Kristin Cavallari Claims Jay Cutler Is ‘Punishing’ Her by Blocking Her from Buying a New House

Kristin Cavallari claims estranged husband Jay Cutler is preventing her from buying a new house with her own money unless she agrees to share joint custody with him, according to a filing obtained by PEOPLE.

The retired NFL player filed for divorce on April 21. Cavallari, 33, is asking for full custody of sons Camden, 7, and Jaxon, 5, and daughter Saylor, 4, while Cutler, 37, is requesting joint.

In her filing, the reality star confirms she and Cutler — tied the knot in 2013 — have had issues for the “last several years.” According to the documents, Cavallari began looking for a new home as early as November 2019, and she says Cutler did not object to her doing so. In March, she says they “realized the attempt to reconcile was not working and knew a divorce was inevitable.”

Once they returned home from their family trip to the Bahamas and were social-distancing together in home outside of Nashville, Cavallari says she told Cutler she had found new house for herself and their kids. According to the filing, “The settlement negotiations were not going well, and she decided she would need to move out.” But she claims Cutler refused to release the money from their joint account as leverage in their custody battle.

Cavallari says Cutler told her “his attorney was going to tell their business manager to not release the funds,” which she claims is Cutler’s idea of “punishing her for not accepting his offer” of a settlement, according to the filing.

Cavallari insists she “has the necessary resources” to buy the property in Franklin, Tennessee, “in cash” and signed a contract for the home on April 27. But the next day, according to the filing, Cutler “attempted to intimidate” her “into accepting his parenting plan,” telling her he would block her access to the money and refusing move out of their current house unless she agreed to his requests.

The new documents also confirm that the two are currently swapping time at home with the kids, three days at a time.

When he filed for divorce, Cutler cited “irreconcilable differences,” while Cavallari cited both “irreconcilable differences” and “inappropriate marital conduct.” In her divorce response, Cavallari claimed Cutler “is guilty of such inappropriate marital conduct as renders further cohabitation unsafe and improper.”

Cavallari and Cutler had been discussing a split for some time, according to insiders.

“They have had divorce talks back and forth for a while,” a source previously told PEOPLE. “They didn’t want to get a divorce, because of the kids. Kristin has been very torn about it. When she realized that it just wasn’t possible for them to stay married, her focus was on keeping things amicable.”