Jax Taylor is more than 100 days sober from cocaine and alcohol, but The Valley star revealed this week that he has yet to quit holding onto the anger he has for his estranged wife, Brittany Cartwright.
As The Ashley previously told you, Brittany filed for divorce from Jax in August and earlier this month, Jax revealed publicly that he’s been struggling with cocaine addiction and “substance issues” for two decades and has been sober for months. While the former Vanderpump Rules couple has engaged in heated exchanges and made accusations about one another on podcasts, online and on-camera since their split, Jax claimed in a new interview with Us Weekly that he will never speak badly about the mother of his three-year-old son, Cruz… but then went on to do exactly that.
“I will never, ever talk negatively about Brittany, I just, I come from a place where you just don’t talk about your significant other publicly,” Jax said. “Am I angry with some of the things that she’s done? Absolutely. Is there a lot of things out there that you guys don’t know? Yes, there’s a lot. It takes two to argue, OK? It takes two to fight.
“ … I know a lot of my stuff is out there and I know she’s said a lot of things publicly about me,” Jax continued. “Is it deserved? Probably, yeah. The things that she said to me that you guys have heard, it’s hurtful … .”
Despite vowing– no less than 20 seconds earlier– to not diss his estranged wife publicly, Jax went on to suggest that his and Brittany’s marriage wasn’t really as “bad” as Brittany has claimed.
“ … If it was so bad all these years, why did you stay all these years?” Jax said. “If it was so bad, why did you ask me to have another kid last year? If it was so bad three months prior, why did you ask me to have sex with you?”
(As The Ashley previously reported, Brittany vehemently denied that last allegation in November.)
While Jax admitted that he “angered” Brittany “a lot” over the years, he also wonders why she never suggested that they go to therapy or work together to figure out their marital problems.
“I’m not putting it on her at all, but we’re in a marriage as a team, you’re partners, and I felt like I lost my partner a little bit, ya know? I think she lost hers, too,” he said.
Jax told Us Weekly that Brittany’s possible fling with his friend Julian Sensley was the breaking point for him.
“I found out Brittany was talking to my friend,” he said. “It was a serious slap in the face — I brought this person into my circle! When I found out, I collapsed.”
Surprisingly, Jax also told the outlet that he “had to thank Brittany,” as he doesn’t think he’d be here right now if she didn’t “take actions into her own hands” and demand that he go to rehab. He made a nearly identical comment about his son.
“I solely believe that I’m only here right now because of [Cruz],” Jax said. “ … He’s the reason I went to rehab.”
While he’s sober from cocaine and alcohol today, Jax revealed this week that quite a lot of his SUR tip money/Bravo bucks were spent on fueling his addiction over the years, claiming, “I could probably buy a house for the amount of money I’ve spent on drugs.”
“It’s sickening to me. It’s sad to me,” he said of his past spending/drug habit. “My parents did not raise this kind of person.”
For the record, Jax stated in the interview that he’s currently “between 107 [and] 110” days sober, claiming he tries not to keep count anymore.
“I just wanted to make it to 100,” he said. “That was important to me.”
Jax told the magazine that he finally admitted to his cocaine addiction— something ‘Vanderpump Rules’ fans have speculated about for years— because he felt like it was the right time.
“If you’ve watched me on the show, you could tell there was something going on. I didn’t hide it that well,” Jax said.
“It’s really embarrassing, especially at this stage of my life being a father, being 45 years old, but I wanted it to come out of my mouth — exactly in my own words. This was the right time for me. I’m fresh out of rehab. I’m doing the therapy. This is a good place.”
He did admit that he’s worried about how fans will react to a sober Jax.
“I’m nervous people are not going to accept this laid-back person,” he said. “We all know I’ll never be fully laid-back — it’s not my DNA. But the old me is not there. I’m exhausted from the arguing, the conniving, the lying. I’m surrendering, and if you don’t like me, fine. But I’m hoping people can watch it and be like, ‘it’s about f**king time.'”
Brittany and Zach Wickham of ‘The Valley’ later took to the comment section of Us Weekly’s Instagram post featuring Jax to share their thoughts on the interview, with both suggesting that Jax’s comments were laughable.
“😂😂⚰️,” Brittany wrote, with Zack adding, “This is an early April Fools joke right?”
Season 2 of ‘The Valley’ premieres April 15 on Bravo.
RELATED STORY: Lala Kent Insists She Didn’t Move From West Hollywood to the San Fernando Valley to Be on Bravo’s ‘The Valley’
(Photos: Bravo; Instagram)
3 Responses
Brittany is problematic. Instead of commenting on EVERYTHING her ex husband does or says, she needs to shut her mouth and move on. If he’s lying let him lie and dig his own grave, if he’s telling the truth great, but to constantly comment a jab or follow it up on her podcast is exhausting and immature
Hate to doubt someone’s sobriety but I doubt his sobriety. He talked with some paparazzi not that long ago and had that drugged up crazed look in his eyes again. I don’t think he is going to change for Cruz or for himself. He thinks he is perfect and whoever is with him needs to thank him for being with them. He still thinks he is a good catch for women. He still wouldn’t know the truth if it slapped him in his nose job.
Agreed. He’s never shown the slightest interest in changing.