Jax Taylor is accusing his estranged wife, Brittany Cartwright, of allegedly attempting to “sabotage” his career amid the former couple’s contentious divorce.
“Yesterday was just another example of Brittany going out of her way to publicly embarrass and humiliate me,” Jax, 47, exclusively tells Us, referring to his now-viral fake brand partnership. “Instead of reaching out privately to address the situation, she chose to contact the brand, laugh about it on her podcast, and post false accusations on social media, turning something that could have been handled privately into a public spectacle.”
Jax adds, “Unfortunately, this has become a pattern. It’s just another example of her ongoing attempts to damage my reputation, interfere with my ability to work and earn a living, and make it as difficult as possible for me to move forward and rebuild my life.”
On Friday, July 31, Jax addressed his non-existent partnership with Smartwater, claiming he made a “simple mistake” when he posted about the fake brand deal. The former Vanderpump Rules star tells Us he was presented the brand opportunity from VideoForce.ai, a legitimate creator website, which contributed to the mistake.
“A few weeks ago, I accepted what I believed was a legitimate campaign opportunity through a third party influencer platform, like many creators use,” Jax wrote in a statement shared via social media. “I received the offer, emails, creative brief and deliverables. I trusted a platform that turned out not to be legitimate. As soon as I was notified that the campaign was unauthorized, I removed the content immediately. I have never and would never intentionally misrepresent a partnership.”
Jax’s ex, Brittany, addressed the fake brand partnership on her podcast.
“I opened that DM [about the situation] LIVE while recording a podcast,” The Valley star, 37, alleged. “Blame people for their awful actions, not the person who is having to live with it daily. I’m done.”
When speaking to Us, Jax acknowledged that it has been “over two and a half years” since the pair separated and “nearly two years of trying to finalize” their divorce. (The pair, who got married in June 2019, share a son, Cruz, born in 2021.)
“During that time, I’ve worked incredibly hard on my sobriety, my mental health and becoming the best father I can be,” he says. “I’ve stayed silent for the past year out of respect for Cruz and because I believed taking the high road was the right thing to do. But staying silent while Brittany continues to lie about me publicly and find any opportunity to humiliate me has been incredibly difficult.”
He continues, “Last week we spent eight hours in court hoping to finally move this divorce forward, but it went nowhere because Brittany had not provided the financial disclosures that were required and came completely unprepared. She has also been subpoenaed by her own attorneys because she’s failed to provide the information they needed. My attorney has also gone on record confirming that she has never had to pay for my taxes, despite her continuing to publicly claim otherwise. This process has dragged on way longer than it should, and I just want to close this chapter and move on with my life.”
Jax also alleges that Brittany has “interfered” with various opportunities he has made to “rebuild” his career, including an alleged stint on the hit reality TV series Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.
“On top of that, every time I’ve been presented with an opportunity to rebuild my career, those opportunities have been interfered with by Brittany. She has contacted networks and brand opportunities I had secured, resulting in jobs being jeopardized or lost. Her actions have directly impacted my ability to work, support myself and earn a living,” Jax claims. “I was set to film this season of Special Forces and after all the paperwork completed and taking multiple vaccines and my uniform in hand the offer was retracted days prior to me leaving. I came to find out that Brittany contacted them and once again interfered with an amazing job opportunity that would have helped me move forward.“
Us has reached out to Brittany for comment on Jax’s latest claims.
“I just want the same opportunity Brittany has had — to tell my truth, continue my recovery, focus on my son and build the next chapter of my life in peace,” Jax says. “I’m not dismissing my past actions or behavior. I know I’ve made mistakes, and I’ve worked hard in my recovery and I’m sober now for 1 year and 8 months.”
He adds, “I just wish there was space for me to grow, heal, and move forward instead of having every step I take toward rebuilding my life met with another attempt to tear me down.”
A source close to Brittany tells Us that the Brittany “is and always has been the victim” of Jax’s, adding that it’s “time people stop trying to rewrite that reality.”
“Watching someone continue to blame Brittany for the consequences of his own actions is beyond disappointing and frustrating. Brittany is not responsible for his behavior, and she never has been. The accountability lies with Jax, yet he continues to lie, deflect, and refuse to take responsibility for the damage he’s caused,” the source says. “If he’s struggling to book jobs, it’s because of his own actions — both on and off camera — not because of Brittany.”
The source adds, “We already know, and it has been stated multiple times that the divorce has been prolonged because of Jax’s multiple stays in rehab, but instead of focusing on bettering himself, he continues grasping at straws to try to continually make Brittany look bad. It isn’t working and he keeps showing everyone exactly who he is. The narrative that Brittany somehow needs him is laughable. She has been raising and providing for their son without meaningful financial help from Jax for years. Brittany has worked incredibly hard to build a stable life for her child despite everything she’s had to endure.”
The source alleges that Jax’s claims are simply “more of the same behavior we’ve all seen for years.”
“Brittany is done allowing him to rewrite history and perform as though he’s ‘changed,'” she source adds, “while his actions continue to tell a completely different story. Enough is enough.”
