Christina Hall Opens Up About Dealing with Online Criticism: 'I Allow Myself a Little Time to Be Upset'

Christina Hall is facing down online criticism with a new perspective.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the Christina on the Coast star, 39, opened up about dealing with online haters and why they don't get to her as much as they used to.

"I allow myself a little time to be upset," she revealed to PEOPLE, "and usually the things that upset me are when people make direct statements about things they have no idea about. Sometimes that'll really irritate me and then I'll talk to [my husband] Josh about it."

Christina has been the target of critics expressing their thoughts on her parenting and inclusion of her kids on her social media, in particular, with regard to her youngest son, Hudson, 3.

The couple have been vocal about "shutting out negativity" when they're together in the past, and Josh is not shy about defending his wife against haters in her Instagram comments.

The Flip or Flop alum continues: "The thing is, people already have a preconceived notion in their head. You could literally show them the truth and they could still be like, no, that's not the truth."

After allowing herself to be upset for a short time, she says, she then moves on and remembers, "I have a great life and I can't be focused on pleasing everyone.

The ability to block out bullies also came with age, she says. "I think the older I get, the less I care. I'm approaching 40 in a few months and what I've heard is, in your forties, you're the most confident and comfortable in your own skin."

Instead of focusing on negative comments, the home renovation expert is looking forward to upcoming projects she has planned for the next chapter of her life.

"I really want to start my own home line — like a Christina collection-type thing," she tells PEOPLE. "So that's something we're working on right now, getting that in a big box store. Hopefully that comes into fruition next year."

She adds that she's looking to start "an online seminar course on manifesting, creating wealth in your dream life. I think that could be pretty cool."

In addition to tackling her upcoming projects, Christina is looking forward to the premiere of Christina in the Country (a spin-off of her California-based home renovation show, Christina on the Coast) airing Jan. 12. The new limited series will debut the flips she and Josh have been working on in Tennessee as they spread her design business down South.

The couple have also put down roots in the area. Christina purchased her Franklin, Tenn. farmhouse in early 2021 and has been spending time there with her kids: daughter Taylor, 12, and son Brayden, 7, whom she shares with her first husband Tarek El Moussa, and her 3-year-old son Hudson, whom she shares with her second husband Ant Anstead.

With enough space to house all her chickens (and soon mini donkeys and goats), the designer, who splits her time between California and Tennessee, says she has fallen in love with the country life and hopes to retire there with Josh.

"It's the best," Christina tells PEOPLE. "It's definitely where we'll retire. I would love to do the opposite [of what I do now]: I would love to live there full time and then have a cute little beach cottage in California, in La Jolla, that we hop back to."

Christina in the Country premieres Thursday, Jan. 12 at 8 p.m. on HGTV.