Brittany Cartwright is opening up about her three-year-old son Cruz and his recent autism diagnosis.
Ahead of next week’s premiere of The Valley season two, Brittany, 36, who is in the midst of a divorce from Cruz’s father, Jax Taylor, 45, Brittany reflected on the years leading up to the “challenging” revelation while also sharing how Cruz is doing now, how she’s coping with the diagnosis, and her hopes for her son’s future.
“He crawled early, he walked early,” Brittany recalled during an April 9 interview with PEOPLE. “He was talking, he was saying, ‘Mommy,’ ‘Daddy.’ He was saying ‘Hot Dog!’ from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Then, as he got closer to 2, we started noticing that he was regressing in his speech. He stopped talking almost completely.”
While Brittany and Jax immediately put Cruz in speech and occupational therapy, he is now primarily nonverbal.
“[He’ll] sporadically say different words,” like “Mommy,” Brittany shared. “It can be difficult because I’ve never heard him say, ‘I love you,’ but he is so loving, and he shows me he loves me every single day. He is such a mommy’s boy.”
When Brittany received Cruz’s diagnosis from his developmental pediatrician last fall, she was admittedly “expecting” the news.
“Our life is going to look a little bit different, but I feel like I was meant to be his mom,” she noted. “He is my better half. He is my little partner in crime. He is everything to me, and even though he can’t talk, I know everything that he wants, everything that he needs. We’re just so synced, it’s incredible.”
Prior to confirming Cruz’s diagnosis publicly, she shared the news with her family and close friends, explaining what it meant and how they were working through it
“It might be challenging at times, but I couldn’t imagine my life being different,” Brittany continued. “It can be sad at times because you want them to live life to the fullest, and he does, he just does it in a different way. What I really want people to understand about autism is he sees the world so much more vibrant and amazing than any of us ever will. It doesn’t mean that he’s not going to be the smartest in his class. It doesn’t mean he is not going to work for NASA one day. There aren’t any limitations to what he can do.”
For now, Brittany said she’s focused on “early intervention.”
“This is the time he’s building his brain,” she explained. “I’m just trying to do everything I possibly can to help him live the happiest life ever. I feel very blessed that I’m able to give him everything that he needs, and that’s why I want to help as many mothers as I can. I have learned so much over the past couple years.”
“I’m just so proud of everything about Cruz,” she went on. “He is just the love of my life. He’s learning and growing every single day. With everything I have going on, I always try to stay positive. It can be hard sometimes — I have my ups and downs — but I just feel like I can be proud of myself that I’m staying strong for my son.”
At the $1.9 million mansion where she and Cruz have been living following her split from Jax, Cruz has his own sensory room and swing set. And, in the backyard, he has access to their family pool.
Meanwhile, when he attends school, a therapeutic companion accompanies Cruz, who is also still enrolled in speech and occupational classes.
“I just make sure that he never misses a class, never misses a therapy session,” Brittany stated. “If I have to work, I have the most amazing nanny in the entire world, she is literally my family. I don’t know what I would do without her. Sometimes Jax will take him. I want him to learn things as well, but the majority of the time, it’s me. And I feel like I need to be there, I need to be learning what’s going on, so that I can really work with him.”
Looking ahead to Cruz’s future, Brittany revealed Netflix’s Love on the Spectrum has offered her hope.
“It is the sweetest show,” she shared. “They’re so positive, the way they look at life is just so full of joy and happiness, and if Cruz is anything like that I will be so happy. I hope he falls in love one day.”
In addition to focusing on Cruz’s development, Brittany is learning to prioritize herself more.
“It’s been hard to take care of myself, honestly,” she confessed. “It is definitely hard for me to accept help. My friends are always like, ‘You need to have a little bit more time for yourself.’ I just feel like I need to be there 24/7. But’s that’s my new thing in 2025: I need to put myself first more. I need to focus on my health more.”
Also during the interview, Brittany addressed the comments she’s received about Cruz on social media as she explained her decision to wait to come forward with his autism diagnosis.
“A lot of people have tried to diagnose my son from social media … saying, ‘Why is he not talking yet?’ Or coming up with their own reasons why my son isn’t talking. And I felt like it was up to me, whenever I was ready to talk about his autism because it is something I’m learning myself. It’s something brand new that we’re going through, and I’m his voice now,” she declared.
The Valley season two premieres Tuesday, April 15, at 9/8c on Bravo.
