Kaitlan Collins' Lavish Life Is Causing Drama At CNN (& We Can Smell The Jealousy From Here)

It didn't take long for Kaitlan Collins to achieve success as a journalist. She was already working for CNN just three years after Collins graduated from college in 2014, and just two years later, she was listed in Forbes' 2019 "30 Under 30" list. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, she doesn't seem to be winning any popularity contests within her own office. For instance, while Collins' glamorous Oscars outing may have bugged her professional rival Karoline Leavitt, it definitely seems to have annoyed some of her coworkers, as well.

"When you become more well known as a red carpet influencer than a journalist, there's a problem," one network executive griped to The Daily Mail in a behind-the-scenes look at Collins' colleagues. They added, "If I were Collins, I'd see this as a wakeup call and focus more on my day job and less on gallivanting around town." Among other things, the insider was referring to Collins' attendance at an Oscars dinner held by Vanity Fair before the actual award ceremony. The CNN anchor wasn't the only journalist invited to the event — The New York Times' Maureen Dowd was also present, and she and Collins even took a picture together.

While Dowd had fun chatting with stars, she was ultimately there for work, turning her experiences into an opinion piece for The New York Times. Dowd is a film critic, though, unlike Collins, whose job at CNN doesn't have much to do with the Academy Awards. Collins is certainly entitled to a night off, but that's hardly the only thing that's ruffling people's feathers.

In addition to the 2026 Oscars, Kaitlan Collins also attended the Grammy Awards a month earlier. Collins' appearances at these star-studded events may be due to her connection with Emilio Madrid. Relationship rumors about Collins and Madrid kicked into gear when they went to the Grammys together. However, Collins and Madrid have asserted their connection is wholly platonic. As a professional photographer, Madrid was busy on Oscars night taking photos at the CAA party while Collins was at the Vanity Fair dinner.

Besides all these fancy events, Collins' rumored $3 million CNN salary seems to be another significant source of friction. Collins was already said to be earning this hefty sum in 2024, before she returned to serving as CNN's chief White House correspondent in addition to anchoring her own show. By 2025, Collins' life became even more lavish when she bought a property in Nantucket, Massachusetts. While it makes sense that Collins might want to invest some of her earnings in real estate, her purchases only served to highlight income disparities at the network. "She just bought some bougie place and CNN people are grossed out that she paid so much," one insider complained to Page Six. "She's way overpaid."

Criticism aside, Collins still has plenty of supporters. "Good for Kaitlan Collins," filmmaker Ami Horowitz told Sky News at the time. "Let her buy all the beach houses." Horowitz argued that since Collins was receiving high ratings, she deserved to reap rewards. He must not have seen reports that "The Source with Kaitlan Collins" was doing poorly in the ratings, alongside just about everything else at CNN.