Why Kristin Cavallari Believes Her Stepmom 'Kind of Hated Me'

As part of her rewatch of The Hills on her Let's Be Honest with Kristin Cavallari podcast, the reality star gave some insight into her ex stepmom's alleged reaction to her application for the original series, which began when Cavallari was in high school back in 2004.

The subject came up when her father Dennis and former stepmother Nicole King made an appearance on The Hills episode she was revisiting, something that actually surprised her. Sharing that she always had a "pretty weird" relationship with her father -- saying she was "always very uncomfortable around him" while calling him a "typical narcissist" -- Cavallari then explained she was "floored" to see Nicole in the episode as well.

"In high school, when MTV came, we filled out these huge [application] packets ... I talked about my stepmom a lot in my packet. I talked about how I didn't like her and she was closer to my age than my dad," Cavallari said. "I talked about how much I disliked her."

"I remember Nicole grabbing my packet -- literally grabbing it out of my hands in high school ... read it, obviously saw what I said about her and she was pissed," continued Cavallari, who added, "Rightfully so, I get it."

Because of that, said Kristin, her stepmother "always had this hate for MTV, this complete disdain" -- so much so, according to Cavallari, that Nicole "actually threatened to leave when the second season of Laguna Beach was happening."

Per the reality star, her stepmother "told my dad that if I did the second season, she was gonna move out. And my dad said, 'Then get the f--k out.'" Cavallari added things got "a bit more intense" between the pair, saying they had a "a really nasty fight that I witnessed between them."

"She always hated MTV and I think kind of hated me because of it," Cavallari concluded, before claiming Nicole also once dressed up as her for Halloween as the show was airing.

King, however, shut down Cavallari's version of events, telling PEOPLE, "I honestly do not have anything to say. What was said does not reflect the truth. I care about my stepdaughter and wish her the best."

Cavallari has been open about her estrangement from her father, revealing in 2023 that she went no contact with him two years prior. It's a decision she's called the best she's "ever made."

"There's not one day where I miss him. I don't know if it was two or three years ago, but I mean, I was an adult, let's say I was 35 [when I decided]. It was 35 years of buildup to that point," she told PEOPLE of the decision last year.

According to Cavallari, the beginning of the end of her relationship with her father was when he "crossed the line" with her children.

The Uncommon James founder said that after that unspecified incident, she made a decision. "I was like, 'You know what? I'm f--king done,'" said Cavallari. "And he blamed me for it, like threw everything back in my face."

She has not gone into further detail about what led to the split.