Kristin Cavallari Makes Bold Move to Cut Ties With ‘Toxic’ Family Member

When it comes to family, many of us long for the dynamic we see on our favorite TV shows. Whether it’s “Modern Family” or “Roseanne,” no matter the crisis, everyone is there for each other through both good and bad times. But for Kristin Cavallari, something different happened.

She came to realize that the distance from her family was the only thing that would provide a sense of happiness and stability. The former “Dancing with the Stars” alum realized that her toxic relationship with her father was beginning to affect her children. She decided that enough was enough.

Kristin Cavallari Reveals Big Decision She Made About Her Dad

“I mean, honestly, and this might sound messed up to some people, but it’s the best decision I’ve ever made, cutting my dad out of my life. Such a weight has been lifted from me,” Cavallari told People. “There’s not one day where I miss him. I don’t know if it was two or three years ago, but I mean, I was an adult, let’s say I was 35 [when I decided]. It was 35 years of buildup to that point.”

According to the Laguna Beach star, her father, Dennis Cavallari, “crossed the boundary” with her children. He “couldn’t even apologize,” — but she wouldn’t specify what happened. She shares Camden, 12, Jaxon, 11, and Saylor, 9, with her ex-husband, Jay Cutler.

“Like, you’re just gaslighting me. I don’t have time for that anymore,” she says. “If someone’s not bringing you joy, if people are only bringing you hurt and sadness and anger, what is the point? Even if it’s a parent, life’s too short.”

For Cavallari, cutting off her father and going through a divorce has made her stronger and happier.

“Those two things really forced me to take a hard look in the mirror and do the work on myself,” she said. “I had to get very real with myself about the lack of self-love that I had, and I had to find self-love and build myself up again. I finally, for the first time in my life, do love myself. I love my life. I’ve really worked hard to cultivate this peace and this happiness.”

Cavallari Claims Her Dad Is a ‘Narcissist’

Kristin Cavallari has admitted that her behavior as a teenager led her to leave the Chicago suburbs where she lived with her mother. She moved to her father’s home in California, where she filmed MTV’s “Laguna Beach.” “I started smoking pot in eighth grade. I started drinking. I was sneaking out. I was young,” she admitted.

Cavallari’s decision to cut her dad out of her life is one that she’s spoken of before. In 2024, she explained on Bunnie Xo’s “Dumb Blonde” podcast that her lack of closeness with her parents led her to seek that feeling elsewhere.

“My escape was to start drinking and doing drugs, and the only way I found a connection was with my boyfriend,” she said. “I didn’t have a connection at home. And so that was where I found it was with my boyfriend and through all of my friends.” 

She went on to claim her “dad is a narcissist. Typical narcissist.”

Cavallari has grown close to her mother over the years, and she frequently features her in many of her Instagram photos. While the reality star doesn’t specify when she cut off contact with her dad, his last appearance on her social media was in 2021.