Throughout his time on Vanderpump Rules, Jax Taylor has done some egregious things. He’s been arrested for stealing sunglasses in Hawaii. He’s confessed to impregnating a random woman in Las Vegas when he was dating Stassi Schroeder. And he’s cheated on his estranged wife Brittany Cartwright with their former SUR co-worker. But perhaps the most difficult and darkest scene to watch out of all 12 years he’s been on television came in Tuesday night’s (April 22) episode of The Valley.
Season 2, which began airing last week, picked up months after Taylor and Cartwright announced their separation. Not long before cameras picked back up, things between the estranged couple hit the point of no return when Taylor found out Cartwright had been hooking up with someone in his friend group, sending him into a black-out rage. Cartwright claimed Taylor flipped a coffee table that hit her while their son Cruz was in the other room.
With Cartwright now refusing to let Taylor see Cruz, he finally decided to check himself into a $30,000, 30-day mental health treatment center — and their first on-camera meeting of the season, which aired in last night’s episode, was nothing short of difficult to watch.
Let us paint the harrowing picture: Cartwright arrived to the home she once shared with Taylor with their 4-year-old son in tow. Picture frames displaying family photos were turned around. The security cameras were covered with playing cards. The apples in the fruit basket were moldy and old. And the fridge was stocked with a lipstick-stained cup.
When Taylor arrived to the house, he immediately went to hug and kiss his son — who dropped to the ground and started crying when he saw his father. Cartwright, who caught one of Taylor’s female “friends” leaving their house on the security cameras the night before, stopped her ex-husband from kissing Cruz on the face, citing the “disgusting girl” he had over hours earlier as the reason why. According to Cartwright, the one rule of their separation was that he wouldn’t bring anyone back to their home — but he broke that rule out of spite when he found out Cartwright was talking to his friend.
What unfolded was painful to watch, even for someone who doesn’t know them personally. Taylor accused Cartwright of destroying his life. He yelled at her for not paying any bills — which she denied — and he gaslit her with sayings like, “You need help,” and, “If you were that miserable, you would’ve left years ago,” and, “I’ll never forgive you for this.” Taylor even tried to make Cartwright look bad for not “checking in” on him like he asked.
Even when Cartwright brought up his cocaine addiction (which he is currently sober from) for the first time on-camera, he tried to turn it around on her by hinting that she too had tried the drug. “I’m not saying I never have. You are the one who has the addiction. Give me a drug test right now. I will pass, will you?” Cartwright savagely asked, leaving Taylor in a guilty silence.
When reality TV is done right, the cameras should feel like an invisible presence in the room. Nothing should feel performative or inauthentic. What Cartwright and Taylor offered last night was some of the most gut-wrenching, raw reality TV content I’ve seen in a long time — especially for two people who have been in the game for years and could easily figure out a way to hide the ugly truth. But they didn’t do that. They let viewers see the most toxic parts of their marriage — even if the outcome makes one of them (Taylor) look worse than he ever has before. Our hearts broke for Cartwright, our blood boiled at the way Taylor spoke to her — and when a TV show about other peoples’ lives can elicit that kind of physical response, it should probably earn the network its next Emmy nomination.
While this could be considered one of the darkest moments to air on Bravo, it certainly put the “real” back in “reality TV.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357.
The Valley airs Tuesday nights at 9/8c on Bravo. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.
The post ‘The Valley’: Jax Taylor And Brittany Cartwright’s Fight Over His Cocaine Addiction Proved To Be One Of Bravo’s All-Time Darkest Moments appeared first on Decider.
