Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright are navigating a new normal after deciding to take time apart.
“We’re separated. That is for sure. I want people to know that it is possible to coparent and run businesses and be OK with each other,” Jax, 44, exclusively told Us Weekly at the Thursday, March 14, premiere party for Bravo’s The Valley. “Not everybody just gets divorced because they cheated. Believe it or not, that was not the case. I know it’s shocking. We’re just not communicating right now and that’s all there is to it.”
Jax and Brittany, 35, started dating in 2015, and many of their relationship ups and downs played out on Vanderpump Rules. They got married in 2019 before welcoming son Cruz, now 2, in 2021. Brittany confirmed in February that she had moved out of their shared home, later claiming that Jax had not responded to her requests to “do certain things.” (Jax initially downplayed Brittany’s remarks, asserting that they were working through their challenges.)
News of the pair’s separation broke weeks before the debut of The Valley, their reality TV return after leaving Vanderpump Rules in 2020. The timing led some Bravo fans to speculate that the breakup was a “publicity stunt” to drum up interest in their new show, which Brittany fervently denied.
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“[The publicity stunt rumor] really upset me because if people actually watched me over the years and knew my personality and knew me as a human being and not just a reality star, they would know that I would never do that,” Brittany said on Thursday in a separate interview with Us at the series premiere, which took place at Jax’s Studio City bar in California. “I would never put my son in a situation like that. I would never put my life in a situation like that.”
According to Brittany, she “only” addressed their relationship status because “Instagram sleuths” had noticed that she moved out.
“It was either I’m lying and gonna act like everything’s OK, or I come out with the truth,” she explained to Us, emphasizing that it was her decision to take a step away from their marriage. “Yes, I need a separation. Yes, I need to take care of my mental health. Then people were coming back and saying it’s because the show’s coming out. I’m like, literally, I only came out and said this because they figured out that I was staying in another house. I was not going to come out with this at this moment. I’ve always been so honest and open about my life.”
Jax and Brittany filmed The Valley, a Pump Rules spinoff about their suburban life with Cruz, before the separation. Certain tensions were apparent in the trailer, which Bravo released earlier this month.
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Jax further stressed that he and Brittany are “fine” and are amicably coparenting Cruz.
“Everybody goes through it at one point or another in their relationship. Some people get through it,” he told Us. “Some people don’t. We’re taking some time for ourselves. I see her every day [and] we take our son to school together every day. We run our podcast together every day. We have our businesses together. We’re fine. We’re just not sleeping under the same roof. That’s all I have to say about that.”
Brittany also does not have any ill will, telling Us that she still loves Jax “very, very, very much.”
“I love him, but I feel I deserve better than what I’ve been given. It’s a back and forth,” Brittany said, alleging she was stuck in a “negative situation” with Jax that she’s been proud to remove herself from. “Cruz is the most important thing in my life. I want him to grow up watching a happy household. He doesn’t deserve to watch people fighting or arguing or whatever. He deserves the most. I got a lot stronger when I had my son and I realized, ‘Oh no, this is not OK.’”
The Valley premieres on Bravo Tuesday, March 19, at 9 p.m. ET and streams the next day on Peacock.
With reporting by Mike Vulpo
