Brittany Cartwright of The Valley says she’s happy her estranged husband Jax Taylor has finally come clean about his cocaine and “substance issues,” telling People she hopes Jax can kick his addictions, but admitting she’s skeptical that he will actually do so.
Jax opened up about his decades-long battle with a cocaine addiction and “substance issues” during Tuesday’s episode of Bravo’s Hot Mic Podcast, hosted by ‘The Valley’ executive producer Alex Baskin. During the episode, Jax revealed that he has been sober for 83 days from both cocaine and alcohol, admitting that he couldn’t do “cocaine without drinking” alcohol, so he opted to quit using both.
“This is tough to say. I am coming out and saying I’m an addict. I have substance issues, primarily with cocaine,” Jax told Alex on the podcast. “That’s hard to say out loud…There were times where I would stop doing it, and then there were times where I’d go heavy on it.”
The former Vanderpump Rules star said that while he has struggled with these addiction issues “on and off” since his early twenties, he acknowledged that his struggles were likely evident to those who watched him on TV over the years.
“I think a lot of people who watched ‘Vanderpump Rules’ over the years could kind of tell that I was on something,” he said, while insisting that production was unaware of these activities. “ … Everything I was doing was on my own. I was just on that train and couldn’t get off.”
While Jax admitted to having a coke problem, he insisted he does not actually have an alcohol problem. However, because both substances “go hand-in-hand” for him, he stopped drinking as well.
“This is as long as I’ve gone without [using cocaine and alcohol] since I was 21,” Jax added. “…I’ve been doing it for so long. You can say [I was] hiding it but [I wasn’t] necessarily hiding it.”
“[I was] lying about it forever. But enough is enough. This year was probably the hardest year of my life..”
Jax went on to say that his cocaine use got worse after he and Brittany separated in February 2024.
“I literally lost control,” he said. “I kind of, at a point, I think hit rock bottom. And I had to go to rehab, and that’s kind of where we are right now…I’ve never said this in my life. So, to come out and say that I have an addiction, I have a sickness that I have to work on for the rest of my life is a really big deal for me.”
After the episode dropped, Brittany said she was glad that Jax, the father of her 3-year-old son Cruz, “finally admitted to what was really going on,” telling People she’s now able to “speak openly about the extent of trauma he’s instilled on our family over the years.”
“I’ve tried desperately to help him without success,” she said. “I pray that one day he completely knocks this addiction, but I’m skeptical. His behaviors are still alarming and his treatment plan seems to be the bare minimum.
“I’m trying to navigate this as best as I can for my son and I, but every day is still a challenge and very difficult,” she continued. “Jax has caused an enormous amount of damage and I have very little trust in him at this point. My only hope is that one day, he will be a better person for his son.”
As fans of ‘The Valley’ know, Jax and Brittany separated in February 2024 and Brittany filed for divorce in August, shortly after Jax returned from spending nearly a month in a mental health facility, where he received inpatient treatment and was ultimately diagnosed with bipolar disorder and PTSD.
While Jax was open about his July stint in treatment, he shared this week that he quietly entered rehab again following an incident when he lost his temper in the car while his son was in the backseat. Jax stated that he and Brittany were in the car together with their son and a man called Brittany’s phone, triggering Jax’s anger.
“It just triggered me. I did slip…I lost it. I went crazy in the car, I was yelling,” he said. “And the worst part out of all of this— and this is why I checked myself in [to rehab] was my son was in the backseat. And that’s when I knew. I was like, ‘S**t. I have a problem. It’s still there. I was very aware that I was yelling and then I turned my head and I see my son back there.
“I’m just like, this was just utter disgust. And Brittany was like, ‘You need to go back.’ And I didn’t even put up a fight.”
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Jax stated that his second rehab trip happened around the holidays.
“It was a very dark time,” he said.
In a statement posted to her Instagram Story Tuesday afternoon, Brittany responded to those questioning why she stayed with Jax for so long despite knowing “he had a problem” with drugs and booze, insisting that “you can’t help who you fall in love with.”
“I’ve done absolutely everything in my power to get him the help he so desperately needed,” she wrote. “Unfortunately, I was naive and believed his empty promises and his pleads to change for years.
“Once you have a child with someone it’s not easy to leave,” she continued. “It took everything in my power to gather the strength to walk away. For those that have been through similar [situations], you get it. For those that question me…that’s okay. I’m in a much better place now.”
Jax and Brittany are slated to appear on Season 2 of ‘The Valley.’ A premiere date for the new season has yet to be announced.
Watch a clip from Jax’s interview on ‘Bravo’s Hot Mic’ below.
RELATED STORY: Jax Taylor Slams Lisa Vanderpump for Her Treatment of Kristen Doute & Ally Lewber While Defending James Kennedy After Arrest
(Photos: Bravo; Instagram)
One Response
wow, i’m shocked, SHOCKED 😲😳 i tell you, that jax taylor was (is?) a cokehead ❄️🗿 ~ said no one ever.