Jax Taylor took a walk down memory lane with Us.
Bravo fans already know that Taylor, 45, was an OG cast member when Vanderpump Rules premiered in 2013. He remained on the show until 2020. The reality TV break didn’t last long — with Taylor and now-estranged-wife Brittany Cartwright back on our screens by 2024 on The Valley.
As part of his Us Weekly cover story, Taylor reflected on the scenes that lead to his rise to fame. The “most Jax moment?” Naturally when he told Tom Sandoval, “I’m the No. 1 guy in this group.”
Taylor’s the “I can’t believe that’s a meme” scene?” in none other than the infamous Big Bear trip where Taylor almost drowned. “Help, you can come and help me if you want,” he told the lifeguard, who wasn’t in a rush to aid Taylor.
Jax Taylor Through the Years: All the Highs and Lows of ‘The Valley’ Star
As for the silliest moment? Taylor chose his joint Bachelor and Bachelorette party with then-fiancée Cartwright, 36. Turning into old men with Tom Schwartz and Sandoval just hits different.
When it comes to the most grown-up moment, Taylor pointed to him opening his sports bar, Jax’s Studio City, in The Valley’s season 1 finale. “The future’s looking pretty bright,” he shared in the 2024 episode “It’s the dream of any guy.”
Taylor also chose a moment he could take back — cheating on Cartwright with former SUR staffer Faith Stowers.
The reality star is preparing for viewers to see more memorable scenes when The Valley returns for season 2 on April 15. New episodes of the show captured Taylor’s divorce from Cartwright and his journey to sobriety.
“I’ve been in and out of using cocaine for awhile. I wouldn’t use it every single day. There would be months I would take off,” he explained to Us. “And then I would do it like a week here, maybe two times a month or three times a month. It got really bad though. When the divorce started, I felt like I was doing it recreationally.”
Taylor noted that he is still working on himself every day. “I had all these other issues because I’m masking loneliness,” he added. “I’m masking the texting women by doing drugs and drinking alcohol. I have all these other issues. So it’s a slow process, which is hard for me because I always look for the quick fix. This is one of those things in life that it’s not a quick fix. You have to work at it. I’m not used to that.”
He concluded: “This is not gonna work that way. That’s not how addiction, sickness and mental health works. People are like, ‘Jax, you’ve done a lot of freaking damage. Like a lot. And this is just not going to go away anymore. People have had enough.”
For more on Taylor’s journey to recovery, watch the exclusive video above and pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly — on newsstands now.
With reporting by Amanda Williams
