Brittany Cartwright Says 'Toxic' Jax Taylor Marriage 'Got Worse' AfterThe ValleyStopped Filming (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright at the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards.Photo: Christopher Polk/Variety/Getty

So far on the first season ofThe Valley, Michelle and Jesse Lally’s marriage has been the one on the rocks. The pair saw a couples counselor inthe latest episodeandseparated after filming ended.

But starsBrittany CartwrightandJax Taylor’s marriage will start to show its cracks, too, as the coupleannounced their separationin February.

“Whenever we were filming over the summer, we definitely had some blowups,” Cartwright, 35, tells PEOPLE. “But I feel like we got worse after the cameras went down.”

WhileThe Valleywas filmed last summer, Cartwright reveals that cameras picked back up to capture the latest between her and Taylor, 44. “So you will see some of what’s going on,” she teases. “I think people will understand what I’m going through.”

TheVanderpump Rulesalum says that a couple of “really big” fights led to her leaving the pair’s shared home. She is currently staying in an Airbnb.

“It was super important for me to get out of a toxic situation,” Cartwright adds. “He just needs to calm down. He’s got a lot of different things that he always puts on me. I’m always feeling the pressure of having to deal with things that are going on with him, and that can be really hard.”

Brittany Cartwright and Jax Taylor on ‘The Valley’.Felix Kunze/Bravo via Getty Images

Felix Kunze/Bravo via Getty Images

Cartwright feels she needs more respect from Taylor, with whom she shares 2-year-oldson Cruz.

The duo, whotied the knot in June 2019, continue to co-parent Cruz, work together atJax’s Studio City restaurantand host their podcastWhen Reality Hits with Jax and Brittany.

“It definitely can be challenging,” Cartwright says. “I still love Jax very much, but he is a hard person to deal with, and I think everybody in the world knows that.”

Brittany Cartwright and Jax Taylor with Cruz.Jax Taylor/Instagram

Jax Taylor/Instagram

Though Cartwright doesn’t know how she wants things with Taylor to end up, she says the situation has been “better” for their son “because we aren’t fighting in front of him.”

“That’s what is most important right now,” she continues. “Because that’s why I had to get him out of that situation in the first place."

Cartwright names Cruz as the reason why she’s tried to amiably work alongside Taylor.

“We’ve got to make money for our future, for our son, for his future. That’s what really matters,” she says. “We’re going to be in each other’s lives no matter what, whether we get back together or we don’t, so I’d rather us be able to be around each other than absolutely hate each other. Let’s just pray it doesn’t get that far.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The Valleyairs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.

source: people.com