Kristin Cavallari’s ex Mark Estes was left in shock over her decision to end their seven month relationship, and pleaded with the mother-of-three to reconsider.
Cavallari, 37, choked back tears as she confirmed in a candid interview on her podcast, Let’s Be Honest, that she had broken up with the Montana Boyz star, 24, last week, before claiming that he will one day ‘thank’ her.
Now, sources have said Mark was not happy with the decision, unlike some close to Cavallari who had always had reservations about the TikTok influencer.
‘It was Kristin who pulled the plug on this and although Mark was not onboard with it, he really has no other choice,’ the insider told DailyMail.com exclusively.
‘The age gap was not an issue in the beginning but then it was because of the different places that they are in their lives.
Kristin Cavallari’s ex Mark Estes was left in shock over the reality star’s decision to end their relationship, insiders claim
Sources claim that the TikTok star pleaded with the mother-of-three to reconsider the split
‘Mark was hoping that it was going to last. He did ask her to reconsider and still wants her to. He had gotten close to her kids.’
The source explained that Kristin’s certainty about not wanting more kids was the reason for her decision.
‘Kristin is done having children,’ they said. ‘She loves being a mother but does not want to go through it again.
‘Mark does want to have a family and children and that is why she said that he will “thank her” – because he will.’
Kristin had explained on her podcast: ‘He will make someone so happy one day… and he will have a beautiful family of his own.
‘I know that one day he will look back and understand it and I actually think one day he will look back and thank me.’
The source reiterated that cheating had not played a part in the break up, and added that their short-lived romance ‘showed Kristin how beautiful she was’ and ‘restored the confidence she lost after the divorce with Jay.’
Speaking about Mark in her podcast, Kristin had insisted that the young social media star had been her best boyfriend since her divorce from former NFL star Jay Cutler.
The source explained to DailyMail.com that TikTok star Mark was not happy with the decision, but that some of Kristin’s friends had had reservations about him
However, friends of the star had always been weary of the age-gap romance – especially due to the fact Mark was still very new to fame and focused on building his following.
‘Some people close to Kristin were concerned about his thirst for Montana Boyz getting famous,’ they said. ‘He was kind of consumed with this. It was never a red flag to Kristin because this is how she met him, but it became a concern to those around her.’
The insider added: ‘As much as he would never want to admit it, she did help his rise to recognition.’
Opening up about her decision to end the romance in her podcast, Kristin told fans: ‘Mark and I broke up. It’s hard because I broke up with Mark because I just know long-term it’s not right, and it’s not because of love lost or something bad happened.’
She went on to praise the influencer for being ‘nothing but be so sweet and so supportive’ during their relationship.
‘He’s been the best boyfriend I’ve ever had,’ she said. ‘I just know long-term he needs to experience life, he’s young… I started to feel the age a little bit with life experience.’
‘Mark was hoping that it was going to last,’ the insider said. ‘He did ask her to reconsider and still wants her to. He had gotten close to her kids’
Kristin continued: ‘I look back when I was 24 and how much life has happened between then, those are crucial years, those are formative years, they’re when you find yourself and he needs to be able to do that.’
The fashion designer stressed that she was ‘aware’ of their 13-year age gap and hadn’t been ‘ignoring the fact that he was younger.’
Still, she insisted her and Mark’s relationship was the ‘best’ of her life and ‘very healthy and very mature.’
Despite their breakup, Kristin insisted that she doesn’t ‘regret going public with him’ or ‘introducing him’ to her three kids Camden, 11, Jaxon, 9, and Saylor, 8 who she shares with ex-husband Jay.
The Uncommon James founder also stated that she was ‘optimistic’ that she and Mark would remain friends.
The podcast host previously revealed that Mark first came to her attention in September 2023 when she was going through TikTok, spotted him and immediately thought he was ‘so hot.’
‘Some people close to Kristin were concerned about his thirst for Montana Boyz getting famous,’ the insider added. ‘He was kind of consumed with this’
Kristin spoke about the ‘benefit’ of staying friends with her exes, just days before news broke that she and Mark had split after seven months of dating
She then received an ‘I love you’ message from the Montana Boyz account and invited them on to her podcast, where she immediately hit it off with Mark.
Recalling their first meeting she said: ‘That attraction was always there, but when I met him, I was like, he’s actually a really nice, good guy. He’s very sweet from the jump. He was so sweet to me.
‘Me dating a 24-year-old is not something that I was searching out. It’s not something that I at all ever thought would ever happen. I understand what it looks like to the outside world. I really do. I get that. He is not a typical 24-year-old.
‘I think it’s a lot of things. I think sex for women just gets better as you get older. Because I think women, when you’re in your early 20s and stuff, you’re insecure in a lot of ways, you’re worried about your body or what [you] look like. I’ve let all of that go and I think I am more present physically during sex than I’ve ever been. And I’m so wildly attracted to [Mark]. And I just think we have really hot sex.’
Kristin was married to Jay for seven years before they separated in 2020.