life experience, coupled with maybe not a lot going on in your life, there’s not a lot to talk about,” she explained. “There’s not a lot to bring to the table. And so, yes, I came out of it and was craving real depth and emotional intimacy.”

Cavallari did call Estes a “really good guy,” however, saying that they “did have a real connection” and split on a good note. “It was a beautiful relationship,” she said on the podcast. “I have nothing bad to say. It was fun until it wasn’t.”

Cavallari, who divorced ex-husband Jay Cutler in 2020 after seven years of marriage, said she’s been in her “dating era” for the past five years. “I always had boyfriends — I met Jay when I was 23,” the reality personality said. “I never was able to date and figure out exactly what I want and figure out myself through dating. And so that’s what I’ve been doing the last five years, and that was really fun for me.”

“It was a distraction,” she continued. “It was really easy. It just sort of naturally fit into my life. I said this on my podcast, but, you know, it’s maybe selfish looking back, but I didn’t really have to bend for [Estes] in a lot of ways. He just kind of fit into my life.”