It could be a pair-up that would make MTV programming executives drool, but Laguna Beach girl Kristin Cavallari and former Newlyweds star Nick Lachey are insisting that recent reports -- including a cover story in this week's Us Weekly -- that the pair have been seeing each other are not true.
ADVERTISEMENT
"There's nothing to talk about, there's nothing going on," Kristin, who recently saw UPN pull her new Get This Party Started reality series after only two weeks, told Us rival People in an article published in the magazine's current issue. "He's a nice guy, but I'd have to say we're just friends."
Nick, currently in the middle of an increasingly contentious divorce from former Newlyweds wife Jessica Simpson and already previously linked to former Miss Kentucky Elizabeth Ann Arnold, didn't comment directly to People, however according to one of his pals, mere coincidence is behind the Nick/Kristin romance reports.
According to Nick's friend, rumors of Nick/Kristin relationship began when, after dining at Los Angeles' Palomino restaurant, Nick and his family stopped by the restaurant's bar area after completing their dinner. Kristin was also reportedly there with some of her friends, and the two groups chatted. A few days later, both also happened to dine at LA's Koi restaurant, however Lachey was said to there with one of his agents, not Kristin.
"Whatever happened was extremely casual," the friend told People. "Nick is not looking for a girlfriend or anything serious. He is a single guy now."
ADVERTISEMENT
However according to Us, its report that the 32-year-old Nick and 19-year-old Kristin are hooking up is based on far more than two coincidental encounters. According to Us' story -- out on newsstands in the same week as People's report -- sightings of the pair date back to February 7, when Nick and Kristin were spotted holding hand and "being flirty" at the New York birthday party of A.J. DiScala, one of Nick's best friends.
Following that, the two reportedly spent the nights of February 23 and 24 together. According to Us the pair "were so entwined [that] 'friends were joking that they should get a room.'" "Nick was leaning up against a table and Kristin was sitting in between his legs," a source told Us about the late night gathering in A.J.'s W hotel suite. "They were just chilling like a couple." But according to the magazine's source, the pair's W hotel liaisons remained "strictly PG." "She didn't get naked, but she spent the night," said the Us source.
Us reports that the two restaurant encounters cited by People didn't occur until February 27 and March 2 -- several days after Nick and Kristin had already spent back-to-back nights at the W hotel.
However although Us has more information about Nick and Kristin's encounters, it also reports that the pair appear to no longer be seeing each other -- but with each side's sources claiming that the other one is still interested in pursuing a relationship.
"She is too young for him," the magazine's Nick source said. "Kristin was interested in developing something. He's not."
ADVERTISEMENT
"He is still calling her. They are still talking," one of Kristin's friends countered to Us. "He is the one initiating contact," added another of the magazine's Kristin sources. "Kristin is not the kind of girl who gets played."