Olivia Palermo: From Socialite to Fashionista, the New York Sophisticate Continues her Paris Fashion Week Jaunt

Empty Lighthouse is a reader-supported site. This article may contain affiliate links to Amazon and other sites. We earn a commission on purchases made through these links.

Remember "The City," the Whitney Port's spinoff from "The Hills"? Yup, that's where we first spotted Olivia Palermo.

Although she's spun herself as a fashion maven since then, this New York sophisticate first grabbed the spotlight through a turn on an MTV reality show.

Given that Palermo is best known for her quotation on the point of life, "I think that life is about falling in love with the right person, shopping, eating your favorite decadent desserts and traveling a lot," just who has this socialite fallen in love with? And how did she get her start? We give you the scoop on Olivia Palermo's love life and her ascent into the fashion world.

.

Love life: Olivia Palermo and Joannes Huebl 2008-

Olivia Palermo first began dating Joannes Huebl in 2008. They two dated for almost 6 years before getting married in 2014. Joannes Huebl is a German model and could easily give Olivia Palermo a run for her money in terms of his looks and his fashion sense.

Palermo is reported to have worn skinny jeans and converse sneakers on their first date. Olivia Palermo and Joannes Huebl got married in a small ceremony in Bedford, NY, during which Palermo opted to wear separates rather than traditional one-piece wedding dress.

They had announced their engagement on Instagram.

Olivia Palermo and Brad Leinhardt 2007-2008

Brad Leinhardt was someone Olivia Palermo was seen with prior to her long-term commitment to Joannes Huebl. She seemed to attend plenty of social functions in New York with him.

Brad Leinhardt was also known for creating the fashion line "Izzy Gold." However, all trace of him vanished by about 2008.

Olivia Palermo's Rise to Fame

There's no question that Olivia Palermo has always lived the good life. Born in Greenwich, CT, Palermo is the daughter of a real estate developer and an interior designer.

She attended the well-known Manhattan preparatory school, Nightingale-Bamford, upon which the private school featured in the popular TV series "Gossip Girl" was based.

Though Palermo was cast in "The City," it appears her prominence within the New York socialite circuit was what first shot her to prominence. This happened while she was interning at Quest. While attending an auction, her photo was taken by Patrick McMullen. She then began attending more and more charity events, and became friendly with New York's elite socialite crowd.

According to New York Magazine, she hired a publicist, met fashion designers and joined the right charities. Still, despite her best efforts, Olivia Palermo became the subject of torment from a website called "Socialite Rank." In fact, the website printed a letter said to have been penned by Oilvia Palermo, asking other socialites to stop mocking her.

When Palermo denied ever having written the letter and hired a lawyer, the event fueled gossip that got featured in Radar and the Daily News, and ultimately, shot Palermo to becoming a household name.

And there you have it, the start of yet another celebrity multi-hyphenate!

Photo Credit: Nick Step