Brittany Cartwright and Jax Taylor shared a PEOPLE exclusive at the premiere of their new Bravo showValley how contentious moments led to their recent breakup.
At the end of last month, Vanderpump Rules alum announced that she is separating after four years of marriage. At Thursday’s premiere, Cartwright, 35, explained to PEOPLE that she is currently living in an Airbnb with their 2-year-old son, Cruz.
Cartwright tells PEOPLE that even though she was Taylor’s “ride or die for nine years,” that “there’s only so much a woman can take.”
“Once a woman gets to her breaking point, it’s like, ‘It’s over.’ Something clicked in my head, and I was like, ‘I have to get out of this situation. This is not healthy. This is not a good situation. My son deserves better . I deserve better,'” explained the reality star.
Cartwright explained that Cruz is “the most important thing” and “all that matters.” As for how she spent her time away from Taylor, 45, she said she took the time to work on herself.
“I feel a little relieved,” Cartwright says. “I needed this space.”
Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright Relationship Timeline
Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright.
Noam Galai/Bravo via Getty
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Cartwright also shared that she didn’t decide to announce the divorce “for [their] show.”
“If people had really watched me over the years and knew my personality, they would know that this is not something I would do for our show,” Cartwright explained. “Like, I’m all about family. I’m all about marriage. That’s my whole life.”
“So this is something that I really needed to step back from,” she told PEOPLE.
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Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright. Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank Jax Taylor’s friends heard rumors that he was ‘running around town’ months before his split from Brittany Cartwright
Taylor revealed to PEOPLE that the couple thought it was “best for [their] family” because they “have been going through some things for a while”.
We decided to take a break, Taylor said. “I’m not sure what the future holds for this. But at this point, this is just a best-case scenario, but this is not a publicity stunt.”
Taylor explained that the series has been in production for a “very, very long time” and documents how “something happens” in their relationship.
Taylor revealed that they see each other every day and have been able to continue working on jobs together, adding: “Nothing has really changed except that we don’t sleep in the same bed now.”
“We can still be together,” Taylor continues. – We just kind of breathed a sigh of relief.
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Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright at Kyle Chan’s 3rd Annual #LOVECAMPAIGN Party at SUR Lounge on June 27, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Tibrina Hobson/Getty Brittany Cartwright has come to terms with the ‘scary’ emotions she felt during the difficult times in her marriage to Jax Taylor
The estranged couple first met at a bar in Las Vegas in 2015. In 2017, they split briefly, but after the filming of the sixth season ended Vanderpump Rules, they reconciled. The following season documented their engagement in June 2018.
The following year, in June 2019, they got married in Kentucky Castle. Almost two years later, the couple welcomed their only son, Cruz Michael Cauchi, in April 2021.
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Source: HIS Education