Kristin Cavallari gives an update on her relationship with ex Jay Cutler

Although former "Very Cavallari" star Kristin Cavallari and former NFL quarterback Jay Cutler announced their split earlier this year, the estranged couple tried their best to avoid divorce.

In a new interview with People, Cavallari said she and her ex "tried really, really hard for year and years" to make their relationship work.

However, after a decade together, they realized that they'd simply grown apart.

"It didn't happen overnight," she said.

"I'm proud for making this decision," she added. "It wore at me every single day for years. I feel like my whole world is opening up now because of it, and I'm just feeling the best I've felt in a really long time. I'm really excited about the future all around."

Cavallari, 33, and Cutler, 37, married in 2013 after several years of dating. Because their marriage seemed rock-solid to viewers of their since-canceled E! reality TV series, the news of their impending divorce in April shocked fans. However, the Uncommon James entrepreneur told People, "We definitely kept a lot of stuff private."

"Producers saw stuff, but they didn't put it in the show -- which is good, because I don't want my kids to ever [see that]," she said.

Now, she is focused on her business and is savoring every moment she has with her children, Camden, 8, Jaxon, 6, and Saylor, 4. Cavallari also said that she's settled into a nice routine with Cutler.

"I still care so much about him and talk to him almost every day," she said. "We have three kids together. He's going to be in my life forever."