BECOMING A BETTER JAX

It's been a perfect storm for the largerthan-life star of The Valley. As his marriage ends, Jax Taylor is quitting cocaine and alcohol and prioritizing his mental health - all for his son

- BY POLLY HUDSON & AMANDA WILLIAMS

THE VALLEY'S JAX TAYLOR self-proclaimed No. 1 Guy in the Group was forever the loudest voice in the room, a force to be reckoned with. "I've always been the lead singer of the band," he acknowledges to Us. But more than 100 days into sobriety, "I'm taking a backseat. I've become the guy who plays the triangle. It's hard because I'm so used to being Jax Taylor, this alpha male, but that guy doesn't exist anymore. He can't, or he is going to die."

Born Jason Cauchi, he rebranded as Jax Taylor when he started modeling in the early 2000s because "it's a cool f**king name." He branched out into background actor work (did you spot him on Desperate Housewives? Will & Grace?), and by 2013, Taylor was tending bar at Lisa Vanderpump's L.A. hotspot SUR. Enter reality television: In eight seasons of Vanderpump Rules, "He created so much story, drama, conversation," assessed Andy Cohen. Next, the spinoff Jax & Brittany Take Kentucky culminated in his 2019 wedding to sunny Southerner Brittany Cartwright. Their son, Cruz, was born in April 2021.

The small screen beckoned again: After a shockingly short 2023 stint on E!'s House of Villains, VPR spinoff The Valley arrived, with Jax and Brittany in starring roles. Viewers saw a rocky marriage, and behind the scenes of the 2024 hit, Taylor was facing dangerous struggles of his own.

In July 2024, he checked himself into an inpatient treatment facility, where he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and PTSD. But even that was not the full story. In March, Taylor revealed he'd been battling a cocaine addiction his alcohol consumption for the past two decades.

With a second rehab stint behind him, he is laser-focused. “If I have a drink, I’m looking for a bag of cocaine, so I had to quit both,” he tells Us. “I know for a fact I’ll never touch it again. People are like, ‘Well, you don’t know.’ No. I know.” Ahead of The Valley