Inside Jax Taylor And Brittany Cartwright's Disastrous Split

The red flags in Brittany Cartwright and Jax Taylor's relationship became glaringly obvious shortly after they started dating. When their paths first crossed at a Las Vegas bar in 2015, Taylor was a reality TV star with three seasons of "Vanderpump Rules" under his belt, and Cartwright was a Hooters waitress. Their relationship seemed to be pretty solid until a December 2017 episode of the reality show, during which Taylor informed his girlfriend of two years that he had cheated on her with Faith Stowers, a co-star and SURVER at Lisa Vanderpump's restaurant SUR, where much of "VPR" was set.

While he stressed that infidelity had occurred while they were going through a rough patch, Cartwright was understandably infuriated, and she famously told him to "rot in hell," per E! News. In the following episodes, they argued about cheating and even had a screaming match over the phone. Despite all the heartache and anger, the couple somehow stayed together. Cartwright explained her reasoning for sticking with Taylor during an episode of the show: "I was raised to be a good Christian woman, and that is all about forgiveness, and I believe everybody deserves it. Even Jax," (via People). 

However, in a shocking turn of events, Taylor ended their relationship because he didn't believe he was the kind of person with whom she envisioned a happy family life. Once again, that split didn't last long, as the celebrity couple announced their engagement in June 2018. Taylor and Cartwright said their "I dos" the following year and welcomed their first and only child, son Cruz Michael Cauchi, in 2021. However, all that drama paled in comparison to everything that happened during their 2024 divorce. 

During a February 2024 episode of Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright's "When Reality Hits" podcast, she confessed that they were going through a rough patch in their marriage. "Jax and I are taking time apart and I made the decision to move into another home to take some space for the sake of my mental health," Cartwright explained. However, around the same time, Taylor reassured Page Six that their split wasn't permanent, and they had only decided to temporarily live separately to protect their son's best interests. In fact, he even claimed that his wife had moved back in with him. 

The former "VPR" stars certainly appeared to be heading for a permanent break in August 2024, as People reported that Cartwright had filed for divorce. Then, in October, Us Weekly confirmed that her soon-to-be ex-husband had lodged a similar request to dissolve their union. Unfortunately, Taylor made an error in his filing and ticked one box that stated they were legally married and another that stated they weren't. 

Given his checkered history, fans naturally began to wonder if infidelity was the reason for their split. Cartwright dispelled the rumors during a chat with E! News, clarifying, "The truth is that we have just been fighting and not on the same page for a while now and it was just becoming a negative space in our own house." Likewise, they weren't creating a healthy image of marriage for their son by constantly arguing.

During an April 2024 appearance on "Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen," Brittany Cartwright disclosed that she finally decided to separate from Jax Taylor following a particularly explosive argument that occurred after she had a night out with fellow former "VPR" star Kristen Doute. While Cartwright didn't get into specifics, she did detail how her then-husband had "made up a story in his own head and started a fight over something that never happened." And the spat ultimately made all the red flags in their marriage even more blatantly obvious to her. 

Meanwhile, when she spoke to Page Six in March 2024, the reality star sadly acknowledged that Taylor had gradually stopped making her feel valued and rarely ever even wanted to have sex with her anymore. In fact, Cartwright openly called her estranged husband out for treating her poorly during the season finale of "The Valley," reminding Taylor, "You screamed at me, said horrible things to me. That I had no friends here. That nobody liked me here." After denying his wife's claims, the controversial reality star reasoned that it was probably when they were tipsy. 

While insisting that he wanted to work on their marriage, Taylor also seemingly admitted that their separation wasn't that hard for him. The former couple similarly got into another blazing row during a May 2024 episode of "The Valley," when Taylor didn't support Cartwright through a brief illness and shockingly suggested that it had been brought on by excessive drinking, and was therefore her own fault, which she vociferously denied. "I feel like Jax is sucking the life out of me and sucking away all my sparkle," Cartwright sadly declared in a confessional (via E! News).

 During a November 2024 appearance on the "Bravo's Hot Mic" podcast, Jax Taylor recalled how he learned that Brittany Cartwright had struck up a romantic connection with Julian Sensley, his good friend and TomTom doorman, after spotting a "weird message" from him on her phone. However, when the reality star confronted his ex-wife about it, she wasn't entirely honest and only came clean following a lengthy conversation. Although Taylor noted that they were separated at the time and had given each other the green light to pursue other people, he was still hurt by his ex-wife's new romance because they decided against dating anyone in their mutual circles. Just a few days prior, Cartwright appeared on the "Hot Mic" podcast herself and proclaimed that she never had a conversation with her ex-husband about dating solely outside of their friend group. 

Additionally, the "Valley" star made it abundantly clear that she wasn't losing sleep over Taylor's hurt feelings. As Cartwright contended, "I didn't care if I hurt his feelings like that. Why should I care? He never cared about how he hurt my feelings for years. He put me down." She continued, "He did so much to me that, I'm sorry you're so upset about who it is, but at the same time, you didn't give me attention, affection or anything for years." It's worth keeping in mind that an insider informed Page Six that Sensley and Cartwright had a short-lived friends-with-benefits type of situation rather than a serious relationship.

While Brittany Cartwright and Jax Taylor fought about their rapidly dissolving marriage in the season finale of "The Valley," he informed her that he was giving in to her long-standing request to go to therapy and was attending his first session shortly afterward. However, Cartwright was unimpressed by Taylor's gesture because he only made the appointment the day before they started filming, and she reckoned he was only doing it for the show. In fact, in a confessional, she posited that her then-husband wouldn't attend his session at all. Unfortunately, she guessed right, as the controversial reality star later divulged that he wound up skipping the appointment simply because Taylor couldn't be bothered to make the drive to his therapist's office. 

Then, in July 2024, TMZ reported that Taylor was actively working on his mental health at an in-patient facility. While Cartwright urged him to go to therapy time and again, she ultimately didn't believe it did him much good. In fact, during her November 2024 appearance on the "Bravo's Hot Mic" podcast, she admitted that her then-husband's time in therapy helped her realize that their relationship was beyond saving. Cartwright went on to recall Taylor's questionable behavior at the time, pointing out, "Like, if you're in therapy seven hours a day, and you're still finding time to call me names and cuss me out? And send me rage texts? Then you're obviously not ever gonna change." As a result, it's unsurprising that filing for divorce made her feel "relieved."

Brittany Cartwright and Jax Taylor's baby plans came to fruition with the arrival of their son, Cruz Michael Cauchi, in April 2021. The little one entered this world about a year after the two reality stars left "Vanderpump Rules" because of Taylor reportedly being fired for increasingly bad behavior. Although Cartwright and Taylor got into several explosive fights on camera over the years, they always prioritized their son's happiness behind the scenes. And they continued to put him first even through their divorce. In October 2024, Us Weekly reported that Taylor had made an unprecedented move for celebs and granted his ex-wife sole physical and legal custody over Cauchi. Just a month prior, Cartwright told People that she wanted their son to continue to have a close relationship with his father. "He's a great dad. Great dad, terrible husband," she stated. 

However, the "Valley" star was also impressively honest about where their co-parenting relationship stood, confessing, "It's going to take some time. Still, things are very raw between us, but for the most part, I do know if I needed something, if Cruz needed something, I could call him and he would be there for us." Taylor shared a similar sentiment during a September 2024 episode of their "When Reality Hits" podcast by expressing that he looked forward to the day they could have a friendly, drama-free relationship. He cemented his optimism for their future by saying, "I know I'm an amazing father and I know that I will make an excellent ex-husband."