Kristin Cavallari was one of the big stars who came out of the late 2000s reality show boom, part of MTV’s soapy “Laguna Beach” and “The Hills” that made her instant fodder for the tabloids when tabloids used to matter.
She partied hard, dated around and eventually grew up, marrying (and then divorcing) football player Jay Cutler and having three children. She did some acting. She founded Uncommon James, which sells jewelry, beauty and home goods. And she keeps coming back to reality TV including “Very Cavallari” from 2018 to 2020 on E!
About 18 months ago, Cavallari launched a successful weekly podcast “To Be Honest,” which she is taking on the road with a handful of dates including a nearly sold-out taping in Atlanta on Friday at Buckhead Theatre. A limited number of tickets are available at Live Nation starting at $75.50. The tour will also be captured in a new E! reality show this summer called “Honestly Cavallari: The Headline Tour.”
“Reality TV controlled my voice my entire career,” said Cavallari in a recent interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “This is the first time I’ve been in control. I’m my own boss.”
While many celebrities use social media to carefully curate their image, Cavallari never really cared for it.
“I was the last person to join Instagram,” she said. “My agency made me do it. I wanted no part of it. If I didn’t have this public persona, I wouldn’t be on it. I know I can’t just post work stuff. I have to sprinkle in personal stuff. It is not something that excites me.”
But her podcast enables Cavallari to go long-form and talk about whatever is on her mind. She can bring in a good friend to discuss funny dating stories or interview a doctor about brain health. “That’s what’s so fun,” she said. “I can talk about anything I’m in the mood for.”
Calling herself a “control freak,” she said she does the podcast largely by herself. “I have a producer who edits but I’m really a one-woman show,” she said. And she rarely takes a week off or banks an episode: “I try to keep it pretty much in real time.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
She said the idea of taping her podcast in front of a live audience makes her nervous. “I’ve done appearances and met people over the last 20 years but this is such a more vulnerable, personal way to open up to people,” she said. “It pushes me out of my comfort zone. This is a huge deal for me.”
Cavallari plans to bring in a guest, play some drinking games and take questions from the audience.
Part of her success in the public eye has been her ability to dish and speak her mind. “I know what to say and what not to say but that’s not authentic,” she said. “I often say whatever is on my mind and don’t think about the repercussions.”
Her upcoming reality show is not one where cameras follow her every move. “Gone are the days of me having to come up with storylines,” she said. “My life is peaceful and calm.”
Now divorced from Cutler, she lives near Nashville and has her kids most of the time, which limits her ability to do a show like “Very Cavallari,” she said.
“I live 35-40 minutes out of the city,” she said. “It’s perfect. There’s a real sense of community. I’m on a ton of land. My kids can ride go-karts. I don’t have photographers in my face like in Los Angeles. With my kids, that was unsettling. I can’t imagine raising them anywhere else.”
Filming her tour will provide a more controlled atmosphere for her to stay on TV. Then again, TV isn’t what it used to be for celebrities like her. Streaming services now dominate the world and shows like “The Hills” don’t really resonate anymore.
“I get more views on my Instagram than I would on a TV show,” she said. (She has 4.9 million Instagram followers.) “It’s sad to me. An entire era is dying down.”
IF YOU GO
Kristin Cavallari’s Headline Tour
7:30 p.m. Friday, March 7, $75.50-$108.50, Buckhead Theatre, 3110 Roswell Road, Atlanta. livenation.com.
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