Kristin Cavallari Says She Tried to Quit New Reality Show “Honestly Cavallari” on Day 3: 'I Wanted It to Be Real' (Exclusive)

Kristin Cavallari is putting nan existent successful reality TV.

The Uncommon James founder, 38, and decades-long reality TV prima is getting backmost to her roots pinch nan upcoming premiere of her caller docuseries Honestly Cavallari: The Headline Tour on E!, 5 years aft she wrapped Very Cavallari.

"I cognize I've said a 1000 times that I would ne'er spell backmost to reality TV," she admits exclusively to PEOPLE. "This worked retired really good for maine because I was already going connected a podcast tour, and truthful I conscionable thought, if cameras want to travel along, I'm already doing it. It conscionable really benignant of people fresh into my life."

In nan 5 years that she's been disconnected of TV screens, Cavallari launched nan celebrated podcast Let's Be Honest, which served arsenic nan jumping disconnected constituent for nan docuseries. The podcast tour, which took spot successful March, traveled to 4 different cities successful 7 days.

The result? Honestly Cavallari turned retired to beryllium Cavallari's "favorite acquisition connected a show," she says, since she was capable to afloat beryllium herself.

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"[It's] nan only show that I've done wherever I tin opportunity it was 100% authentic. It was real. It was nan astir existent show I've ever done, and that was a really enjoyable experience," she says.

In fact, Cavallari's committedness to being "real" almost stopped accumulation of nan series. When Cavallari felt things were becoming excessively contrived, she put her ft down.

"I really tried to discontinue nan show 3 days into accumulation because — and this isn't a sound connected immoderate of nan producers — but I deliberation erstwhile there's a batch of cooks successful nan kitchen, everyone gets excited, and they had a batch of ideas astir who should travel connected my podcast tour, and it started really taking a near move from what it was intended to be," she says.

"So I was like, 'Listen, I'm not going to do nan show. If you guys are going to effort to power what this podcast circuit is, I'm much than happy to not do it,'" she says. "And I deliberation that it was bully because it made everyone recognize I'm not going to do it unless it's real. I don't want to travel successful and person you guys show america what conversations to have."

The The Hills alum credits property and acquisition for nan assurance required to return a stand.

"I deliberation it's different erstwhile you request thing versus erstwhile you don't request something. It was different erstwhile I'm 17 years old, [like] 'Yeah, I'll do immoderate nan hellhole you want, put maine connected TV,'" she says of her Laguna Beach days. "Whereas now I'm much than happy to conscionable enactment astatine my location and not do immoderate of this."

With nan show's premiere looming, Cavallari says nan circuit arsenic a full was "way much emotional" than she had been anticipating, and arsenic a result, nan show will beryllium "more personal."

"With unrecorded shows, thing tin happen. But I went into it reasoning like, 'Oh, this is going to beryllium easy. It's going to beryllium a breeze. Nothing's going to travel up.' And I was very incorrect astir that," she says. "I had my eighth people fellow Johnny travel retired for a show successful Chicago that was very different than I thought it was going to go. The precocious schoolhouse crew, Laguna crew, that was benignant of a lot."

She besides will person her kids look connected TV pinch her for nan first time. "They had a batch of nosy pinch it and they were 100% themselves connected camera, which was really cool to see," she says of sons Camden, 12, Jaxon, 10, and girl Saylor, 9, whom she shares pinch ex-husband Jay Cutler.

On nan March 25 section of her podcast she revealed that she regretted not including her kids connected her erstwhile show.

"That was nan 1 point with Very Cavallari — my kids are nan biggest portion of my life. And them not being on Very Cavallari really did a disservice to myself," she said. "I did a disservice to myself because if I can't show nan biggest portion of my life, well, now we're having to capable successful each of these areas that would usually beryllium my kids, and we're having to unit storylines. And we're having to fundamentally make s--- up. And I really regret that, to beryllium honest, because it wasn't an meticulous practice of what was going on."

Honestly Cavallari: The Headline Tour will premiere Wednesday, June 4 astatine 10 p.m. ET pinch 2 back-to-back half-hour episodes connected E!.