Jax Taylor is revealing more details about his divorce from Brittany Cartwright.
The Vanderpump Rules alum, 45, broke down the origins of his divorce during an appearance on Bravo’s Hot Mic podcast on Nov. 14. Although Cartwright, 35, was the one to file for divorce, Taylor claimed he had been the one to end things.
“The second weekend of rehab, I emailed Brittany and said, ‘I’m getting a mediator,’” he shared. “People don’t realize that I’m the one that initiated this. So when I emailed her, and I got a mediator, and I put that, I emailed Brittany, she was like, ‘Oh, no, I’m getting a divorce lawyer.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, whatever.’”
He added: “But I was like, ‘Why don’t we just get a mediator? Like, why don’t we save some money? We’re not going after each other financially. There’s no reason to spend all this money.’”
Three days after suggesting mediation, Taylor said he was served with divorce papers, which didn’t surprise him.
“I think she wanted to be the first one to serve me papers publicly,” he said. “I think she wanted to get ahead of it while I was in there. I think she wanted to be the first to publicly say, ‘I’m divorcing him,’ when, in all honesty, I was the one that initiated it.”
Taylor claimed that “it didn’t matter to me” who served who, but he knew he didn’t want to stay in the marriage.
“It needed to happen,” he said. “I just think that I blindsided her a little bit. I think she really, really wanted me to work on the marriage. I think that was her goal. And I just was so checked out. By that time, I was just really checked out. I just couldn’t come back anymore.”
When host Alex Baskin asked if there was any chance of reconciliation between The Valley stars, Taylor said he didn’t see that in his future. Because of his and Cartwright’s complicated history, he said there would be no way to fully move forward.
“I’m very happy right now,” he explained. “I just know myself, even if we did go back, I would just always be, you know, the things that happened, it would just take one argument for us to go back to the old ways. I just think Brittany and I have changed over the years. I think I’ve changed over the years. I think I did a lot of negative things that really just tarnished our relationship, which is sad.”
“I’m just not there anymore,” he continued. “Like I said, I love her. She’s the mother of my child. I will always be there for her for the rest of my life. I just don’t think I can love her like she needs to be loved.”
The pair announced their separation in February 2024 and filed for divorce six months later in August. Cartwright cited irreconcilable differences and requested legal and physical custody of their son, Cruz, whom they welcomed in 2021.
According to court documents, Taylor agreed to give Cartwright full legal and physical custody of Cruz in September.
“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,” Taylor’s rep said in a statement given to PEOPLE at the time.