Credit: Michael Simon/startraksphoto.com
Jax Taylor shared what drives his addiction to alcohol and cocaine, and he revealed if he has considered returning to drinking and drugs. Earlier this year, Jax announced his exit from The Valley amid his divorce from Brittany Cartwright.
During the latest season, Jax checked into rehab and opened up about his bipolar diagnosis. The star has now been sober for over 200 days. Brittany, however, claims his personality hasn’t changed.
On his In The Mind Of Jax Taylor podcast, Jax shared that “trauma,” at least in part, is the “drive” of his addiction.
“Trauma and mental health issues are the drive for addiction, and I think that’s 100% [true] for me,” he said. “I do not like the taste of alcohol. I do not like snorting f**king s**t up my nose. It’s not fun. It doesn’t taste good. It doesn’t feel good. But these things make me feel better in the moment, so I don’t have to think about my marriage. So I don’t have to think about the trauma … I don’t think about my father.”
“Like I said, I don’t like doing it. I hate the taste of alcohol. I hate f**king my nose burning, sneezing, and not being able to breathe. It sucked,” he went on. “But this is the only thing I could do to make me feel good.”
He also shared that 2025 has been the “roughest year of my life.”
“All the stuff that I’m going through publicly with my marriage with everything that’s going on, my son, my diagnosis, everything kind of drives you to drink,” he said. “I haven’t had one — not even a thought — about drinking [or] going back to drugs, which I’m very, very happy about.”
Back in July, in an interview with Us Weekly, Jax confirmed his exit from The Valley.
“After an incredibly challenging year and many honest conversations with my team and producers, I’ll be stepping away from the next season of The Valley,” said Jax in a statement at the time. “Right now, my focus needs to be on my sobriety, my mental health, and coparenting. Taking this time is necessary for me to become the best version of myself — especially for our son, Cruz.”
