Jax Taylor didn’t realize how serious his drug problem was until he went to rehab.
The Bravo star opened up about his issues with substance abuse in the April 29 episode of The Valley: After Show. Jax said even once he entered treatment for his addiction, he was still “going through the motions a little bit” and unable to accept the degree to which his drug use was affecting his life.
Jax Taylor was at ‘rock bottom’ before he went to rehab
“It was just a very, very bad time for me,” Jax confessed (via Bravo) during the post-show chat. “And I was at rock bottom and I didn’t know what to do. Because I was so in my head that I was being talked about that I was trying to hurry along the process – ‘I don’t have a problem, I don’t have a problem.’ I knew I had a problem. It took me to quit alcohol and drugs to realize I had a drug problem.”
Those closest to Jax could tell something was wrong with the 45-year-old.
“You had a severe dependency on cocaine,” Jax’s friend and Vanderpump Rules co-star Tom Schwartz said.
But at the same time, Jax still restricted his drug use to certain occasions.
“I don’t think you needed it to get through the day. When you were sober, you were sober,” Tom said.
“I just couldn’t go out,” Jax chimed in. “I couldn’t go to a bar. I didn’t do it at my house or anything. I did when there was, like, a function. I did it when I was at my bar. It got to the point where I couldn’t go anywhere in a group where I had to have some … I think that was my problem.”
“You did blow like most people have casual drinks,” Schwartz confirmed.
Brittany Cartwright is glad ‘The Valley’ star admitted he had a problem
Jax’s drug use was a major factor in the end of his marriage to The Valley co-star Brittany Cartwright. The pair separated in early 2024, with Brittany filing for divorce in August. She said keeping quiet about her husband’s addiction took its toll.
“I’m glad that he finally admitted [he had a problem],” Brittany said on The Valley: After Show. “Because I felt like for a long time I had to say, ‘Jax was partying.’ Instead of saying, ‘Jax was out snorting cocaine lines.’”
“It’s illegal,” she explained of why she didn’t reveal what was really going on with her husband. “I can’t just spew that to the world. Even whenever he was projecting on me all the stuff that he actually does, I still didn’t turn around and yell to the world what he was doing behind closed doors.”
“I just think that shows how good of a f***ing woman I am that I didn’t,” she added.
Meanwhile, Jax wishes he’d gotten sober sooner.
“I wish I’d done this years ago,” he said. “I wish I was man enough to go and say, ‘Hey, listen, I have a problem here.’”
How to get help: In the U.S., contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration helpline at 1-800-662-4357.
The Valley airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo and streams the next day on Peacock. The Valley: After Show airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on BravoTV.com, Peacock, and YouTube.
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