Less than a week after making her budding romance with Mark Estes Instagram official, Kristin Cavallari is getting trolled by fans for dating “a college frat boy” who is 13 years her junior. The pair revealed their relationship in a series of social media posts while vacationing together in Los Cabos, Mexico, but the internet is questioning the couple’s compatibility given their stark age difference. Now, a defensive Cavallari has had enough.
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News about 37-year-old Cavallari and 24-year-old Estes’ relationship first broke when the Laguna Beach star uploaded a photo of herself and Estes on Instagram. “He makes me happy,” she wrote, alongside a snap of the pair huddled close and smiling.
Estes, for his part, also confirmed their coupling on his TikTok account. On Feb. 28, he shared a video of himself and Cavallari dancing and singing along to “(Kissed You) Good Night” by Gloriana. The PDA-packed clip ends with Estes swooping Cavallari up and into his arms.
Although fans just learned of their relationship, a source told People that they’ve been “dating longer than people think.”
“They’re really happy together. He’s been so great to her and is just a really nice guy,” the insider told People of Estes, before also touching on their age gap. “He’s not your typical 24 year old. She’s having a great time and is living her best life with him.”
According to People‘s source, Cavallari and Estes initially connected on social media and have been keeping things “very private” for some time. But now, the relationship is “serious enough” that they’re “ready to go public.”
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Despite Cavallari and Estes’ eagerness to share their romance with the world, fans weren’t entirely receptive to the news. On Cavallari’s Instagram post, followers said they were “confused” over their pairing, and referred to Estes as a “college frat boy.”
In response to the compounding hate, Cavallari recently clapped back with a snarky TikTok video that she captioned, “When they’re all up in arms that im dating a 24 year old. Andddd?”
The clip opens with Cavallari playing with her hair, before mouthing along to a now-viral TikTok audio sound.
“So what are you going to do about it? Are you going to arrest me? Are you going to give me a ticket?” she lip-syncs, ending the video with a coy smile.
More than 3.4 million people have viewed Cavallari’s TikTok, which has racked up over 4,500 comments as well. It appears the former reality TV star’s attempt to end the negativity has only inspired more conversation.
“This is not the flex you think it is,” reads one comment that has nearly 2,000 likes.
One person joked, “Hey well your kids now have a big brother.”
Another commenter wrote, “I bet his mom was a big fan of yours when you were on Laguna Beach.”
In June 2023, Cavallari told E! News that she was looking to date a “manly man” who can make her laugh and is fun to be around.
“My perfect dream guy, honestly, is someone who is so just happy in their own skin just really secure,” she told the outlet. “I like a really manly man, someone who could fix something in the house if it broke instead of calling someone to fix it. I like an outdoorsy guy … but I think really for where I’m at, it’s more just like someone who’s so secure in themselves and rock solid in who they are.”