Here’s Why Kristin Cavallari & Mark Estes Broke Up
“No one cheated. No one was mean.”
Kristin Cavallari and Mark Estes relationship is officially over. In an Oct. 1 episode of her podcast Let’s Be Honest With Kristin Cavallari, the former reality star opened up about the split from her boyfriend of seven months.
“Mark and I broke up,” Cavallari said in the episode. “It's hard because I broke up with Mark because I just know long term it's not right.”
Cavallari continued, “It's not because of love lost or something bad happened. No one cheated. No one was mean. No one did anything.” But that doesn’t make it any easier. “Those breakups are always the hardest because it's almost easier if the guy does something that makes you hate him. Then it's like, ‘I want him out of my life forever,’” she added. “Mark didn't do anything. Mark has been nothing but so sweet and so supportive. He’s really been the best boyfriend I've ever had.”
According to Cavallari, the couple’s age gap played a role in her decision to end things. “I just know long term he needs to experience life. He's young, and I started to feel the age a little bit, just with life experience,” she said. “I look back when I was 24 and how much life has happened for me in between then [and now]. Those are crucial years. Those are formative years. This is when you find yourself, and he needs to be able to do that.”
Cavallari also addressed critics who have been focusing on the age difference since they got together in February. “I've always been well aware that he is 24. It wasn't like I was like ignoring the fact that he was younger and like really just got out of college,” she said. “But you know this isn't a bad thing. I really look at our relationship as such a beautiful relationship... It was very healthy and very mature, and it was nothing but sweet and loving.”
According to Cavallari, she doesn’t have any regrets about the relationship despite the breakup. “He's going to be okay, I'm going to be okay. I also think it's really important to note that I don't regret anything. I don't regret going public with him. I don't regret introducing him to my kids.”
In a Sept. 3 episode of Let’s Be Honest, the duo mentioned that Estes wants to have a family of his own someday, and that might have played into the decision to call it off. “Mark is a really good guy, and that's what makes it hard. But he will make someone so happy one day. He will have a beautiful family of his own, which he should do, and he should have multiple kids,” Cavallari said in her breakup announcement.
“I know that one day he will look back, and he will understand it, and I actually think one day he will thank me. That's just the hindsight that you don't have at age 24,” she added. “At age 24, it's so hard to think about the future.”
Though Cavallari ended things, she was “optimistic that [they] will remain friends” — even if it takes some time before they can get to that point.
As for Cavallari’s dating life, it’s not her priority. “[Dating is] not even on my on my radar right now. I have no interest in getting back into the dating world right now,” she said.
