Kristin Cavallari reflects on growing up with narcissist father

‘I cut my dad out of my life about two years ago,’ reality TV star admits

Kristin Cavallari has reflected on growing up with a narcissistic father.

In the latest episode of her podcast Let’s Be Honest, the former reality TV star spoke with psychologist Dr Sherrie Campbell about narcissism. Throughout their discussion, Cavallari admitted that because her father has had narcissistic tendencies, she has cut him out of her life and they are no longer on speaking terms.

“I cut my dad out of my life about two years ago, which has honestly been the best thing I’ve ever done,” the Hills alum revealed. “I actually didn’t realise that my dad was a narcissist until I was an adult.”

In the past, the Laguna Beach star has been candid about the strained relationship she shares with her father, Dennis Cavallari. She explained to Dr Campbell that when she was younger, she didn’t like being around him because he didn’t make her feel like she was good enough.

She continued: “But then the flip of that is, sometimes he would put me on this pedestal and talk me up. Now as an adult looking back, it was when it benefitted you and made you look good.”

Their father-daughter relationship hit a breaking point after an incident occurred between the Uncommon James founder’s dad and her three kids - sons Camden, 11, and Jaxon, nine, and daughter Saylor, eight. “How I got my dad out of my life was something happened with my kids, and it crossed the line,” Cavallari revealed. “And I was like, ‘You know what? I’m f***ing done.’ And he blamed me for it, like threw everything back in my face.”

“I was always like, I can take it,” she continued. “You know. I can take the abuse. I have my whole life. But it’s like, when you start now messing with my kids, I’m not doing it.”

In a 2020 episode of her reality TV series, Very Cavallari, she admitted that the death of her brother, Mike Cavallari, in 2015 was the catalyst for the growing divide between her and her father. “We try and see each other as much as we can,” Kristin said at the time. “Unfortunately, my dad and I have kind of grown apart over the last few years. My brother’s passing has obviously been extremely difficult on my dad. I’m hoping that just being face to face will help us reconnect.”

She added: “My dad and my brother were close, and because of that, I think our relationship is very surface. We touch on a lot of things, but we don’t really delve in and get deep about anything. It puts a little bit of a void between us.”