Nearly a decade removed from her years on The Hills, Kristin Cavallari has come an undeniably long way.
A designer, a wife and a new mother to two toddlers and an infant, the 29-year-old fashionista has bid her reality show years adieu in exchange for an entirely new bag of responsibilities. Having just given birth to her youngest in November, Cavallari is once again fresh in the throes of motherhood. While she's no amateur to parenting, the television personality admits being a working mom still has it's unavoidable challenges.
"I think the hardest part of being a working mom is that I miss my kids a lot," she told Modeliste Magazine. "I live in Chicago, but my work is always in New York or LA, so I always have to travel for my job. That usually means I'm gone for a couple of days at a time, but FaceTime helps a lot."
With a laundry list resumé and husband Jay Cutler who spends five months of every year at training camp as a professional football player, Cavallari can often feel pressed for personal time.
"When you finally have kids, you realize how selfish you are. I think we are naturally selfish beings. When you have kids, that can kind of be a shock at first," she admitted. "I think just trying to make time for yourself is very hard. Especially now that I have 3, finding that time can be very difficult."
While it can be trying to find the balance, Cavallari has faced far more difficult battles, particularly this past year when her brother went missing and was subsequently found dead from hypothermia in early December. The star credited her children with giving her strength during such a trying and tragic time.
"The most rewarding part about having kids is there's just so much more love in your life," she told the magazine. "I finally feel like I have a real identity. I feel like I have a purpose here in life now. I'm a mom to these three amazing little babies and my whole world just kind of opened up."
Just seven months after her last pregnancy, Cavallari looks stronger than ever. While she admits her long and lean physique is the result of three to four sessions a week with a personal trainer, she sticks solely to weight training without ever touching the treadmill.
"I don't do any cardio," she revealed. "For me, it's just about building muscle and maintaining the little muscle that I have. The more muscle you have, the more fat you burn."
As one bonus beauty tip for the star, there's one makeup product she can't go without: "Armani, Lashes to Kill mascara. Hands down, best mascara I've ever used."
This issue of Modeliste Magazine hits newsstands on June 1.