Brittany Cartwright has broken her silence on ex-husband Jax Taylor’s 20-year struggle with cocaine addiction.
“I’m glad that he finally admitted to what was really going on,” Cartwright said in a statement to People. “For the first time, I can speak openly about the extent of trauma he’s instilled on our family over the years.”
“I’ve tried desperately to help him without success,” the Bravo star continued. “I pray that one day he completely knocks this addiction, but I’m skeptical. His behaviors are still alarming and his treatment plan seems to be the bare minimum.”
Cartwright’s response came just hours after Taylor revealed his decades-long addiction on Tuesday’s episode of Bravo’s “Hot Mic” podcast.
“I have substance issues primarily with cocaine,” the 45-year-old revealed publicly for the first time, adding, “It’s hard to say out loud.”
The “Vanderpump Rules” alum says he’s been dealing with addiction “on and off since [he] was 23,” explaining there’d be times he’d stop doing drugs and other times when he went “heavy on it.”
Taylor also added that during his time on “Pump Rules,” he kept his struggles with addiction a secret.
“Everything I was doing is on my own, but I was just on that train, and I couldn’t get off,” he confessed, adding that he’s now sober and has given up alcohol as well.
“I can’t do cocaine without drinking. So I just gave up both,” he said. “And I’m proud to say I’m 82, 83 days sober right now.”
Taylor and Cartwright first met in 2015 and documented their relationship on both “Vanderpump Rules” and the spinoff “Jax & Brittany Take Kentucky.” They tied the knot in 2019 and welcomed their son, Cruz, two years later.
After years of relationship problems that aired out on TV, most recently on Bravo’s “The Valley,” Cartwright filed for divorce in August of last year, citing irreconcilable differences.
On where their relationship stands today, Taylor said: “One day she’s happy. One day she’s mad. I never know what I’m going to get with her.”
“I walk on eggshells constantly every day, as I should,” he shared with listeners. “I just want her to know that I’m really, really trying.”
