Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright are “taking time apart” from their marriage.
During the Thursday, February 29, episode of their joint “When Reality Hits” podcast, Cartwright, 35, announced she and Taylor, 44, are on the rocks.
“So many of you guys have been asking me about Jax and I and our relationship. I just think it is important to be real and honest with you guys because we have shared so much of our life with you guys,” she said. “I don’t want it to seem like I am lying or anything like that. So I think it is important for me to say this.”
Cartwright confirmed that she and Taylor have had issues in their marriage, adding, “With all the speculation online and stories running rampant, I wanted to be transparent with you. Yes, marriages are very hard and I had a particularly rough year.”
She continued: “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 won’t get into too many details right now because this is still really hard to talk about.”
Cartwright, who shares 2-year-old son Cruz with Taylor, said her focus remains on her family. “I am taking things one day at a time,” she concluded. “I don’t know what the future holds but right now my focus is on being the best mom to Cruz. I love you guys and pray for us. Everything will be just fine.”
The news comes one week after Cartwright and Taylor discussed the ups and downs in their relationship.
“I think that we will have to address some rumors — just a little bit. I’m not going to go too hard on this because, you know, some people do deserve to have their privacy. But I will say — marriage is hard and people go through ups and downs all the time and it’s completely normal,” Cartwright noted on the February 22 episode of their podcast. “Sometimes people might need their space [and] sometimes they won’t.”
Taylor remained largely quiet as Cartwright discussed their personal life. “I just want to make one thing clear and that is that my life is not a publicity stunt for anything. We filmed The Valley months ago — months and months and months ago,” she added. “And we’re super excited for this to come out and there’s been so many changes that has happened in so every single couple’s lives — every single couple on the show. I just want to make that very clear: no publicity stunts here.”
While Taylor and Cartwright navigated a cheating scandal in the past, a source previously told Us Weekly that infidelity was not a current issue in their relationship.
Bravo fans know Taylor was an OG cast member when Vanderpump Rules debuted in 2013. Cartwright subsequently joined the series in 2015 after she started dating Taylor before becoming a main cast member as well.
One year after their nuptials were documented for season 8, Cartwright and Taylor announced their departure from the show. Their break from reality TV is nearly over as fans prepare to check in on the duo — and former costar Kristen Doute — in the upcoming Vanderpump Rules spinoff series, The Valley.
Earlier this month, Taylor said he didn’t expect so much drama while filming the series.
“Honestly, when I started this show, [I said], ‘It’s going to be a little less drama.’ I almost think it is more drama than there was on Vanderpump. It’s almost like we didn’t skip a beat,'” he said on their podcast. “So much has happened since we started filming. I can’t believe the cameras aren’t still going to be honest. There’s a lot going on.”
