Jax Taylor and Kristen Doute returned to reality television with The Valley, a Vanderpump Rules spinoff on Bravo. Both were previously stars on Vanderpump Rules and brought a great deal of drama to each season’s storyline. While both are receiving generous paychecks from The Valley, one of them is reportedly walking away with more money.
Does Jax Taylor make more money than Kristen Doute on ‘The Valley’?
The Valley brought three Vanderpump Rules alum on for their first season: Jax Taylor, Brittany Cartwright, and Kristen Doute. While they all made more than the rest of their castmates, one walked away with the biggest paycheck.
“Jax got paid the most for season 1 – around $30k per episode,” an insider told the US Sun. “Brittany [Cartwright] and Kristen were just behind him, closer to $20/25k per episode. And the newer full-time cast got $5-10k per episode depending on how much they filmed.”
Everyone will enjoy a bigger paycheck for the show’s second season, though.
“For season 2, every cast member’s pay was significantly increased,” the source said. “In addition to the big bump, they will also make more as they will film more episodes.”
The show performed well, meaning that the cast members have earned their new salaries.
“Bravo was testing out the waters with its first season — which is why they didn’t even approve a season 1 reunion,” they added. “After the show became such a smash hit, they’ve upped the budget for season 2 and every cast member has gotten a significant pay bump.”
Jax Taylor is reportedly worried about his image after season 2 of ‘The Valley’
Though Taylor has gained financially from appearing on the show’s second season, he’s reportedly worried his reputation could take a hit.
“Jax has been trying to rally his Vanderpump and Valley costars to his side these past few weeks so they are publicly supportive of him when the season airs,” a source told the US Sun. “He knows what’s coming for him is bad, worse than anything he’s ever done, and Jax is f***ing terrified of fans seeing this new season.”
While fans might be familiar with Taylor’s bad behavior, he reportedly behaves in a way that fans will find hard to forgive.
“Whatever fans think they’re going to see – his behavior is worse,” they added. “And most of it is caught on camera, the rest is talked about. A lot of viewers will never forgive him for his behavior, and he knows that.”
Kristen Doute is looking forward to the new season
Doute, on the other hand, is happy about the new season. She is engaged and expecting her first child with co-star Luke Broderick.
“I think it is the year for me [and] for us,” she told Deadline. “It’s been a really good and very gracious and generous 2025 and 2024. Two great years!”
She particularly looks forward to watching her engagement scene.
“It’s gonna be crazy, I think for both of us, [but] for me, especially being pregnant right now, watching our fertility struggles, because that’s a big part of the season … that was a heavier part of the summer for me, for sure,” Doute said. “I’m really excited to watch our engagement, but I still need to see it, because it was like I was very shocked [and] very surprised.”
