Photo: getty
She's a hairstylist and makeup artist. For men.
By Amy Lamare — Written on Apr 26, 2020
Season three of E!'s Very Cavallari is underway and it's predictably delivering delicious drama.
It's been 15 years since Kristin Cavallari first made her reality TV debut on Laguna Beach. From there she went to The Hills, and now, at 32, fans are still interested in following her life with her husband Jay Cutler, their three kids, and her company, Uncommon James.
But who is Kelly Henderson? Kristin's BFF Henderson was featured heavily in the show, and the two women often did typical things best friends do together, such as talking about dating. However, when Henderson was noticeably absent from the third season premiere, many were surprised as Cavallari explained that she and Henderson were no longer best friends.
Why? Rumors had surfaced about her former bestie having an affair with her husband, Jay Cutler.
Who is Kelly Henderson — and did she cheat with Jay Cutler?
Read on to find out the details about Kristin Cavallari's former best friend and their falling out.
She's a lifestyle blogger.
Kelly Henderson grew up in Louisiana and went to LSU. She has a lifestyle blog called Velvet's Edge that features advice on life and dating, travel tips, and fitness and health content. She also runs a shop on the blog where readers can buy the looks featured on Very Cavallari.
On the "About Me" page of her blog, she reveals that most of her family is in Tennesse and Texas. She lives in Nashville. She's single and has “No kids. No pets. I travel too much for any of that at the moment, but working on it. Maybe. One day. Soon. But, sometime. Eventually. Maybe.” She also has a podcast.
What is Kelly Henderson's day job?
Henderson has been a hair and makeup artist in Nashville for more than a decade. She primarily works on the grooming of men. She has a celebrity client base which has included Dierks Bentley, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt, Kip Moore, Kelsea Ballerini, Aubrie Sellers, Tucker Beathard, Sam Palladio, and the cast of Nashville.
Her work has been featured in Rolling Stone, People, US Weekly, Glamour and more. She has also worked as a stylist for many of the same clients listed previously.
What is grooming and makeup for men?
Grooming hair cuts, beard trims, cleaning up skin, covering under-eye bags or dark circles and other problem areas. It is basically just making sure the man looks like the best version of themselves without looking like they spent hours on their hair or are visibly wearing makeup.
Henderson said, "My mentality with guys is less is more, they are rockstars not drag queens, ya know? Love my queens too, but not the look for my country singers."
Jay Cutler tried to play matchmaker for her.
Cavallari and Henderson spent a lot of time together because they were best friends, but also because Henderson is not just single, but was plagued by terrible dates. Her friends, including Cavallari's husband Jay Cutler, were often seen helping her find her Mr. Right.
Henderson said, "I don't have time to date." Cutler was having none of that. He responded, "I feel like there's a lot of complaining and what-ifs. You just gotta get out there and do it."
Cavallari tried to come to Henderson's defense, saying she does date. Cutler disagreed. "She dates people in her little bubble, in her little circle," he added. So, he offered to take matters within his own hands.
So, what is Henderson's type?
Cutler offered to take Henderson out and introduce her to new guys. She asked him if he even knew what her type was.
Cutler said, "Someone that's confident in who they are. Someone that's independent, has their own thing going on. He's got an artistic streak to him. He leans more toward skinny jeans. I don't wanna say he's a hipster, because he might have a corporate job where he wears slim, nice fitting suits."
Henderson confirmed that he was pretty much on the nose with her type of guy. He then offered to manage Henderson's dating profiles for her.
Did Jay Cutler have an affair with Kelly Henderson?
Cutler playing matchmaker for Cavallari's former best friend seems particularly strange, now that cheating rumors have surfaced between the two. In fact, the rumors started up after an episode in the show's second season that showed Henderson and Cutler getting drinks together, and Cutler helping her find potential dates.
After the episode, fans immediately took to social media to comment on the outing, with many starting to wonder if Cutler and Henderson may have been more than just friends. Others also wondered if this may have been the cause for Cavallari's falling out with Henderson.
However, it all seems to just be speculation by fans as nothing has been confirmed beyond the rumors.
Cavallari and Henderson are no longer on speaking terms.
On the third season premiere of her show, Cavallari addressed the state of her broken friendship with Henderson.
“The biggest change in my personal life is that my best friend Kelly and I haven’t talked in two months. We’ve had a major falling out and it’s just been breaking my heart.”
She then went on to address the cheating rumors, saying, “When season 2 was airing, there was a lot of talk on social media about Jay and Kelly having an affair. Not for one second have I ever thought that it was true. It wasn’t the actual accusations of them having an affair that made me upset, it was how Kelly went about it.”
Although Cavallari said that she didn't believe the cheating rumors, she was ultimately hurt by how Henderson handled them. The reality star revealed this to two of her close friends, Justin Anderson and Stephanie Biegel.
"She wanted to post something about it. I was like, ‘Don’t post anything about it! That’s the last thing you do.’ Why do you want to post about that? To get more attention about it. If I was accused of having an affair with your husband, I wouldn’t say his f***ing name on social media. Like, like come on! It kind of blows my mind. I was like, ‘Here’s how your actions have affected me.’ And she wrote me back and she was really defensive. The point is I feel very used. I care way too much about her to just be like, ‘Oh, f*** her,’ or whatever. But I’m not willing to just let it go. And I don’t know if I’m ready to just move on from it,” Cavallari said.
Cavallari also revealed she had tried to reach out to Henderson multiple times.
She added, “I kept trying to reach out to her and talk to her about it and tell her how I was feeling, and instead of her just owning her side of it and being like, ‘I’m sorry. Oh my god, that was never my intention,’ or whatever, she kept giving me pushback and would get really defensive. And then she literally just stopped responding to me. That, to me, is such a slap in the face. You don’t care? Good to know.”
Amy Lamare is a Los Angeles based freelance writer covering entertainment, pop culture, beauty, fashion, fitness, technology, and the intersection of technology, business, and philanthropy. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook.