Kristin Cavallari has confirmed her breakup with Mark Estes -- and she's very emotional about it.

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"It's hard because I broke up with Mark because I just know long-term it's not right," Kristin, 37, revealed during the Tuesday, October 1 episode of her "Let's Be Honest" podcast, according to Us Weekly.

"It's not because of love lost or something bad happened. No one cheated. No one was mean. No one did anything."

Kristin insisted her relationship with the 24-year-old Montana Boyz member was the "best" she's ever had; however, their 13-year age difference turned out to be a major issue.

"Those breakups are always the hardest I think because it's almost easier if the guy does something that makes you hate him," Kristin shared.

Kristin reiterated that Mark "didn't do anything" wrong.

Reports began swirling that Kristin and Mark had split late last week, about seven months after the pair went public with their romance in February.

"Mark has been nothing but so sweet and so supportive. He's always been there," Kristin gushed of her now ex-boyfriend.

The Uncommon James founder added, "He's been the best boyfriend I've ever had. I just know long-term he needs to experience life."

Kristin, a mother of three, was criticized for dating a significantly younger man, but she apparently still defends that decision to the ground.

"I started to feel the age a little bit just with life experience. I look back when I was 24 and how much life has happened for me in between," Kristin explained.

"Those are crucial years. Those are formative years. This is when you find yourself. He needs to be able to do that."

Kristin anticipates "a lot of people" will call her out for not realizing how the age difference would be a problem earlier, but the reality TV star quipped, "I've always been well aware that he is 24."

The former The Hills star noted, "It wasn't like I was ignoring that fact that he was younger."

Kristin said she simply doesn't want to "rob" Mark of getting married and having his own children.

Kristin, for her part, shares sons Camden, 12, and Jaxon, 10, and daughter Saylor, 8, with ex-husband and NFL football player Jay Cutler.

While Kristin is hurting in the aftermath of her split from Mark, she told her listeners how this "isn't a bad thing" and she doesn't "regret anything" about their time together.

"I really look at our relationship as such a beautiful relationship, probably the best relationship of my life, quite honestly," Kristin said, adding how their romance was "good" and "happy."

She elaborated, "It was very healthy and very mature. It was nothing but sweet and loving. Mark is a really good guy. And that's what makes it hard."

Kristin got a little choked up when talking about how she and Mark no longer have a future together.

"I actually think one day he will thank me [for ending it]," Kristin reasoned.

"That's just hindsight you don't have at 24. Everything is so [focused on] right now when you're 24."

Now that Kristin is moving on as a single woman, she insisted that she'll "forever look back" on her relationship with Mark "with such fond memories and pure happiness."

She's even "optimistic" that, after taking some time apart to heal, they'll be able to stay friends.

"Mark is someone I would really love to have in my life in some capacity. I do care a lot about him. My kids like him," Kristin said

"He has the whole world ahead of him."

The Laguna Beach alum luckily has a lot of distractions to keep her from breaking down. She shared how her life is "really full" with her kids, work and friends.

The blonde beauty is therefore in no rush to jump back into the dating pool and look for another partner.

"[It's] so not even on my radar right now. I have no interest in getting back into the dating world right now," Kristin claimed.

"I don't know how much time I have for dating... [I'm] really happy and really content having my life right now being about my kids and my work."

Kristin added that she doesn't want her limited free time "going to a man" for the time being.

However, Mark is just the type of man Kristin would like to end up with -- and maybe they'll find each other again later in life.

"I think timing was off... If Mark were 45 and had two of his own older kids, he would be perfect. I mean that," Kristin boasted of her ex-boyfriend.

"He is such a good guy, but to me, it just means I'm one step closer to ultimately finding The One."

Kristin noted how she's "so close" to finding what she wants and she's confident that the "work" she's done since divorcing Jay has really paid off.

Kristin previously starred on Very Cavallari, which ran for three seasons from 2018 to 2020 on E!.

Kristin and Jay were together for about a decade. They were married for nearly seven years before Jay filed for divorce in April 2020, and Kristin later opened up about how she was extremely unhappy during her marriage.

Kristin was briefly linked to The Bachelorette 15 alum Tyler Cameron, but she waited more than three years to get into a serious relationship with a man following her divorce.

During a February 2023 appearance on the "Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe" podcast, Kristin said she had "a very specific list" of what she wants in a man.

"I'm not going to settle and I'm not going to put up with someone's bullsh-t just because 'I'm lonely.' Like, I'm not!" she said.

Kristin rattled off how she'd like to meet a person who would add joy, happiness and value to her life, and she mentioned how she'd like to date an "established" guy in his forties, not a hustler or "shiny new object" in his twenties.

But Kristin insisted "the pool is very small" when it comes to the men who have all the qualities she's looking for in an ideal partner.

"I want the guy to make the effort," Kristin concluded.

"I'm all about a girl making the first move, I'm here for that. But where I'm at in my life, I actually want the guy to put in some f-cking work, because guys don't know how to do that anymore."


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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