Season 2 of The Valley puts a spotlight on Brittany Cartwright and Jax Taylor’s rocky separation. The couple, who split in early 2024 after five years of marriage, had kept the details under wraps, especially Brittany, who waited until the season dropped to reveal what pushed her to finally file for divorce in August.

In Episode 9 of the hit reality TV show, viewers see Brittany meeting with a lawyer just a day before Jax exits an inpatient facility for his mental health. Speaking to the divorce lawyer, fans got a full look at the breaking point and the many reasons Brittany could no longer tolerate Jax’s behavior.

Brittany Cartwright Details The Reasons Why She Filed For Divorce From Jax Taylor On The Valley

Brittany Cartwright’s separation from Jax Taylor has not been pleasant as fans watched the two in many heated confrontations this season of The Valley. In later episodes, she discovers that he may have been watching her from their security system after she moved back into their once shared home. Additionally, he continued to “rage text” her despite being in an inpatient facility to get help for his mental health.

These are just some of the reasons that ultimately led Brittany to consult a divorce lawyer and explore her options. In Episode 9, she opens up about why she finally decided to put her foot down and leave Jax for good. After enduring more than she should have, Brittany made it clear that it was time to choose what was best for herself and for their son, Cruz.

Brittany shows the lawyer all of his terrible text messages, and the lawyer agrees that they are not healthy and a good reason to file.

“That’s concerning and disturbing,” Brittany’s lawyer told her. “This is not healthy for you, and he needs to control himself. This is not good.”

She also told her about how Jax keeps tabs on her, and allegedly listens in on her conversations in their home that is now hers. On top of this, she detailed her estranged spouse’s “blow ups” and how he had decided to stop paying their mortgage, which led to an increase in the monthly payments that Brittany is now responsible for if she wants to keep her Valley dwelling.

Despite all of Jax’s troubling behavior, she admits in a confessional how hard it’s been to make the decision to file for divorce. Having stayed in the relationship this long is something no one could truly understand, even though his actions would make anyone leave right away.

She continued, “As much as it pains me, what’s actually making me stay strong in all of this is Cruz, my son. Like, me being happy is gonna be so much better for him in the long run.”

After filing, Brittany learns that her friends playfully renamed Jax’s bar to “Britt’s” as a show of support. They even covered up photos of Jax with Brittany and even created t-shirts inspired by the same designs as Jax’s Studio City merch.

Brittany Shared That The Main Catalyst For Filing For Divorce Was The Former Couple’s Son, Cruz

Just a month after filing for divorce from Jax, Brittany revealed that their young son, Cruz, was the driving force behind her decision to finally walk away from her estranged husband for good.

Speaking on her When Reality Hits podcast (which has now taken over since their separation), she shared, “My decision to file wasn’t made lightly or quickly. It’s taken me many, many years to get to this point where I’ve gained enough courage and strength to do what was best for me.”

After Brittany filed for divorce, Jax agreed to give her full custody of Cruz, per People. “Jax and Brittany have long resolved all matters related to custody of Cruz and will continue to work together privately for the best interest of their son,” a statement read.

In an exclusive with People, Brittany revealed in April that their son was diagnosed with nonverbal autism. “Cruz started off on track for everything, he crawled early, he walked early, he was talking,” she said. “And then as he got closer to two we started noticing that he was regressing,” she told the outlet.

She continued, “We finally were able to get with his doctor and they did diagnose him with autism,” she said. “So right now he’s nonverbal autism, but that doesn’t mean he’s always going to be non-verbal.” Fans have gotten to see Brittany raising her son on The Valley while Jax went to a rehab facility for 30 days.

Jax Taylor Returns Home With His Things Packed In Garbage Bags After Exiting Rehab

On The Valley, fans watched as Brittany invited her gal pals and Zack Wickham to her home to pack up Jax’s belongings, tossing them in mostly garbage bags. In true ride-or-die fashion, Kristen Doute even split Jax’s shoes between two separate bags just to make things harder on him, because what else are girlfriends for?

In Episode 10, Jesse Lally picks Jax up from the rehab facility. When they arrive at what is now Brittany’s home, he is frustrated to find his things in garbage bags in the garage. Jax then goes on to tell Jesse that he is taking way more stuff than what’s in the bags, and that he’ll leave Brittany the $20,000 LoveSac couch he bought, as if that was some grand gesture. Were we supposed to feel bad about that?

In fact, in a shocking statement, Jax tells Jesse that Brittany needs to sell the house, because a single mother doesn’t need a five-bedroom house.

“No woman needs a five-bedroom house [with] seven baths. You are a woman with a child. Get something like a three-bedroom that’s manageable as a woman.”

When Jesse asks Jax about him being late on his mortgage payments since February, Jax admits that he paid it all off, but goes back to his ways when he shares, “I stopped paying when I found Julian. I stopped paying all of our bills. I was like, ‘Great! I hope the house goes into foreclosure.'” However, Jesse tells him that people will see that rehab did nothing for him if he is going to react in this way.

Before he walked in the door, Jax reflected on his rehab stay. “The rehab thing was a really eye-opening experience. I was being reckless with myself. I was in absolute denial and a really humbling experience after kind of realizing what I did,” he shared in a confessional. Speaking to Jesse, he added, “I was never held accountable for my actions.”

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