"This is in no way, shape or form her fault at all. She should not be getting any kind of flack for this whatsoever," says Taylor of his estranged wife after he revealed he'd been struggling with a decades-long cocaine addiction.
Jax Taylor knows how much his struggles with addiction have cost him both personally and professionally, and he also knows who's to blame for it.
Talking on the premiere episode of his Inside the Mind of a Man podcast, Taylor made it clear that he doesn't blame his estranged wife Brittany Cartwright for any of this ... and neither should anyone else.
The Vanderpump Rules alum, who now stars on spinoff The Valley, said that Brittany was first and foremost on his mind as he made the decision to come clean publicly about his decades-long cocaine addiction.
Leave Brittany Alone
"When I was doing that, I wanted to make sure that I was very delicate," he explained. "She has gone through the most out of all of this. And I know people are going to reach out to her and possibly applaud her. But there’s the people that don’t and say, ‘Why didn’t you try to get him help sooner?'"
It was this thought that he was pushing back against, as noted by E! News, arguing, "This is in no way, shape or form her fault at all. She should not be getting any kind of flack for this whatsoever."
While acknowledging that Brittany was aware of his struggles with addiction, Jax noted that it still must have been "very hurtful" for her to see him open up publicly for the first time about it.
Jax went on to emphasize that Brittany is an amazing mother and person and that their breakup can't be laid at her feet, either. Jax and Brittany share three-year-old son Cruz.
"She's a human being and she was pushed. She was pushed to her limits and I don't blame her," Jax explained.
He also made it clear that "there was other things that went on [in the] relationship too, that had nothing to do with drinking and alcohol that she's still upset about," but he did not elaborate on what those might be.
Ultimately, in deciding to share his raw and unvarnished truth, Jax said, "I don’t really care what anybody thought except for Brittany. To be honest, I just wanted to make sure she was happy," calling the mother of his child "my only priority."
Cartwright filed for divorce in August 2024, citing irreconcilable differences and requesting legal and physical custody of their son. Since then, Taylor shared that he had decided to receive in-patient treatment for his mental health before informing his followers that he was diagnosed with both Bipolar Disorder and PTSD.
Talking about his public admission, Brittany People on March 14, "I'm glad that he finally admitted to what was really going on. For the first time, I can speak openly about the extent of trauma he's instilled on our family over the years."
"I pray that one day he completely knocks this addiction, but I'm skeptical," she continued. "His behaviors are still alarming and his treatment plan seems to be the bare minimum."
"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," she said. "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."
