Kristin Cavallari Calls Split from Jay Cutler 'Probably the Best Decision I've Ever Made'

The reality TV star revealed that she "went on a couple of dates" with her ex-husband after their split, but no longer wanted to be in a "toxic relationship"

Kristin Cavallari and Jay Cutler
Photo: Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images

Kristin Cavallari is moving on.

Speaking with Kaitlyn Bristowe's Off The Vine podcast Tuesday, the 34-year-old reality star said her split with her ex-husband Jay Cutler was perhaps "the brightest and saddest" time of her life.

"There's been times over the last 18 months where I'm like, 'Is this the right decision?'" Cavallari told Bristowe. "Jay [and] I actually went on a couple of dates like months and months and months ago. But we did! But then I was like … It's not there for me anymore."

Cavallari and the former NFL quarterback, 38, announced their split in April 2020 after seven years of marriage. The exes share three children: sons Camden Jack, 9, and Jaxon Wyatt, 7, and daughter Saylor James, 5.

Jay Cutler and Kristin Cavallari
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The months since filing for divorce, Cavallari told Bristowe, have been "such a roller coaster" filled with some "really sad moments." In hindsight, however, the entrepreneur knows she made the right choice.

"The thing with Jay is, we aren't getting our divorce because of love lost, which made it really challenging because we were crazy about each other," she explained.

Kristin Cavallari, Jay Cutler
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"And so I just decided I didn't want to be in a toxic relationship anymore and I had to break it off," she added. "But that's made it hard and made me sit here and question it for a few months. But then going back and dating him a little bit made me reaffirm it like, 'No, I know that I'm doing the right decision.' "

Growing up with divorced parents influenced the way Cavallari has approached the breakup with her children. The Very Cavallari star told Bristowe that she simply wanted her kids to see her happy, and believes they're "better off" with their parents going separate ways.

Kristin Cavallari
Emma McIntyre /AMA2020/Getty Images

"I don't want my kids growing up thinking that this is a good relationship because I got to see my mom [get] remarried and in a good relationship, so I knew what one was," she said, noting they've adjusted "really well" to the circumstances.

If the two didn't share children, however, Cavallari says she would "never talk to him again."

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Back in June, the Uncommon James designer told Grazia Magazine that she has her kids every other week, which has given her a little more time for herself.

Kristin Cavallari
Sara Jaye Weiss/Shutterstock

"I have just decided that the week I have my kids, I'm mom," she told the outlet. "I have a week off where I can go to dinner every night with my friends if I want to. I can work really hard if I need to. I can stay at the office later if I need to."

Earlier that month, Cutler told E! News that Camden, Jaxon and Saylor have been adjusting well to the breakup, and that he and Cavallari will always put their children first.

"I mean, kids are resilient," he explained. "With school and all the activities, we've done a good job of putting them first."

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