Kristin Cavallari is a total boss! The mother of three stopped by the Wonderwall.com offices on Aug. 30 to chat about her new jewelry line, Uncommon James, in a Facebook Live interview, during which she dished on running her own business for the first time — as well as the worst thing about being the woman in charge. The former reality TV star also revealed that former "The Hills" co-star Heidi Montag has reached out to her for baby-naming tips, shed light on husband Jay Cutler's new deal to play for the Miami Dolphins, opened up about the latest with her kiddos and more! Keep reading for the highlights from our chat or watch the full interview in the video below…
Kristin Cavallari on her Uncommon James jewelry line:
"I wanted a line that was easy for women to throw on and go. I don't want you to spend 10 minutes in the morning trying on different jewelry. No one has time for that anymore! So I wanted simple pieces."
On running her own business for the first time:
"I'm kind of a control freak, I've learned, which is good for business but maybe not for other things! But I love every aspect of it. I love coming up with the design idea and seeing it come to life — even how to grow the business and the marketing side of it, every little thing — and working with the numbers and figuring out all of that, it all excites me. I love being able to control all of it and having no one else to answer to. It's great that I can do whatever I want. It's the ultimate creative freedom."
On the worst part of being a boss:
"I hate hurting anyone's feelings, so giving employees constructive criticism is really tough for me. I hate having to have those tough conversations. … I hate having to tell someone that they're not doing their job right and that they need to improve."
On balancing the different aspects of her life as a mom and as a businesswoman:
"I'm first and foremost a mom. Essentially every day, I'm in leggings and a ponytail with no makeup. I'm packing my kids' lunches. I'm taking them to school. I do a mommy and me class with [my daughter] Saylor. That's me every day. Then I do have this other side where I work on the jewelry."
On sending her husband, quarterback Jay Cutler, off to Miami to play for the Dolphins:
"It actually hasn't been that bad. It's harder on Jay because, of course, he's away from the kids. My boys are old enough — Camden is 5 and Jaxon is 3 — that they know now that Daddy is gone, and it's been harder on them. But we'll be in Miami for all of the home games and we're definitely going to see him as much as possible."
On moving from Chicago to Nashville with her family earlier this year:
"The boys started a new school, so there's always a little bit of anxiety there. But they're so young that, luckily, they're very resilient. I think the hardest part of the whole transition has been Jay not being there because, I mean, he retired. He was done playing football and he was home all day every day, and the kids got very used to that. So it's been a little tough, but they'll be fine. … They're so excited that he's back on TV and everything."
On her husband's 11th-hour decision to come out of his brief retirement to play for the Dolphins:
"Always in the back of my head, I knew an opportunity could present itself. But, of course, when you're faced with that decision, I didn't know what he was going to do. He was kind of back and forth about the idea. He had signed a deal with Fox Sports. He was gonna do commentary. Mentally, he had decided, 'I'm done playing football.' And he had to kind of wrap his head around that. So it was a really tough decision for him."
On encouraging her husband to get back in the game:
"As a wife, you're a sounding board. My job as a wife is to kind of look at the big picture for him. I didn't want him to regret anything. It's a really good opportunity. I know how much he loves football. I wanted him to end with a positive taste in his mouth and remember why he loves the game so much. I want him to go out there this year and be like, 'Okay, these are some of my last games,' and take it in and just have fun — because it wasn't always like that for him the last few years. So I just want him to enjoy it."
On the latest with her kids:
"Cam loves football, and he can throw a football — and it kinda scares the crap out of me. But he just turned 5 a couple weeks ago and he really, truly understands the game — so much so that it kind of trips me out. … It blows my mind because there are so many rules. Football is pretty complicated. So it's kind of amazing. But very much into it — both of the boys. They both know that that's Daddy on TV."
On sending her two eldest off to school:
"Camden is in school. He's in junior kindergarten, but he's there all day five days a week. Jaxon is there all day three days a week. And they love it. I cried the first day of school. … So I'm doing a mommy and me class with Saylor and it's nice because with three, it's hard to get one-on-one time, which is important to me. So it's nice to have some girl time with my girl."
On naming her Uncommon James jewelry line after her daughter, Saylor James:
"Well, I love the name James for a girl — even though it's uncommon. Jay would kill me if I didn't give him credit for the 'uncommon' [part]. He came up with 'uncommon,' and I was like, 'Oh, I love it!'"
On her daughter's interest in her jewelry line:
"She loves anything little. So for the first collection, we ran it out of my house. I had a room dedicated to Uncommon James in the house, and I had girls in there working for me and everything. I helped out a lot too — I would package orders sometimes and do all that stuff. So Saylor would be in there, and she would take any jewelry she could. Towards the end of it, she had about eight different statement necklaces that were just hers. It was like, Okay, these are Saylor's for when she comes in here because she ruins every one. But she loves to put it on and play with it — even the boxes that we package it in. She would take them. We'd find them all over her room and everything."
On those moments when she feels like she just can't do it all:
"Honestly, it happens all the time. I have three little kids, and I'm by myself right now with them. Camden is the best child on the planet. He just is! But Jaxon, he's 3, and I honestly think 3s are harder than 2s. Whoever said 'terrible 2s' is full of it. It's the 3s. He's going through it. Saylor, we call her the honey badger because she is sassy. She is adorable, but she will rip your face off. She's fighting the boys. … So the two of them sometimes can be kind of a lot. And then Camden: Everyone always says brothers beat the crap out of each other. They're starting to do that! So it's a lot of moving parts. … I try to always stop it, but then sometimes I'm like, well, they're brothers; they just kind of have to figure it out. But they're still so little that I kind of don't know where that line is. … But, yeah, there are nights where I'm like, 'God, bedtime cannot come soon enough.' It's exhausting, but in the best way possible. I'm not complaining at all. But it is a lot of work — any mom can attest to that. I'm not going through anything that other moms don't go through. But it is what it is. My mom has always said that everything has a phase. So I really do try to enjoy every moment because, God, Saylor's going to be 2 in November, and I feel like I just had her. Each one goes quicker and quicker. I know that now, so I just try to always remember that these are the days that I'm going to miss. So I have to just hold onto them for as long as possible."
On being the first one from "The Hills" to start a family and passing along advice to her former co-stars:
"Heidi [Montag] and Audrina [Patridge] both reached out to me during their pregnancies. … So it's cool that I'm able to be there for them because when I was pregnant, I didn't have anyone. I was the first. So it's nice. Heidi, for example, asked me for great products that I loved for newborn babies. I gave her all my favorite things. And she asked me for naming advice, which I think is so funny because it's not up to me. It's your baby! My opinion doesn't matter. But it's cool that we're all in that next phase of our lives and we're all able to be there for each other. I love it."
On her reality TV-watching habits these days:
"I was a 'Housewives' junkie back in the day, and I miss it. I miss my trash TV. But I guess now that Jay is gone, I could probably get back into it. … Jay says it just makes everyone dumber, which is probably true. So that's great! So I gave that up."