The reality star and girlboss is back and better than ever!
Most of us know Kristin Cavallari as the feisty, outspoken and incredibly candid star from Laguna Beach and The Hills. But now she’s sharing her softer side with the world in a new docu-series Very Cavallari. Following the rise of her lifestyle and jewellery line Uncommon James, the show is set to examine this all while Kristin balances a busy life as a boss, mother, friend and wife. And while we are going to see a more easy-going side to the star, rest assured this is a reality series so of course, drama will ensue.
To watch the trailer and find out more about the upcoming show in a Q&A with Kristin, scroll below:
What can you tell us about the show?
The show is called Very Cavallari, and it’s just about my life living in Nashville. It’s been eight years since I wrapped The Hills and the whole world has changed. I am married with three kids now and I have a lifestyle brand, Uncommon James. So it was the perfect time for me to come back to reality TV. My husband (Jay Cutler) has done pro football and for the last seven years or so, we have kind of lived our lives based on his schedule, so now it’s my turn.
Did it take some getting used to having cameras around again after taking time off from being in front of the cameras?
I was nervous at first, yeah it took a minute. But after a couple of days, it was just like riding a bike. And, I really enjoyed the experience, I really did. This time around, I am an executive producer, so for me to be able to know at the end of the day if I really wanted to get something taken off, I probably could. So I had that freedom to be myself and do whatever I wanted knowing that I had that security blanket. It was a nice feeling coming from Laguna Beach, where I had no control and I had no say.
So what have you learned what not to do?
I feel that there’s nothing that I am not doing, only because I have that EP credit and I feel safe, I feel really safe. Not that when Laguna Beach and The Hills, I really didn’t not do anything either (laughs). Sometimes it got me in trouble, but at the end of the day, I wouldn’t change anything, it really made me who I am today.
Talk about the cast, who are they and are we going right off the bat see the conflicts that we would expect from a reality show?
Yes. So my husband Jay is on it and he’s very funny. He brings the comedy to the show and people will be surprised to see that in his personality. So I am excited for people to see that. My best friend Kelly is on it and that is where I am just myself, goofy and silly and all of those great things that girls are as best friends. And then it’s me as a boss, which fans will be familiar with, it’s like that tough, not afraid to speak my mind, has really benefitted me in the boss role. And then it’s my staff, there’s Britney, who sort of manages Uncommon James as a whole, she’s incredibly organized and career driven and very put together. And then there is Shannon and she runs all of Uncommon James social media, she is a millennial and she really doesn’t want to work (laughs), she works when she wants to work. She wants to have a little bit more fun, but she is great at her job and I think she is going to be a breakout star, she is very captivating. And then I have Regan, who I love dearly, she is our overall assistant until we open up our flagship store, and she is a little forgetful at times (laughs). And then, some of their boyfriends are on the show. I have this guy Worth, who works for me as well, who is eye candy (laughs).
Can you talk about the brand itself?
So Uncommon James I launched exactly a year ago, I just had my one year anniversary. And I launched with just jewelry, and it’s all very dainty, minimal jewelry and I just wanted an effortless line to throw on and leave on and wear with anything. And I just recently launched home goods, which are all handmade and ethnically made in India. Measuring cups and spoons and salad tongs, things like that. And I just opened my flagship store in Nashville. So the show is really the whole journey of opening the store from start to finish. And I am 100 percent the owner of Uncommon James and it’s the first time in my life I have had complete creative freedom to do whatever I want and it is the most rewarding and challenging and amazing job on the planet, besides being a mom.
Where did you come up with the name?
James is my daughter’s middle name, and I love James for a girl even though it’s uncommon. It was also my brother’s middle name, who passed about two years ago, so it’s very meaningful to me.
You have got three kids and a huge career, so how do you deal with both?
I really wouldn’t be able to do it if Jay was still playing football. Luckily he’s been home all day every day, and so he’s picking the boys up from school and he has been helping me out and I lean on him quite a bit. And I truly couldn’t do it without him. But first and foremost, I am a mom, and it’s really important to me that I am home every day at 5 o’clock to have dinner with the family. It’s just a priority that I make and I am always home in the morning to get the kids breakfast and their lunches ready for school and all that, and those are both just very important things to me. And that is why opening my store in Nashville where I live and being able to film the show in Nashville, it’s all really just worked out and I just feel that I am very lucky, because as you guys all know, the entertainment business is in LA and New York, which I do have to travel to periodically, but for the most part, I have been able to create this career around being a mom first and foremost. So I feel very, very lucky.
Given what you experienced yourself in your personal life, how careful are you with the image of your husband and the image of your children and obviously given that they come from a space where they are not as savvy to dealing with the media?
Well my kids are not on the show, which was a very important decision for us. It’s one thing when they are old enough to decide if they want a camera in their face, but for now, we want them to just be kids. For Jay though, it’s tough because even though he was in the football world, the media aspect of it wasn’t something that he was ever fond of, and so we have had to have a lot of conversations about it. And we definitely put perimeters on what they could and couldn’t film, and we talked about it as a couple of okay, what are we willing to put out there and what are some things that we won’t? Because at the end of the day, my family is the most important thing to me, and I wanted to make sure that he was very comfortable. But I do think that him being on the show is going to be really good for his image because he has this image of being very tough and very cold and being very stand-offish, because he just would never let people in before. So I think that seeing a different side of his personality is going to be really nice.
And what do you think the biggest misconception is about you?
Well, I mean coming from Laguna Beach and The Hills, people definitely thought I was a bitch. They probably still think I am a bitch. And I am excited because Very Cavallari is very true to who I am. And maybe I have been able to channel that bitch into being a boss and being able to run a company, and being able to run it well, I think I do a good job of it. But then you will see my softer sides of my personality with Jay or my best friend Kelly, that is truly who I am.
If you could give one piece of advice to the younger you, based on everything that you have lived, what would you warn her about?
I wouldn’t warn her, I would just say enjoy every second, because it really goes by so fast. My whole life I wanted to be older and I wanted to be in the next phase of my life and now that I am 31 and have three kids, I want everything to slow down. And I am just trying to be present and enjoy the ride, because that is what life is about. And so just enjoy it and have a slowdown and have fun.
You seem to have epitomised the woman who has it all cliché.
I think it’s easy to portray that I have everything together, and I don’t always feel that way. I think, back to social media and Instagram and everything, we only put out what we want people to see and I am not putting out my hard times or when I am having a rough night. So while I have a lot of very exciting and amazing things going on that I am very thankful for, it doesn’t mean that everything is perfect and I am holding everything together.
Very Cavallari airs on Mondays from 9 June at 2pm (same time as the US) on E! Sky Channel 14. Watch the trailer below.
