Reality star and podcast host Kristin Cavallari is stepping into her next chapter with as much authenticity as ever. And she's doing it all on her terms.

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“Before, I was more of a mess, and I didn’t want to show any imperfections. Now, I’m OK to finally let people see the imperfections and put literally everything out on camera. I don’t know how to be anything other than honest.”–KRISTIN CAVALLARI

Kristin Cavallari has spent the better part of the past three decades on reality television. The world first met the sassy SoCal high school junior on MTV’s Laguna Beach, which premiered in 2004. Cavallari became a breakout star–a blonde, denim-mini-wearing bad girl who spoke her mind and didn’t sweat what anyone said about her. In 2009, she joined the season five cast of Laguna’s spin-off, The Hills, where she continued to stir up trouble, this time in Hollywood. When the show concluded its run in 2010, Cavallari stepped away from her bad girl role and into a more adult version of herself. She co-hosted award show red carpets and hit the floor on Dancing With the Stars. She became a mom of three with now ex-husband Jay Cutler and amassed four New York Times bestselling books.

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In 2017, she launched her wildly successful lifestyle brand, Uncommon James, and in 2018 stepped back in front of the camera with the E! reality series Very Cavallari where she showed viewers a new, more grown-up version of herself until it ended its run in 2020.

Now, on the heels of her monstrously successful Dear Media podcast Let’s Be Honest, she’s preparing for a reality TV return. Honestly Cavallari will debut June 4 and take a very real look at Cavallari’s recent sold-out live podcast tour, an experience that she says was more emotional than she could have imagined.

“I accomplished my life’s greatest fear: People are always surprised to learn this about me, but it’s public speaking. I’ve turned down business opportunities because it’s been such a debilitating fear. Cameras have never made me nervous, but this is a live audience and it’s me having to get up and be myself and be vulnerable,” she says. “I’ve purposely put myself in situations in the last few years to try to overcome it, and this was the biggest thing. I walked away from it feeling very, very proud. If I can do that, I can do anything.”

The tour helped her conquer her fears and brought her even closer to the fans who’ve supported her over the years.

“I loved being able to connect with so many of my listeners and meet so many of them and hear stories about how the podcast has affected them in a positive way. That takeaway was so incredible,” she says, noting that one stop in particular was especially powerful.

“After my Chicago shows, some things came up and made me reflect on my whole life, specifically when it comes to men and why I’ve allowed some of the men into my life that I have,” says Cavallari, who spent much of her childhood in the Chicago area. “I’ve done a lot of post-divorce work on myself, and ultimately, it’s been this journey of self-love. Having certain interactions with people [in Chicago] dug up a lot of emotion, and it made me reflect on how far I’ve come, which is ultimately a good thing. But, I felt sad in a lot of ways for that having been my journey. I never want to be the victim or have a pity party, but I did have a moment of a pity party. I ended up breaking down on camera one morning.”

Cavallari’s ability to open up–both in this interview and in front of millions of TV viewers–has endeared her to audiences for so long. But she says what we’ve seen on our screens isn’t always the whole story, and she’s proud to be telling hers so honestly now.

“Why do a reality show if I’m going to half-ass it? I’ve done that in the past. If I was going to go back [to TV], it was like, let’s capture what’s really going on in my life,” she says. “Before, I was more of a mess, and I didn’t want to show any imperfections. Now, I’m OK to finally let people see the imperfections and put literally everything out on camera. I don’t know how to be anything other than honest.”

Beyond the podcast and the show, Cavallari’s businesses–Uncommon James and its sister brand, Uncommon Beauty–are thriving. And while her products are a worldwide success, she credits Nashville as a key part of her empire.

“Since the inception of the company, we’ve put our roots down here. Beyond the store [in the Gulch], we have our headquarters and our fulfillment centers here,” she says. “We have other stores and we will continue to expand our brick and mortars, but Nashville will always be home for us. It’s the heart of Uncommon James.”

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As Uncommon James expands, Cavallari is introducing new products and lines. In June, she’ll launch Uncommon Beauty Glutathione Serum, a skincare product that the famously ingredient-conscious Cavallari is thrilled about.

“My team looked at me like I was crazy when I wanted to do this, but I love this product so much. It’s good for so many different things at a cellular level,” she says. “I’ve been using it, and it’s helped with some pigmentation that I’ve had.”

She’s also introducing a secret ingredient to the UJ universe: her daughter Saylor, with whom she partnered on a Mother’s Day-inspired jewelry campaign.

“She was so excited about the collection,” says the proud mom. “She worked really hard on it, and she’s been wearing all of her pieces to school. We talk about her taking over Uncommon James one day. She’s nine, so we’ll see, but as of right now, she wants to do it. When she’s 16, she can go work at the store, but I felt like this was a really fun way to get her involved while she’s still young.”

Cavallari has famously kept her kids’ faces off TV and social media for most of their lives, but recently, she’s started to share more of them and says we will see them on Honestly Cavallari.

“The reason I kept them out of the limelight for so long is because I didn’t feel like they were old enough to make that decision for themselves. They’re older now. They all wanted to be on the show.”

It may sound like Cavallari has a lot of irons in the fire–and she does–but let it be known these irons are curated by Cavallari herself. She’s done saying yes to everything and everyone who comes calling.

“I’m surrendering to the universe,” she says. “If something comes my way and it excites me, I’ll do it. If not, it’s very easy for me to let go. I say no to more things than yes. I no longer need to be hustling. My whole life up until the last year or two was chaotic; even my childhood it was chaotic. It was a lot. I’ve been working deliberately to set the second half of my life up to be way more peaceful, way more chill, way more on my terms.”

In doing so, she’s making space to enjoy the little things–including her new Nashville home and the quality family time she spends there.

“My life is my kids, and the most important thing for me is being at every basketball game, being at every single thing that my kids have going on,” she says. “I’m doing my podcast because it allows me to work from home on my schedule. After so many years of not having that luxury and feeling like my life and my identity were controlled, I am eating it up.”

With a clear vision for her professional future and a clear path to enjoy the life she’s spent so much time working for, Cavallari is counting her blessings.

“I feel really lucky that I am able to do this,” she says. “I feel so grateful that everything in my life has been able to work in my favor.”

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