Audrina Patridge is all in on former The Hills costar Kristin Cavallari‘s new younger man.
“At first I was like, ‘Is this real? Or is that a publicity stunt?’” Patridge, 38, teased while speaking exclusively with Us Weekly at DIRECTV’s Streaming With the Stars Oscars viewing party at Spago in Beverly Hills on Sunday, March 10.
Patridge’s mind was quickly changed, however. “They’re actually really cute together,” she told Us. “Maybe she needs to have some fun in her life.”
Cavallari, 37, went public with Mark Estes via Instagram on February 27 after the couple spent time together in Mexico. “He makes me happy 
,” she captioned a cozy selfie. Estes, 24, reposted Cavallari’s photo via his Instagram Story, adding two red heart emojis.
Kristin Cavallari Through the Years: From ‘Laguna Beach’ to Mother of 3
Patridge told Us that she reached out to Cavallari after the romance made headlines. “I had to text her. … She was like, ‘Oh, thank you so much,’” she recalled. “And I’m just happy for her. She deserves to be happy.”
When it comes to the discourse surrounding the couple’s age gap, Patridge doesn’t think Cavallari is affected at all. “Kristin is the last person that ever would [care],” she told Us. “She is going to live her life as she should.”
Cavallari proved just that when responding to trolls earlier this month. “When they’re all up in arms that I’m dating a 24 year old. Andddd?” she captioned a TikTok video on March 2.
In the clip, Cavallari mouthed along to a popular audio, “So what are you going to do about it? Are you going to arrest me? Are you going to give me a ticket?”
A Complete Guide to Kristin Cavallari’s Dating History
Estes has made a name for himself on TikTok as part of the Montana Boyz — and Cavallari has already been featured on the group’s page. She made her debut alongside Estes and his friends in a video uploaded on March 1. As Jason Aldean‘s “She’s Country” played in the background, Cavallari emerged from behind her boyfriend while wearing a “This Ain’t My First Coors Rodeo” shirt.
Cavallari further cemented the duo’s status by wearing a gold necklace with the initial “M” in a series of recent Instagram pics.
Like Patridge, plenty of Cavallari’s close friends have seen a spark between her and Estes. “After seeing them together, they realize Kristin and Mark have a genuine connection, and they see how happy he makes her,” a source exclusively told Us earlier this month.
A second insider revealed that the couple have been together “for a while,” adding, “She doesn’t care what people think when it comes to his age.”
With reporting by Amanda Williams
