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Credit: Michael Simon/startraksphoto.com, Instagram

The Valley‘s Kristen Doute claimed Janet Caperna was introduced to their friend group as a “fan,” and she questioned if Jax Taylor is “truly do[ing] the work” amid his sobriety journey, as Nia Sanchez reacted.

Shortly before season two aired, Jax shared that he went to rehab amid an addiction to cocaine and alcohol. In the second episode of the season, Jax and his estranged wife, Brittany Cartwright, had a shocking fight, which ended in Brittany outing his cocaine use.

In an interview with Decider, Kristen recalled watching back the fight.

“I am grateful that it aired the way that he treats her behind closed doors … Now the viewers really get to see the way that he was truly being during that time,” said Kristen. “Because I think we’ve all said it, like, I’ve said it, Brittany has said it, but then there’s a lot of rebuttal coming from Jax, especially on podcasts as of the last six months or so. So now the viewers really get to see the way that he was truly being during that time. But it doesn’t make it any less difficult.”

Nia added that it was “convenient” for Jax to reveal his addiction, knowing Brittany exposed it early in the season. Though Nia hoped for “real deep change” in Jax, she suspected he was attempting to “get the storyline” out before having to face it at the reunion.

As for Jax’s sobriety, Kristen expressed, “I hope that he is sober. I hope he’s telling the truth. I haven’t seen anything that has made me think otherwise as of late, so kudos to him … However, I think Jax’s personality will always trade one addiction for another. So what that next thing will be, I don’t know, and I’m not saying a substance necessarily. I’m just saying in general, that’s just kind of how he is and until he’s willing to truly do the work … [and] I haven’t seen [that] yet.”

Kristen was later asked about her previous claim that Janet is a “fan.”

“There are some things that I do regret saying over the season — In that moment, that is not one of them,” she said. “I meant what I said in the moment. I don’t think it’s any surprise to anyone, I’m pretty sure it’s out there on the net, that Janet was introduced to our friend group years and years ago as a fan of the show. This is not to say that I don’t love and appreciate fans of our show. That is why we do what we do.”

“[But] the Janet that I had been very close to pre-Season 1 is not the person that I saw when the cameras went up. And really, even after the cameras were down, but like over the last two years, there’s just been this, for me personally, just this huge shift in her personality,” she said. “Now I’m seeing someone who is trying to be on reality TV. Especially during Season 1, I felt like I was seeing glimpses of like, ‘This is how Stassi Schroeder was on Season 1 of Vanderpump Rules,’ or, ‘This was like Lala Kent on Season 5 of Vanderpump Rules.’ So that is what I meant by effing fan.”