The former reality TV star now has a baby, a fiancé, and, apparently, a thing for bright green Spandex.
About two dozen reporters and photographers huddled in the middle of the 17,000-square-foot Spirit Halloween store in Manhattan on Thursday. We were all there because Kristin Cavallari, of mid-2000's reality TV staples Laguna Beach and The Hills, would be there judging a costume contest.
I've probably seen every episode of Laguna Beach, and maybe half of The Hills; since I was in high school around that time, I identified with the shows in some small but strong way (even if I tended to spend less time planning hotel parties and more time trying to find clever ways to beat the Elite Four in Pokémon Silver). I was excited to see Kristin as she was now, years older and seemingly done with that phase of her life.
When I asked her if she felt different from the person she was on Laguna Beach and The Hills, she said she didn't. "I'm still me," she said. "I'm just an older, more mature version of myself. Where my life is heading is in such a great place, and I couldn't be happier. Having a baby is just so much fun."
A bloodcurdling shriek rang out across the room, followed immediately by nervous laughter. It was a Halloween store, after all, and sometimes things jump out at you.
"Sorry, people who's behind me!" a photographer in a backwards baseball cap shouted, only half-joking. "I don't give a shit! I shoot like THIS!" He hoisted his gigantic camera over his head and flailed it around for effect. I was reminded of the iconic "I'm not here to make friends!" line made popular by every reality show since the genre was invented. (Except, maybe, for Laguna Beach.)
Kristin had arrived with her publicist and a bodyguard. She was beautiful, in the shockingly normal way that somebody you work next to or do yoga with is beautiful. She was also tiny, especially considering that she gave birth in August. Her son with fiancé Jay Cutler is named Camden. He's going to be a lion this Halloween, "because he's a Leo," Kristin said, although she and Jay don't plan on dressing up.
