Credit: O’Connor/AFF-USA
Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright attended the iHeartRadio Awards 2023 on Monday, where they opened up about the drama-filled taping of the Vanderpump Rules season 10 reunion.
Following reports claiming host Andy Cohen had to separate two cast members from a nearly physical altercation, Jax revealed “two boys” were involved as he dished on his post-reunion run-in with Ariana Madix and shaded Tom Sandoval‘s manhood following his affair with Raquel Leviss.
“I heard it was crazy. Heard it was everything that everyone thought it was going to be,” Jax told Extra on March 27. “Um, uncomfortable … There was security there. There was almost brawls. It’s gonna be interesting, that’s for sure.”
“It’s gonna be good. I’m excited for [Lala Kent]’s comebacks and quick wit. She goes in and she cracks me up. So I just can’t wait to see it,” added Brittany.
Then, when the near-fight between two cast members was mentioned, Jax confirmed he heard about the spat.
“I don’t know what I’m allowed to say or what I’m not allowed to say. But yeah, I have a feeling it’s the two boys. In fact, I know that because I talked to one of them,” he confirmed. “I talked to him right after it happened because I checked in with everybody.”
Well, maybe not everybody. According to Jax, he doesn’t exactly consider Sandoval and Raquel, who’ve been estranged from the cast since news of their affair broke weeks ago, to be friends, claiming they “put themselves in the situation.”
“I don’t really feel bad for them. They knew exactly what they were doing. This wasn’t a mistake. This wasn’t like, ‘Oh, a hookup.’ This has been going on for a long time, premeditated,” he noted. “The lack of empathy. I’m sorry, you deserve everything that’s coming to you, you know. It’s a sh-tty situation to be in and you got to own it.”
Speaking to Sandoval directly, Jax told his former friend, “You got to be a man.”
“This is the time where Tom Sandoval needs to learn how to be a man — because he’s never been one before, so this is the time. A little less nail polish and more manhood,” he continued.
Following filming last week, Jax ventured to a bar in Los Angeles, where he and other past and present members of Pump Rules offered their support to Ariana.
“I saw her about two hours after the reunion. They all came to the bar that we were all at and I hugged her for about 30 seconds,” he recalled. “She came into the bar, pointed right at me and I hadn’t seen her in a long time. Just gave her a hug and said, ‘You know what? You’re gonna thrive. You already look better.’ She’s already glowing. She looks great. I don’t have any worries about her. She’ll be fine.”
As Pump Rules fans well know, Sandoval and Raquel have stuck by one another in the weeks since their affair was disclosed. But, either way, Jax and Brittany don’t think there’s any chance of a reconciliation between Sandoval and Ariana.
“No, no, no, no. She’s too good,” Brittany insisted. “She’s gonna move on and shine brighter than ever from all this. This was just her escape, I feel like … I just know she’s gonna just, like, shine and be amazing after all this drama is over.”
“It’s never going to happen,” Jax agreed.
Also during the interview, Jax and Brittany discussed their new PodcastOne show, When Reality Hits, with Brittany saying she’s “so happy” about the attention they’ve gotten so far.
“We’re very excited. We got number one on the charts, which is a lot of pressure to live up to. I hope everyone bears with us because we’re gonna try the best we can and we’re gonna do the best we can but we’re new at this,” Jax stated. “[We’ll] talk about reality, talk about life in reality. It’s been 10 years on the show. Talk about everything that people want to know [and] all the questions that we always wanted to answer.”
Vanderpump Rules season 10 airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.
