Brittany Cartwright opened up about the moments that led to her separation from Jax Taylor on Watch What Happens Live on Tuesday night.
As host Andy Cohen, 55, asked her a series of questions about their breakup, Brittany, 35, admitted she and Jax, 44, were fighting all the time and had created a “toxic” environment at home before their split as she also spoke of their bar, Jax’s Studio City, her feelings about therapy, and how she’s doing without him.
“We just had a horrible fight and it was like a veil was lifted and I noticed everything wrong. They always say a woman can hit her breaking point and then it’s hard to come back from that,” Brittany revealed of her and Jax’s separation on the April 2 episode of WWHL. “He kinda woke up one morning and was mad that I went out with [Kristen Doute] the night before and kind of like made up a story in his head and started a fight over something that never happened.”
Although that particular fight was the straw that broke the camel’s back, Brittany said there were many before it.
“It got to the point where we fought about everything. A cabinet would be open and I was mad that he didn’t shut a cabinet. It could be anything at that point. It was just a very toxic situation that I felt like I needed to remove myself from,” she explained.
While there have been claims of potential infidelity, Brittany said she “did all the digging” and “made sure” she hadn’t been cheated on.
“[Janet Caperna], from The Valley, she like, dove in and was like ‘Let’s figure everything out,’ so we already knew that wasn’t true,” she confirmed. “I feel like there’s always rumors about Jax no matter what.”
According to Brittany, she doesn’t think Jax cheated on her but wonders if he would in the future.
“Mmmm I mean, I feel like he has been in our marriage so far but do I feel like he could for the rest of my life’? I’m not sure,” she admitted, noting that they are “still separated” and that she’s “still in the Airbnb.”
On the heels of the news of their separation, Jax denied that their bar was a factor in their split. But, on WWHL, Brittany hinted that wasn’t completely true.
“A little bit but I mean, if you do things the right way it’s not gonna affect your marriage,” she explained.
As she continues to navigate her new life as a single mom living away from Jax, Brittany, who confessed that “lots” of her friends were happy about the breakup, said they’ve been doing well co-parenting their 2-year-old son Cruz as she applauded Jax as a “great father.”
“That’s our main priority no matter what,” she stated.
As Vanderpump Rules fans will recall, Brittany and Jax were accused of staging their split to promote The Valley when it was first announced. But, as Brittany noted, she would never do such a thing.
“It was so hurtful for me because I feel like I’ve always shown my true character and I feel like why would anybody think I would do that, especially with my son. I would never put him through that for no reason, for a fake stunt. That doesn’t make sense,” she reasoned.
When Andy then asked if she and Jax were in therapy, Brittany confirmed they were not.
“That’s one of my things that I said needs to happen but no,” she shared.
Brittany went on to say that her and Jax’s sex life began to dwindle before Cruz’s birth and noted that things between them are currently “up in the air.”
“I feel like I’m really strong right now,” she said. “I feel like I’ve grown a lot in the past couple years, especially after having Cruz, I’ve gotten so much stronger and I feel like I deserve better. Also, watching myself back, even on the first couple episodes of The Valley, I’m constantly cleaning up messes because I’m ride or die for the people I love so I always try to bring people together and make things better but also people are watching it mad at me that I was doing that but that [is] my husband. But I notice these things now. So that’s the difference.”
