Jax Taylor has exited rehab and is now trying to turn a positive corner in his life, as seen on Season 2 of The Valley. However, those pesky corners become rather tricky obstacles to master when the human involved keeps lying.
The world first met Jax during Season 1 of Vanderpump Rules on Bravo, which debuted in 2013, and Jax did not show well. The year is now 2025, and Jax is still on our screens, presenting very much the same, just older. At the end of every season, Jax shares the same excuse with his frustrated viewers, deflecting that he is a work in progress while promising that changes are on his horizon.
The problem is that Jax now shares a child with his estranged wife, Brittany Cartwright. His patterns are growing unsafe for Brittany and their child alike. Therefore, Brittany and production got Jax into a treatment facility, hoping to force his hand into a genuine refresh storyline. We want the best for Jax, but unfortunately, his patterns of lying and deflection are still in place following his rehab stay.
Jax Taylor tried to use Tom Sandoval in his redemption arc, but Sandoval called him out…
Like many Bravo stars, Jax has a podcast. He is using this platform to defend some of his actions while explaining away others. Accountability and ownership of past sins are vital steps in rehab and recovery circles, so the pod should have been a powerful tool in his redemption arc. That said, lying signals an uncontrite heart, making Jax and his words now seem like a PR ploy instead of a my-patterns-are-changing plot.
During a recent episode of In The Mind of Jax Taylor, Jax claimed that he reached out to Tom Sandoval to offer an apology for sleeping with his then-girlfriend, Kristen Doute. “I called Tom Sandoval, probably about four months ago,” Jax began, noting that he wanted “to say sorry” because he never apologized to Tom for this misstep. Cue Tom clocking Jax for this lie in the comment section of this podcast.
Tom started his comment with a classic, “Come on, man,” asking Jax not to “do this” with him. Then, Tom cleared up the first lie, revealing that he and Jax never spoke on the phone. Instead, Jax texted him, but his text was not four months ago. It was “two days before this podcast dropped,” Tom penned.
Kristen Doute also called out Jax Taylor ahead of The Valley Season 2 for his lies about Brittany Cartwright
Kristen is doing her best to support Jax this season on The Valley, but, as she stressed on Bravo’s Hot Mic Podcast, Jax and complete truths rarely arrive hand-in-hand. To explain, before Season 2 aired, Jax had already completed his rehab stint. He should have emerged ready to apologize and change, but instead, he messily materialized, making inaccurate statements about Brittany to help explain away some of his behaviors. Thankfully, Kristen is not allowing Jax to get away with his deflective patterns anymore.
“It’s the same Jax that I’ve known for 17 years; it’s the same Jax that the audience has watched on TV for the past 12-plus years,” Kristen began, referencing Hot Mic Season 3, Episode 2. Here, Jax confessed that he was “verbally abusive” toward Brittany. But then, Jax claimed that Britt invited him over after their split, and even though “there was truth to that,” Kristen revealed that Jax took this truth and spun it out of control by tacking on a lie.
“She was trying to give him a chance. She was trying to see the brighter side of things,” Kristen explained. Eventually, his tale morphed into Brittany inviting him over for a hookup session, causing Kristen to ask, “Why do you have to lie over something so small? Every time [Brittany] gives Jax a chance, he ruins it doing stuff like that, and then they’re back at the bottom.”
When Jax Taylor breezed over his actions, Dr. Drew clocked him…
Dr. Drew is an addiction specialist who often appears on our screens beside various reality television stars facing addiction narratives. Jax had Dr. Drew on his podcast, where he mentioned that he was now speaking the truth. “There is no point in lying,” Jax said as Dr. Drew listened.
As Jax spoke, Dr. Drew noted that Jax has “unresolved grief” following the death of his father. If Jax deals with his grief, which likely fuels his addictions, the public might take Jax seriously, Dr. Drew suggested. Agreeing, Jax noted that his goal following rehab was for the public to see his efforts. Meanwhile, many of us on our couches clocked him since Jax focused on our perceptions, not his changed lifestyle.
But Dr. Drew is a professional. Therefore, he also caught this error, imploring Jax to speak with “rigorous honesty.” The truth “is the requisite for” Jax “to get better,” which Dr. Drew suspects is a “somewhat challenging” task. Moving forward, Jax needs to “constantly check” his words to ensure accuracy, Dr. Drew challenged.
Jax cosigned this challenge. But will Jax now speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Only time will tell.
The Valley is streaming on Peacock. The show streams on Hayu in the UK and Ireland.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK JAX HAS LIED ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE IN RECENT MONTHS? DOES JAX NEED TO MAKE MORE CHANGES IN HIS LIFE?
