During an appearance on Bravo's Hot Mic podcast, The Valley star Jax Taylor opened up about his addiction issues and shared that he's currently 83 days sober after struggling with substance abuse issues for the past 20 years.
Now, his ex-wife, Brittany Cartwright, has responded to his announcement in an exclusive statement to PEOPLE and promises to go more into her thoughts about his sobriety on her own podcast.
"I'm glad that he finally admitted to what was really going on," Brittany Cartwright, who first met Jax Taylor in 2015, said in her statement to the publication. She continued to say that she's skeptical of his claims about his sobriety after she's spent several years trying to help him and encourage him to get help for his issues, but that for the sake of the family they share, she's hopeful that he means what he says this time.
Her statement continues: "I'm trying to navigate this as best as I can for my son and I, but every day is still a challenge and very difficult. Jax has caused an enormous amount of damage and I have very little trust in him at this point. My only hope is that one day, he will be a better person for his son."
Along with the statement shared with PEOPLE, Brittany Cartwright has taken to her Instagram story in order to share another statement with her feelings on Jax Taylor's issues, both sharing that she stands by the fact that she's waiting to see if he means what he says and clapping back at the people who have questioned the fact that they stayed together for so long.
Brittany Cartwright’s IG story on Jax Taylor’s coke addiction and sobriety #TheValley pic.twitter.com/nFX01oYVgM
— Taste of Reality (@TasteOf_Reality) March 5, 2025
The couple have appeared together on Vanderpump Rules, Jax & Brittany Take Kentucky, and The Valley. The pair announced their separation in 2024, shortly before the premiere of The Valley, and in the midst of their separation, Jax Taylor announced that he would be entering a rehab program.
Brittany Cartwright's hesitancy to believe that her ex has really changed isn't new -- she previously shared that she didn't think that going to rehab had changed him "at all" due to the fact that he was still behaving badly and harassing her from inside the treatment facility.
On an episode of the Hot Mic podcast in late 2024, Brittany Cartwright questioned the fact that Jax Taylor hadn't worked on himself or improved his behavior at all while in rehab, saying that the way he acted when he was in the treatment facility helped her to feel like she made the right decision by ending their marriage.
"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," she said on the podcast.
A preview for the second season of The Valley promises that a ton of drama will be brought to light. Although the second season of the Vanderpump Rules spin-off doesn't have a premiere date as of yet, it was filmed in the summer of 2024, so it's likely that the events that followed Brittany Cartwright and Jax Taylor's divorce and that lead up to his decision to enter a rehab facility will be featured on the dramatic upcoming season.
The first season of The Valley is available for streaming on Peacock. Brittany Cartwright promises to share more about her thoughts on Jax Taylor's sobriety on her podcast, When Reality Hits, on the March 7 episode.