The 37-year-old reality star and mum-of-three was at her home in the Bahamas in 2020 with her young family when she woke up to find someone had broken inside. She was in the property with then-husband Jay Cutler, 41, and their kids Camden, 12, Jaxon, 10, and Saylor, 9. Recalling the incident on her Let’s Be Honest podcast, Cavallari said, “That night I had Cam in the bed with me. Cam and I were sleeping. Cam and I went to bed early before everybody, so I didn’t really know where everyone was in the house…”
Kristin Cavallari found masked intruder in her bedroom
Kristin Cavallari discovered a masked intruder crawling across her bedroom floor while she was asleep with her young son.
The reality star has opened up about a shocking break-in during a family holiday in the Bahamas in 2020 when she was still married to her ex Jay Cutler revealing she woke up to find a man wearing a black ski-mask on the floor close to the bed where she lay with her son Camden, now 12.
During an episode of her ‘Let’s Be Honest’ podcast, Kristin explained: “We were in the Bahamas during COVID – it was spring break. This is 2020 and then COVID hit so we ended up staying in the Bahamas for a month.
“We were in a really great, safe – what we thought was safe – gated resort.”
The family moved to a different property for the last week of the trip and that was when they were targeted by the intruder.
She added: “I had Camden in bed with me. Camden and I went to bed early before everybody so I didn’t really know where everyone was in the house.
“But I woke up to my bedroom door opening and it woke me up because of the light from the kitchen and I woke up to a man crawling on my bedroom floor.
“And I was so out of it because obviously I had just woken up but I go, ‘What the f*** are you doing?’”
The man ran out of the room and Kristin quickly realised it was not her husband.
She said: “I was like, ‘Oh f***.’ Like that was not Jay … I don’t know who that was. But because Camden was in bed with me I didn’t yell, I didn’t scream.
“You think in those moments that that’s what you would do but your instincts just kick in. I honestly felt like I was in ‘Mission :Impossible’.”
Kristin sent a message to her husband but he didn’t reply because he was asleep so she had to leave the bedroom to make sure the couple’s two other children Jaxon and Saylor were ok.
She went on: “Well, obviously Jay didn’t respond. It was like 1 a.m. or something. So I’m like, F*** I have to go out in the house by myself and leave my son here in bed’ … [I felt] like a Navy seal … You don’t think, you’re just like, ‘Go’.
“So I go out in the house and I don’t know where anybody is. I look in the bedroom across the way – no one is in there. I’m like, ‘What the f***.’
“I go upstairs because Jay was upstairs with Jaxon and Saylor … I guess they both were up there with him.
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“And I woke up Jay and once I woke Jay up then I got really nervous. Like really scared. Then I started shaking. I was able to process then what happened but until that point, I was not scared, I was really calm.”
The couple found cash had been taken from the house and the authorities later arrested a man in connection with the break-in.
She said: “Long story short, he took all the cash that we had in a backpack but we ended up getting it back. We found out who it was – it was the HVAC guy.”
However, the pair never told their children about the scary incident. She added: “That’s just one that I think would really scare them.
“That someone broke into our house, was crawling on the bedroom floor – and he was crawling on the bedroom floor going to the closet to get the jewelry.”
Kristin Cavallari’s scary encounter with an intruder reminds us how powerful a mom’s instincts can be
For Kristin Cavallari, a quiet night on vacation turned into a real-life nightmare—one that tested her instincts in ways she never imagined. The mom of three and Laguna Beach alum recently opened up about the terrifying moment on her Let’s Be Honest with Kristin Cavallari podcast, sharing that in 2020, while she was in bed with her son Camden, she woke up to find an intruder crawling across her bedroom floor.
“I woke up to a man crawling on my bedroom floor…and I go, ‘What the f— are you doing?’” Cavallari recounted. The intruder, masked and dressed in all black, bolted from the room. In that split second, Cavallari didn’t yell or panic. Instead, her instincts took over—to keep calm, to protect her son, and to move through the moment with quiet courage.
It’s a story that sounds like something out of a thriller, but for moms, it also feels deeply relatable. When danger appears—whether it’s a scary stranger, a sudden accident, or even just a child getting hurt—a mother’s protective instincts kick in with astonishing speed. Kristin’s story is an extreme example of something we see every day: moms rising to the occasion when their children need them most.
The power of maternal instincts in moments of fear
In Kristin’s case, her calm reaction was driven by a primal need to keep her son safe. Instead of panicking, she responded with sharp, protective focus—a reaction that so many moms recognize.
“Because Cam was in the bed with me, I didn’t yell. I didn’t scream,” she said. “You think in those moments that that’s what you’d do, but your instincts just kick in.”
The truth is, parents often underestimate how strong and capable they can be when their children are involved. Whether it’s catching a child before they fall, staying eerily calm in an emergency, or fighting off panic to tend to an injury, maternal instincts are a force of nature. Science backs it up—research has shown that the brain’s protective and caregiving systems kick into overdrive when a parent perceives their child is in danger.
In fact, neurological studies have identified specific brain regions, such as the amygdala and prefrontal cortex, that are activated in these moments. This heightened brain activity facilitates rapid and appropriate protective behaviors. Additionally, the concept of “matrescence” describes the profound neurological and psychological changes mothers undergo, preparing them to prioritize their child’s well-being and act instinctively in high-pressure situations.
Kristin’s experience also reminds us that instincts don’t always look like we expect them to. Sometimes, they’re loud and action-packed. Other times, as Kristin described, they’re calm, quiet, and laser-focused on keeping a child safe.
The emotional weight of protecting our kids
One detail of Kristin’s story hits home for so many mothers: she never told her kids what happened. Even now, years later, her children—Camden (12), Jaxon (10), and Saylor (9)—still don’t know about the ordeal.
“I will not tell them, probably, until they’re adults,” she shared. “Because I just think some things kids do not need to know.”
It’s a powerful reminder of the invisible labor moms shoulder every day to shield their kids from harm—both physical and emotional. We filter the world, deciding what to share, what to protect them from, and when it’s the right time to have difficult conversations. Kristin’s choice not to tell her kids might feel familiar to moms who’ve quietly shouldered fears, worries, or struggles while staying strong for their children.
What Kristin Cavallari’s story teaches us
Kristin Cavallari’s experience might be extraordinary, but the lessons are universal. Mothers—and parents in general—are capable of incredible strength in moments of crisis.
Whether it’s staying calm during an unexpected emergency, leaping into action to protect your child, or simply showing up day after day with love and resilience, your instincts are powerful. You may not always feel prepared, but when the moment comes, you rise to it—just like Kristin did.
And if there’s one takeaway from her story, it’s this: Moms are often stronger and braver than they know, especially when it comes to protecting the people they love most.
