The reality star has been open about how her and Cutler's marriage wasn't 'perfect.'
Kristin Cavallari and Jay Cutler announced their plans to divorce on Sunday, after 10 years together.
Their relationship seemingly had ups and downs from the beginning, as they got engaged in 2011 just eight months after they started dating, but then ended their relationship months after Cutler's proposal.
Cavallari and Cutler ended up reconciling, and tied the knot in 2013, after welcoming their first child together, son Camden. They later had two more kids, son Jaxon and daughter Saylor.
In a joint statement on Sunday, Cavallari and Cutler said they came to a "loving conclusion to get a divorce."
"We have nothing but love and respect for one another and are deeply grateful for the years shared, memories made, and the children we are so proud of," they added. "This is just the situation of two people growing apart. We ask everyone to respect our privacy as we navigate this difficult time within our family."
Cavallari had been open about her and Cutler's marriage struggles over the years. See what she said about their relationship below.
March 2020: In a Good Place
Just last month, Cavallari and Cutler seemed to be in a good place, as she opened up to ET's Katie Krause about how her husband had been there to support her amid her new jewelry collection for Uncommon James and other projects.
"How does Jay support me? I mean, he's always there. Jay always has good advice because he's really good at reading people and situations. He's just level headed and just grounded too, where I can get a little wound up. It's the Italian in me," she said. "He's a great balance for me and a great sounding board in that sense."
The mom of three also revealed that she'll be returning to The Hills -- but said Cutler would not be appearing on the MTV reboot.
"He's not. He would never. He wouldn’t do it," she shared. "I can barely get him to do Very Cavallari."
January 2020: Marriage "Takes Effort"
During an appearance on Diana Madison's Dream Big podcast in January, Cavallari admitted her sex life with Cutler had improved with time.
"The longer you’re together, not only is the sex better, but you get to know each other so well. It's this closeness I've never had with anybody else, and it’s a bond and you just get each other," she said. "And we're still learning about each other, and you evolve and it's just kind of nice to grow with somebody."
Marriage as a whole, however, was "hard," Cavallari said. "It takes an effort from both people. Both people have to really want it," she explained.
"Jay and I really make each other laugh. He's very supportive, and we both let each other be ourselves, we have fun!" Cavallari added. "It's all about communication."
Opening up further about her and Cutler's issues, Cavallari said: "Marriage is really hard with kids. Kids put stress on a relationship, that’s just the truth. If you have different parenting styles, it offers a unique set of problems."
The star said that her mom had advised her to put on a "unified front" with Cutler in front of their kids, but she wanted to keep things real. "I also think it’s healthy to have a disagreement in front of the kids, so they can see how to get out of it, because that’s real," she offered. "Being perfect in front of the kids isn’t real."
April 2019: At a "Low"
On an April 2019 episode of Very Cavallari, the reality star opened up to friends about how things weren't as perfect with Cutler as they seemed.
"Jay has been great, yes. From the outside, like, things are so perfect and things are so great," she said. "But actually, like, they're not. And that sucks. It sucks. That’s the thing, though, with marriage -- it's ups and downs."
Cavallari confessed that she and Cutler were currently at a "low," "but in two months we could be up here again." "That's how we've always been, our whole relationship," she reasoned. "It is what it is."
"There’s no such thing as a perfect relationship," Cavallari told the camera. "Jay and I have problems -- I've always been very vocal about that."
"We have to work at our relationship, so hearing him say that we're perfect is kind of silly to me," she added. "We definitely have issues."
March 2019: "Shifted Roles"
Cavallari told ET a month prior to that episode that she and Cutler had "shifted" their roles in their marriage since he retired from the NFL. The former Chicago Bears quarterback officially retired after the 2017 season, after which he spent a lot more time at home with Cavallari and their kids.
"It's been interesting. We've really completely shifted roles, so it's just been trying to navigate this new normal," Cavallari shared. "He's been great. I mean, obviously he's here with my three kids today and you know, this is not the first thing he wants to be doing so he's been great and I couldn't do it without him, truly."
"I think we make each other laugh," she expressed of how they made their relationship work through the ups and downs of life. "I think that really can take you pretty far, and obviously trust is huge. We definitely have those two things, so that helps."
August 2017: "Single Parent"
In 2017, Cavallari made headlines for referring to herself as a "single parent" amid Cutler's new deal with the Miami Dolphins. She explained to ET at the time that with her sons in school, she didn't have plans to "pack up the family just for five months" to follow Cutler to Miami.
"So, I'm a single parent for the next five months," the former Laguna Beach star joked. "It's a little chaotic, but in the best way."
"My kids are great," she continued. "They're good kids for the most part. Of course we have our stuff, but it actually hasn't been as hard as I thought it was going to be, being a single parent. I have an amazing nanny, my mother-in-law is there with my kids right now, so I couldn't do it without them."
"Sorry, Jay," Cavallari joked again. "We'll see ya when we see ya!"
March 2016: "We Have Problems"
In a candid interview with ET in March 2016, Cavallari discussed her and Cutler's relationship issues, and how they had been seeing a therapist to work through them.
"I'm very honest about the fact that we have problems," she said. "We don't have a perfect relationship."
Part of that imperfection happened before the two tied the knot in 2013. "We got engaged after 8 months, and then broke up just a couple months later," she recalled. "At the time, I thought, 'I'd rather figure it out now than further down the line, after we get married, and have kids, and it blows up in our face.'"
"That was a risk that I was willing to take when I cut off the engagement," she explained, adding, "It was the best thing that's happened to my relationship."
The former Laguna Beach star said seeing their therapist "occasionally" helped keep them together. "We've picked up some really great tools from her," she shared.
See more on Cavallari in the video below.
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