Jax Taylor Says He "Blindsided" Brittany Cartwright & Initiated Split

Years before they even got married, Jax Taylor cheated on Brittany Cartwright in 2017 when he hooked up with former SUR waitress Faith Stowers. 

"This isn't my first time being caught cheating," Jax admitted at the time as the drama played out on Vanderpump Rules. "In the past, I've gone through months and months of deny, deny, deny, and that didn't work for me." 

But while a devasted Brittany broke up with him, they got back together months later and eventually wed in 2020.

Fast forward to February 2024, Brittany announced she and Jax—who share 2-year-old son Cruz—had separated after four years of marriage. 

"Yes, marriages in general are very hard and I've had a particularly rough year this past year," the Kentucky native shared on their When Reality Hits podcast. "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."

"I'm taking one day at a time," Brittany added. "I don't know what the future holds, but right now my focus is on being the best mom to Cruz."

One month later, the cracks in the couple's relationship became much more apparent when Bravo released the trailer for its new series The Valley.

"I don't feel like he's attracted to me, we don't have sex ever," Brittany admitted in the March 11 preview before Jax added, "It's so hard to be married sometimes."

Plus, costar Janet Caperna teased in the clip, "There's a rumor about Jax cheating online."

However, Jax slammed allegations of infidelity days after the trailer release.

"We're just having a little communication issues right now. That's all, there's nothing else," he exclusively told E! News March 14 at The Valley premiere party. "There's no cheating. There's no infidelity anywhere. It's just communication. I know it's shocking, but people sometimes just don't get along and that's life."

"We see each other every single day," he added. "The only thing that's different is we just don't sleep under the same roof. That's it."

Despite rumors, Brittany confirmed Jax cheating did not cause their breakup and shared the true timeline of their separation.

"We got into a very bad fight and I decided to pack up my stuff," the 35-year-old exclusively told E! News March 18, "and I've been staying in an Airbnb since January 24."

"I'm doing it for my mental space," she added, "and I feel very strong with my decision to get out for a while."

Despite their personal drama, the estranged couple agreed on one thing: They are doing what's best for 2-year-old son.

"He's no. 1 and we both agree on that," Jax told E!. "It's about knowing he's got two loving parents that love him to death and he's gonna have the best life possible, whether we are together or not."

As for their increased fighting, Brittany agreed, "I just don't want that for our son. I don't want him growing up thinking it's normal to live like that."

Brittany admitted in March that "there's always hope," but she just needs Jax to put in the work.

"I don't think anybody will ever love Jax the way I've loved Jax," Brittany told E!. "Over all these years, I've been through so much with him and I'm stuck by his side through everything. So I think that if he makes certain changes that I've asked, maybe we could get back together. But right now, I just really need to figure out myself. I felt really strong and really proud of myself for being able to step out and do what's right for me. My mental health is super important."

One person who wasn't so shocked by Jax and Brittany's separation? Their former SUR boss Lisa Vanderpump.

"Everybody predicted that when they got married," the Real Housewives alum shared with E!. "They said, 'Oh this won't last long,' but I kind of never liked to draw conclusions."

"I don't know what the reason was," she added, "but I imagine it was probably something to do with Jax's bad behavior. I'm not sure, but the indicator of future behavior is normally past behavior."

And the couple's The Valley costar Kristen Doute agreed with Scheana.

"I'm proud of Brittany for setting boundaries for making the choice for her," Kristen admitted. "But I'm very hopeful that they can work this out. But that's on Jax, that's not on her."

During The Valley's June 4 season finale, Brittany confronted Jax about insults he allegedly hurled at her behind closed doors.

As costar Kristen Doute recounted, "Does he say, 'I know I treat you like s—t. 'I know I'm mean. I know I've called you fat and I've told you you're f--king lazy and that you're not going to have any friends if you guys break up?'"

In July, Jax shared he was seeking in-patient treatment for mental health issues after Brittany had begged him to go to therapy for years.

The VPR alum mainly credited son Cruz as the reason he saught professional help.

"Working on getting better for you buddy," Jax wrote in an Instagram post July 31 alongside a photo of him planting a kiss on the little one's cheek. "I love you."

In court documents obtained by E! News in October 2024, Jax requested that Brittany be granted sole legal and physical custody of their son Cruz.

Though Jax confirmed in his filing that he and Brittany wed in June 2019, he also checked a box on the document reading, "Respondent contends that the parties never legally married or registered in a domestic partnership."

His rep later told E! News, "While Jax made errors in filing out forms that are usually done by trained legal professionals, those errors will be amended without delay."

After Jax's conflicting response to Brittany's divorce petition led people to question whether they were legally married, she set the record straight.

“We are legally married," she commented on E! News' Instagram post about Jax's response snafu. "I’m guessing paperwork is hard for some people.”

In November 2024, Brittany confirmed she had a fling with one of Jax's friends following their split and was not apologizing for it.

“We did not have a no dating in the friend group policy,” she told Bravo's Hot Mic Nov. 11. “We never spoke about that because why would we? First off, I didn’t think I was going to hook up with his friend. It wasn’t planned. I wasn’t trying to go after one of his friends. That’s not how it happened.”

As for while she chose to move on with someone in the friend group?

"It was somebody that I felt like I knew and in our world," she added. "It’s so crazy because, like, how do you trust people? And I was single for the first time in L.A.”

Jax called Brittany hooking up with his friend Julian a "slap in the face" and revealed his shocked reaction to their romance.

“I don’t think I would have been bothered by it if it was somebody else that I didn’t know,” he told Bravo's Hot Mic Nov. 14. "I want her to meet somebody, just not somebody I know."

He also recounted finding out Brittany was sending Julian naked photos, adding, "I caught her in a couple of lies."