Kristin Cavallari Returns Home After Facing Backlash For 3-Week Bahamas Quarantine

Kristin Cavallari and her husband Jay Cutler were “stuck” in the Bahamas on an extended vacation amid the coronavirus pandemic ― and fans aren’t exactly feeling sorry for them. 

The reality TV star and her family are catching all sorts of flack for remaining in the islands with friend and hairstylist Justin Anderson for three weeks instead of returning home, despite dire recommendations by the U.S. Embassy and Bahamian government.

Cavallari, based in Nashville, Tennessee, first posted about her travels last month, when she arrived in New York City the same day Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency, TV writer Claire Downs noted in a highly detailed Twitter thread that went viral this week. 

Cavallari, who also designs Uncommon James jewelry, nevertheless headed off to the Bahamas around March 15 for what she called a “modern family spring break,” documenting her sun-kissed travels on social media for her millions of followers to thirst over. 

Cavallari posted a photo on her Instagram with Anderson on the beach after the Bahamas announced its first confirmed case of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Anderson, who appears this season on the E! reality show “Very Cavallari,” shared on his own Instagram that the group was “stuck on an empty island” and that “couldn’t leave here if we tried.”

The hairstylist added that he was “afraid of what we will go home to when they let us back into the States,” giving fans the impression that they had no choice but to remain beachside. 

Except, at that point, as Downs noted in her thread, the Bahamas had not yet restricted travel, and the U.S. was allowing citizens to return home with certain precautions. 

Cavallari and crew continued to flaunt their travels on social media, while also promoting her jewelry brand, as the Bahamas issued a lockdown order that included a mandatory curfew and shutdown of nonessential businesses.

But the vacationers seemingly went on as usual, with Anderson saying “this island family has figured out our groove” three weeks into isolation.

The Bahamian government banned all incoming travel on March 24 and urged remaining international visitors to immediately work with airlines to return home. 

Travelers “who choose to remain … should prepare to do so for an indefinite period of time,” the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Aviation warned as confirmed cases in the country’s capital Nassau rose to four. 

The Bahamian government announced on Monday that there would be a full lockdown starting Wednesday, fully restricting travel in and out of the islands and closing all businesses, including grocery stores. U.S. citizens were given the option to shelter in place or return to the United States via one of four commercial flights or with a private charter before the lockdown took effect, per the U.S. Embassy website.

Cavallari and her group presumably took one of the flights. She revealed on Instagram on Tuesday that she was back at home in Nashville. 

“We had a short window to get out of the Bahamas so we jumped all over it,” Cavallari informed followers. 

But fans aren’t exactly cheering her return. Many criticized her for traveling to the Bahamas in the first place during the pandemic and for failing to leave when the crisis became clear. 

“GO HOME. FLATTEN THE CURVE. Privileged millionaire germs are still germs,” one fan wrote on Instagram. 

“You seem completely out of touch with what’s going on in the world right now,” another added.