Kristin Cavallari opened up about her brother Michael’s death during a Facebook Live chat with Us Weekly on Thursday, October 13. Watch the video above to see what the Hills alum had to say!
For Cavallari, 29, nothing comes before family. The mother of three faced an unspeakable tragedy last December when her older brother Michael died of hypothermia at the age of 30 following a car crash in Grand County, Utah.
But after allowing herself time to mourn, she tells Us, the reality star knew it was time to soldier on.
“I did at the time, and I still do find a lot of strength in my children, because of the timing of everything,” she said, in a nod to her daughter Saylor’s birth in November, just one month before Michael’s death. “You can’t just stay in bed and feel sorry for yourself. You gotta get up. You have other lives you have to take care of. You have to put food on the table and get them dressed and off to school and everything. So yeah, you can’t just feel sorry for yourself.”
Michael was found dead in the Salt Wash region of Grand County, Utah, on December 10. Authorities told Us that he was discovered in a “steep and very rocky area” after crashing his car. His death was ruled an accident in February.
Cavallari’s family held a small ceremony in his honor this past June, in time for what would have been his birthday, she tells Us.
“My brother’s birthday was June 11, and so my family — my mom, my stepdad, my dad, Jay [Cutler] and I — all went out to Utah where he was found,” she said. “And we put a little plaque in the rock where he was found and had our own sort of service for him. … It was more of a celebration.”
Cavallari and husband Cutler, 33, are parents of three children — Camden, 4, Jaxon, 2, and Saylor, 10 months.
Watch the Us Weekly video above to hear more about what the Balancing in Heels author had to say.
