Brittany Cartwright ‘Broke the Cycle’ by Divorcing Jax Taylor: ‘He Didn't Think I Was Going to Do It' (Exclusive)

The 'Vanderpump Rules' alum tells PEOPLE she "did every single thing I could" before deciding last month to end things with her husband of five years

When Brittany Cartwright and Jax Taylor announced their separation in late February, they didn’t know what the future held.

“Even through our separation, I still was holding on hope that we could work things out,” Cartwright, 35, tells PEOPLE while discussing her recent AirSculpt procedure.

She filed for divorce in August citing "irreconcilable differences."

“I think it's been very obvious much I loved him and how hard I tried to work on our relationship,” Cartwright says. “I wanted to make sure I did every single thing I could possibly do to give it a chance and to try for my family, for my son, for my future, but I couldn't do it anymore. I had to put myself first.”

Viewers will see the split play out on season 2 of The Valley. “You'll see why I had to do what I had to do,” Cartwright says.

She credits the Bravo cameras for holding her "accountable” when it came to making sure she didn’t stay in a situation that didn’t work for her.

“I think I'll look back on and be like, ‘Thank God the cameras were there because I don't know if I would've been strong enough to go through this without it,’’ she says. “And I know that sounds crazy, but I know I've got all these people in my corner and I'm not going to disappoint. I'm going to stay strong and do what's right. I finally broke the cycle.”

Taylor, 45, said in an April episode of The Valley that the “D word does not exist in my family,” referring to “divorce."

After moving out of her and Taylor’s house after their separation at the start of the year and living in multiple rentals, Cartwright reveals, “I'm finally back home. It feels good to be back where I was meant to be and not have to move around anymore for a while.”

The Kentucky native clarifies that, this time, Taylor moved out. “He finally got out of the house after eight months of the crying,” Cartwright says. “I still think that he didn't think that I was going to do it, even to this day.”

Cartwright doesn’t feel quite ready to date just yet, but “I'm being flirty,” she says. “I don't need a relationship right now. I have a lot of healing to do from this relationship. I never thought that I would be going through a divorce. I always thought Jax was my forever, so this is something I'm going to have to navigate. I am having fun, but nothing is serious.”

The reality star knows, though, that whoever she dates next will have to be accepting of her public lifestyle.

“I'm very open. I'm very honest,” Cartwright says. “Even on my social media and different things that I go through with my son and my whole entire life, I'm going to keep doing this while I can. It doesn't last forever, so whoever dates me is going to have to be okay with all this craziness in my life, but I think I'm worth it.”

The star's been open about her weight loss journey three years after giving birth to Cruz, and recently turned to AirSculpt for a "confidence boost" with a Stomach AirSculpt+ and skin tightening treatment.

“I think everybody could see that I didn't feel like I had any confidence last season,” she says. “And I just feel like I feel so much better in my clothes now. I feel more like myself. I'm a lot happier. I'm putting myself first and I definitely feel a lot more confident all around.”

Cartwright hopes that by speaking openly about undergoing the treatment, she can give other women permission to “do things that make you happy.”

“It's okay to want to feel like you yourself again,” she says. “AirSculpt was amazing for me, mine particularly is because of having a baby. So many women don't snap back like me and I think it's okay to want extra help.”  

Today, Cartwright feels satisfied knowing she made the right decision when it came to AirSculpt and leaving Taylor.

“It would've been easier for me to stay in this house from the beginning, stay with him, continue fighting. I wouldn't have to change my house, I wouldn't have to change my family, but it would've been so toxic,” she says. “And at the end of the day, that's just not good for my son. I feel like I did the harder thing and I'm being strong and I'm just going to keep moving forward.”