Kristin Cavallari Details 'Brutal' Birth Story Where She Felt Like She Was 'Ripping in Half'

Cavallari said that if she'd known at the time why her doctor was worried the baby might not survive delivery, she "would have been freaking the f--k out!"

Kristin Cavallari's first pregnancy was so challenging, she said that her doctors weren't even sure if the baby would survive delivery. Then, she shared that "brutal" story with listeners of her Let's Be Honest podcast in an episode all about motherhood.

The good news is that the baby did come through and is her now-13-year-old son, Camden Jack. He was followed by Jaxon Wyatt, 11, and Saylor James, 9, all with Cavallari's ex-husband, Jay Cutler. So at least we know this birth story comes to a happy ending.

It started for the reality star two days prior when she experienced false contractions. Then, when the time finally came, she called the real ones "brutal," as detailed by The Daily Mail. This was while she was still with her ex-husband, who she recalled really laying into.

According to Cavallari, Cutler decided to be helpful by timing her contractions. But when he told her that they were too far apart to justify them making a trip to the hospital, "I was like, 'F--k off,'" she recalled with a laugh on her podcast. "Literally f--k off."

Luckily, they decided to call her doctor, and she had one of those "brutal" contractions while the doctor was on the phone. Once the doctor was able to hear how much distress she was in, Cavallari said they were told to go right to the hospital.

But when they finally met there, Cavallari said she could sense that the doctor was "a little on edge," which didn't do anything to calm her own frayed nerves. At the time, she wasn't told what triggered that reaction -- which was probably for the best.

Cavallari said that Cutler later told her that her doctor and staff at the hospital were worried at first because they weren't able to detect the baby's heartbeat. "And thank God I didn’t know that because I would have been freaking the f--k out," Cavallari admitted.

She then went on to explain to anyone who might not know that an epidural does not eliminate all pain, as the mother must still have enough muscle control to help with the delivery. She said she fantasized about a more "natural" birth, but knew she would never have given up the epidural.

"I would do things differently I think today, if I were to have a baby today," Cavallari thinks, "but in the same breath, I remember at the time being like, 'I have nothing to prove, I know I'm strong and right now I'm f--king dying, I want the epidural.'"

In other words, "while I think in my mind, like in my perfect head, I’m like, 'If I had a baby today, it would be a water birth and I would do it all naturally,'" she added, "but I was dying."

"I mean, I was dying with Cam, and I think at the end of the day, we should never judge other moms, other women, for their birthing plan and what they end up doing, because pain is different for everybody."

She also went on to make it very clear what her epidural experience was, saying that while it did take away the pain from contractions, "it didn’t take away the feeling of my vagina literally feeling like it was ripping in half."

"I was still f--king suffering," she emphasized. And it wasn't a speedy recovery, when it came to her pain and discomfort, either, with Cavallari saying, "I lived with those ice packs on the coochie-coo."

Despite all of this build-up, though, Cavallari said that the actual delivery took maybe 20 minutes of active pushing and went "relatively easy," considering everything leading up to it.

And that more positive experience continued through her next two pregnancies, with the reality star sharing that Jaxon's birth being "a pretty seamless experience" -- as in no recollections of feeling like "my vajayjay ripping in two."

Then, when it came to her third delivery, Cavallari said she actually opted to be induced ahead of the holiday -- but it wasn't about not wanting to have a baby on Thanksgiving.

"I’m sorry, but I don’t want to have a baby with my mom," she admitted. "I love my mom, but I don’t want my mom in the delivery room. She said she only wanted Cutler there with her.

In the full podcast episode, Cavallari opens up about the help she got with each baby, breastfeeding, along with the exhilarating and emotionally draining combination of exhaustion, guilt, joy, and judgment ("including mom shaming") that comes with motherhood. You can check out her full story in the video above.

Cavallari and Cutler were first separated in 2020 and finalized their divorce two years later. Since their split, she has been candid about her love life, including opening up about sleeping with country singer Morgan Wallen, spilling details about her hookup with Summer House's Craig Conover, and divulging the details of her romance with Montana Boyz star, Mark Estes, and retired NHL player Nate Thompson.

All of that ended, though, when the 38-year-old split with Estes, 27, after seven months together. She said at the time that the age gap was definitely a factor, as they were in different chapters of their lives.

Cavallari's latest chapter has been one without a man on her arm. Earlier this month, she revealed on her podcast that she hadn't been dating much at all in 2025, but is now gingerly putting herself back out there, detailing a recent date that "felt good."

"I did just go on a date, and it was a great date and it was a really great first date back in the game … but I am kind of back out there," she said, before clarifying, "[not] back out there. I went on one date. But it felt good. I was excited to go on a date."