Kristin Cavallari is providing insight into one of her headline-making romances.
The Very Cavallari star opened up about her past romance with Nick Lachey, who she dated shortly after his 2006 divorce from Jessica Simpson.
"This was a wild time in my life, because I was, overnight, on the cover of every tabloid," the 37-year-old said on the Nov. 26 episode of her Let’s Be Honest podcast. "I had so many paparazzi following my every move, waiting outside of my house."
According to Kristin, she was 18 or 19 when she began dating the 98 Degrees frontman, and his newly single status at the time put a major spotlight on her.
"He had just gotten a divorce from Jessica Simpson," she said. "So this was, like, the biggest thing in 2006. It was a wild ride."
Nick—who is married to Vanessa Lachey—and Jessica divorced in June 2006 after four years of marriage. Kristin noted that at the time, media and photographers would compare her to the “With You” singer and accused her of stealing her style and red carpet poses.
"There are like four f--kng poses you can do on a red carpet,” Kristin quipped. “like, my hand on my hip? You think I'm stealing her poses? Like, what?"
Kristin’s brief encounter with the Love Is Blind host also taught her a big lesson about Hollywood and the people that are around you. In particular, she recounted a time when a friend sold a picture of her and Nick to the tabloids.
Before going into the story, Kristin—who shares kids Camden, 12, Jaxon, 10, and Saylor, 9, with ex Jay Cutler—noted, "This was when I really started to kind of lose trust in some people.”
The Hills alum went on to detail the moment a former friend leaked a picture of her and Nick while hanging out at the club.
"I was out one night with my friend, and Nick was there, and we were all sitting together. We were at a club," Kristin said. “She acted like she was taking a photo of just me and her, right? Nick is in it next to me, but he's not looking at the camera because everyone thought it was a picture of me and [my friend], but Nick is actually in it a little bit."
She continued, “So [she] sold this picture for $2500 and it’s not even a good picture. It’s an awful photo, in fact it doesn’t even look like we’re together. It looks like they took two pictures of us and put them together.”
In the end, the mishap with the friend taught her a life lesson.
“That was kind of the first real sense of betrayal I felt,” Kristin said. “Like wow, I’m not even safe with people I think are my friends. That was my introduction to shadiness.”
Kristin hasn’t held back about her past. On the same episode of Let’s Be Honest, she detailed a DM she received from Scott Disick. And earlier this month, Kristin confirmed her brief romance with Morgan Wallen and explained why she believes her friendship with Kelly Henderson ended because of Jay Cutler rumors.
Keep reading to look back at Kristin's star-studded dating history...
Stephen Colletti
You never forget your first love...especially when MTV's cameras are around to document every high and low in the dramatic relationship. Viewers got to see Kristin Cavallari and Stephen Colletti's love story play out on Laguna Beach for two seasons, with the pair, who began dating the year before the show began filming, and Lauren Conrad delivering one of TV's great love triangles.
"We loved hard and fought hard. My relationship with Stephen went from our own high school romance to the fodder of a hugely successful television show," Kristin wrote in her 2016 book, Balancing in Heels. "Stephen was the most important thing in my life, and there was nothing I cared about more. I hated fighting with him on camera because it felt like I was airing all our dirty laundry."
While their romance couldn't make it out of high school intact, the two have remained friends, with Kristin once telling E! News he was down to make an appearance on Very Cavallari.
Talan Torriero
Speaking to E! News in 2022, Laguna Beach's resident lothario Talan Torriero admitted that while everyone was focused on the LC-Stephen-KCav triangle, "The reality is there were so many other storylines going on behind the scenes. Not even with myself, but with Kristin or even with Lauren. Lauren had other boyfriends while she was high school, some really cool dudes that I know that never wanted to be on the show or were on the show."
As for his hot-and-cold romance with Kristin, "I will say that before the show aired, there were already relationships happening, or hookups, if you will," Talan clarified. "I didn't hang out with Lauren until later, like in my second season or something. Kristin, junior and senior year, on and off."
Matt Leinart
In the season two premiere of Laguna, Stephen is devastated when he learns Kristin has moved on after he left for school, dating "Matt, this guy at USC."
This guy at USC would turn out to be Matt Leinart, USC's star quarterback who would go on to play in the NFL. Matt never ended up appearing on the MTV hit and his romance with Kristin was short-lived.
The pair briefly sparked reconciliation rumors when they were spotted together in Vegas in 2008, but Kristin and Matt didn't officially huddle up again.
Brody Jenner
While they would later fake a romance for The Hills' later seasons, Kristin and Brody Jenner did date years prior shortly after her tenure on Laguna Beach ended when they were introduced by Talan.
"I dated Brody when I was 18, right after Laguna Beach, actually, and that's it," she spilled on Bethenny in 2012. " And then on the show, on The Hills, they had us 'dating' for a few episodes."
Though they were on and off for almost a year, the pair were officially dunzo in 2006. "It's just hard right now because I am working all the time," she told People. "We're still good friends though."
Nick Lachey
Kristin and 98 Degrees singer Nick Lachey sparked romance rumors when they were spotted together in early 2006, a year after his high-profile split from then-wife Jessica Simpson.
Kristin shot down the rumors at the time, telling People, "There's nothing to talk about, there's nothing going on. He's a nice guy, but I'd have to say we're just friends."
Though, as she later admitted, she was simply trying to escape the sudden, glaringly hot attention.
"This was a wild time in my life, because I was, overnight, on the cover of every tabloid," she shared on a November 2024 episode of her Let’s Be Honest podcast. "I had so many paparazzi following my every move, waiting outside of my house."
Fresh off the end of his Newlyweds era with Jessica, "This was, like, the biggest thing in 2006," she added. "It was a wild ride."
Nick Zano
Shortly after her romance with Brody fizzled out, Kristin began dating actor Nick Zano, best known for the WB sitcom What I Like About You.
Things were pretty serious between the two, with Kristin even getting his initials tattooed on her wrist.
But when the pair called it quits in December 2007, Kristin had the tattoo removed.
Miguel Medina
While Kristin was faking romances on-screen with Brody and Justin Bobby Brescia, she was actually secretly dating someone behind-the-scenes during her time on The Hills.
In 2010, Kristin was dating MTV camerman Miguel Medina, managing to keep their relationship a secret even from her co-stars Heidi Montag and Audrina Patridge.
"We dated for a few months and nobody knew," she revealed to her former co-stars in an episode of Very Cavallari. "And I was dating Brody on the show and like, meanwhile, Miguel was, like, filming it."
She then went on to say their relationship was exposed toward the end of their time working together because "paparazzi got us at the airport a week before we wrapped the show. That's how we got caught."
Jay Cutler
Shortly after she wrapped her romance with Miguel, Kristin caught the eye of then-Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler. While the athlete made a big play a year into their romance, proposing in 2011, Kristin ended the relationship a few months later, sharing in her book Balancing In Heels, that "a few things needed to change."
Having properly diagrammed the Xs and Os, the pair welcomed son Camden in August 2012, married in June 2013 and went on to add to their squad with son Jaxon in May 2014 and daughter Saylor in November 2015. Though they seemed to be a solid team, Kristin has come clean about their locker room dynamic since they announced the end of their marriage in April 2020.
"The scariest thing that I've ever done is get a divorce," she said on The School of Greatness podcast in 2022. "But it's been the best thing that I've ever done and that has really jumpstarted my journey on self-love and figuring out who I am now."
Jeff Dye
Following her divorce from Jay, Kristin tried to find the funny with Los Angeles-based comedian Jeff Dye. But despite exchanging those three little words during a January 2021 Instagram Live, "It was never that serious to begin with," an insider told E! News that March, announcing their split. "She was having fun."
At least one of them was. "We didn't even really date," the comic recounted in November 2024. "I'm gonna say that publicly. She made me think that I might have a chance with her. She treated me like a little puppy."
Chase Rice
By August 2021, Kristin found a new duet partner in country singer Chase Rice. "At the moment, it's still casual. It's new," the insider told E! News at the time. "She's been to one of his shows already and they're having fun."
But weeks later, it appeared the Nashville residents were enjoying solo acts, with Kristin sharing on Instagram, "I'm currently not dating anyone."
Morgan Wallen
While the rest of Kristin's love life is still unwritten, she came clean about one chapter in late 2024—her dalliance with country singer Morgan Wallen.
"He's a great f--k buddy," Kristin said on a December episode of Bunnie XO's Dumb Blonde podcast. "He was good in bed."
And he's got some smooth moves out of the bedroom as well.
"The first date that we went on, he was a true gentleman," she added, "and he was like, 'I'll pick you up, I'll pick the place,' like, just f--king handled business." And after scoring a private room after the venue they visited, "He kissed me in the rain," she revealed, "and it was the sweetest thing."
Mark Estes
Though Kristin dubbed Montana Boyz TikTok star Mark Estes “the best boyfriend" she's ever had, she had to be honest about how much she struggled with their 13-year age gap.
“I broke up with Mark because I just know long term it’s not right,” she shared on her podcast in October 2024, shortly after announcing the end of their seven-month romance. “It’s not because of love lost or something bad happened, no one cheated, no one was mean. No one did anything. Those breakups are always the hardest, I think.”
Ultimately, though, “I just know long term he needs to experience life,” she explained. “He’s young, I mean, he is. I started to feel the age a little bit just with life experience. I look back on when I was 24 and how much life has happened for me between then. Those are crucial years; those are formative years. This is when you find yourself, and he needs to be able to do that.”
Nate Thompson
Months after teasing that she had been “dating” a retired athlete, Kristin confirmed she was referring to the former NHL player on her podcast in April 2025.
“He's someone who has done a lot of work on himself, and we really connected on such a deep level,” she said, describing the romance as “one of the deeper relationships I've had.”
Later that day, Nate addressed the relationship on his own podcast, Energy Line, echoing Kristin’s high praise.
“She’s a cool person,” he gushed. “We had a good time. Life is gonna life and it just didn’t work out.”