Brittany Cartwright recalls explosive fight before Jax Taylor got clean from cocaine
Brittany Cartwright is sharing her side of the story on the blowout fight she had with her estranged husband, Jax Taylor, that led to him finally seek help for his substance abuse issues.
The âValleyâ star, 36, said on her âWhen Reality Hitsâ podcast Friday that Taylor woke up after a night of parting in November 2024 in a âhorrible moodâ and began âmaking her cryâ on the way to their son Cruzâs doctorâs appointment. She claimed he had been using drugs the night prior and was hungover.
Cartwright said she had asked Taylor not to tag along for the long car ride, but he insisted and the former couple started arguing first about a bar opening â not another guy â like he recently claimed.
âBefore a guy ever texted my phone, he was already at my throat, he was already making me cry and I was in the car for at least 30 minutes at that point,â the mom of one said in the episode.
âWe almost pulled over so I could get out and call an Uber and put me and Cruz in an Uber, like, it was bad.â
When another manâs phone number popped up on the GPS screen, Cartwright said of Taylor, âHe loses it. He starts trying to grab my phone and Cruz is in the backseat in his car seat â that alone is horrible.â
She recalled him âreaching over,â âgrabbingâ her phone and yelling âthe most despicable thingsâ at her. All the while, Cruz was sitting in the backseat.
Earlier this week, Taylor, 45, admitted on Bravoâs âHot Micâ podcast, hosted by executive producer Alex Baskin, that he âlost itâ and âwent crazy in the carâ during that fight.
He claimed Cruz was the catalyst for him going to a rehab, saying, âThatâs when I knew, âSât, I have a problem. Itâs still there.’â
However, Cartwright said itâs ânot trueâ that their son led him to changing his ways, claiming her ex denied he had a problem with addiction that same day.
She noted that after leaving the doctorâs office, she got back home in an Uber, locked the door and called Taylorâs sister, her manager, publicist and Baskin, which could have put her exâs reality TV job at risk.
âIf I hadnât called all of these people ⊠if his job wasnât threatened yet again ⊠he would not have went,â Cartwright said. âIt was a really, really bad situation.â
The reality star said the day of the confrontation was the âsame dayâ Taylor got into a hit-and-run.
Shortly after, he checked himself into a rehab center â which was different than the mental health center he had been to earlier in the year â but âleft earlyâ after only 17 days.
Although Cartwright has said that she is skeptical that her ex will remain sober, she said on her podcast Friday, âNo one wants Jax to be better more than I do.
âI tried and tried and tried for years to help this man get better and for us to be a happy family, I was deeply and madly in love with him, thereâs no one that can ever deny that. You know? My love was real.â
On Saturday, Taylor took to Instagram to celebrate 100 days of sobriety alongside a photo of him posing and a chart showing he has been clean from both cocaine and alcohol during that timeframe.
He wrote in the caption, â100 days down and the rest of my life to go.â
Cartwright, meanwhile, has been leaning on her friends for support. Earlier this week, she went to her former âVanderpump Rulesâ co-star Scheana Shayâs house to watch her on âThe Masked Singer.â
âThe other day was a really tough one for her, and sheâs getting hit from all angles,â Shay, 39, told Page Six in an exclusive interview Thursday.
âI think it was a nice little escape for her last night to just hang out with her friends and have this nice surprise.â
Aside from dealing with Taylorâs addiction, the exes are also in the process of getting a divorce.
Cartwright filed last August after five years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences.