The most important thing to consider about “The Valley” is that nearly everyone on the show has young children, which obviously makes everything much more serious and complicated than, say, a show about a bunch of young restaurant workers who sleep together, fight, and fight about who’s sleeping together. In Jax Taylor’s case, he and Brittany Cartwright had a son named Cruz in the spring of 2021 and then they separated in 2024; in 2025, Brittany opened up about Cruz’s autism diagnosis and spoke openly about parenting a child who is largely nonverbal. (At the risk of editorializing, Brittany is, by all appearances, an incredibly devoted mother, in stark contrast to her ex-husband.)
To say that the way Jax treats Brittany on “The Valley” is bad is an understatement. It’s reprehensible. Before their separation — which happened between Season 1 and 2 — Jax constantly accuses Brittany of drinking too much, even when she’s sick for completely unrelated reasons. In Season 2, Brittany relays a story about an argument between her and Jax that culminating in him flipping a table and hurting her in front of their son. While he attends a 30-day rehab that allows him to seemingly do whatever he wants at all times, Jax checks cameras he left in his former marital home and tricks both Brittany and his own sister into thinking he’s experiencing a medical emergency, which is a lie. This is not even a complete list.
In an interview with executive producer Alex Baskin in June 2025 in Variety, he defended the choice to allow someone as openly abusive as Jax to remain on television. “Remind me again what you want to watch?” Baskin asked writer Kate Aurthur. “We’re all trying to figure out how to tell the story responsibly and fairly, in a way that is entertaining and real. But that doesn’t put a gloss on what is really happening. This subject matter is dark!”
“Our job is to tell the full story,” Baskin continued, addressing the conflict between Brittany and Jax. “If we didn’t tell the story in its completeness, then we would be covering up something that really happened, and denying Brittany the chance to share what she had been through. I don’t think that’s really ‘platforming an abuser’ as much as that is platforming the story — which includes Brittany’s experience as well as Jax’s.”
The problem with Baskin’s statement is it’s not entertaining to watch a cruel man torment the mother of his child and hurt his son in the process. Jax Taylor was fun to watch for a while; that is, for so many reasons, no longer true, so it’s best that he leaves “The Valley” behind for good.
“Vanderpump Rules” and “The Valley” are streaming on Peacock now.
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
