Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright’s love story hasn’t exactly been a fairy tale.
The SUR bartender met Cartwright in between seasons 3 and 4 of Vanderpump Rules in the spring of 2015.
“We met in Vegas. He fell in love with me at first sight,” she recalled during an interview with Bravo in 2017. “He was with another girl, I stole him away and we’ve been together ever since.”
Fans watched the former Hooters server move to Los Angeles to be with Taylor during season 4 of the reality series. While she quickly befriended the cast, their relationship was at the center of the drama after Taylor cheated on Cartwright with former SURver Faith Stowers in between seasons 5 and 6.
“I just kind of fell into a deep hole and that happens out here sometimes. You get sucked into this lifestyle,” Taylor told Us Weekly in November 2018 about his indiscretion. “I hate to use [my father’s death] as an excuse to pick myself up, [but] I don’t think I would have done it unless something happened, something traumatic needed to happen in my life, and it just so happens it was my father. He was kind of that turning point for me to be like, ‘Enough’s enough.’ I just felt like my dad kind of took my body over and was like, ‘This is how you’re going to live the rest of your life the way I think you should live it.’ I’m living my every day — from now until I die — how my dad would live his life.”
Less than a year after the cheating scandal, Taylor proposed in Malibu.
“I see him every single day making efforts and he’s completely changed the way he treats me, the way he talks to me, the way he listens to me. Every single thing about our relationship is better,” Cartwright told Us about learning to trust Taylor again. “I know how much he’s wanting the wedding and how much he’s wanting to marry me, how much effort he’s putting into the wedding, just as much as me. I don’t know, whenever you know somebody as well as I know Jax, you can just tell.”
The twosome exchanged vows in June 2019, but the drama hasn’t stopped. Scroll through for a timeline of their ups and downs:
The twosome met at Gold Spike Lounge in Las Vegas. “The place it all started! @caramarietabor and I met @musickillskate, and then @mrjaxtaylor swooped in and got my number at the bar. Lol memories!” Cartwright recalled in January 2019 via Instagram. Courtesy of Brittany Cartwright/Instagram
While fans met Cartwright during season 4 of Vanderpump Rules, they got to know the Kentucky native even better when she and Taylor landed their own spinoff: Jax and Brittany: Take Kentucky. The first and only season taped in 2016 and aired in 2017. Tommy Garcia/Bravo
During the season 6 premiere of Vanderpump Rules, Cartwright learned of Taylor’s affair with Stowers. The former SURver later claimed to Us that Taylor insisted his relationship with Cartwright was “totally done” at the time of the hookup. Milla Cochran/startraksphoto.com; Inset: Tony DiMaio/startraksphoto.com
Cartwright and Taylor briefly split while dealing with the fallout of his affair with Stowers. “I’m just, like, really unhappy. I’ve been unhappy for such a long time … This has 150 million percent nothing to do with you,” he told her during season 6 of the Bravo show. “I am not good at relationships. You deserve a lot better than me. I just don’t think we should be together anymore.” AP/Shutterstock
While Cartwright and Taylor’s relationship was rocky during the summer and fall of 2017, they confirmed they were 100 percent back on in December 2017. Cartwright was also on hand to help Taylor deal with the death of his father that month. “It is hard, trust me, and there are still days, sometimes, when you can’t help but think of horrible things from the past,” Cartwright told Us at the time. “But for the most part, we’ve moved mountains in this relationship. I feel like we’re almost starting over, but we’ve grown so much. He does things before I even ask him now. Even just helping around the house. I can just tell in our everyday lives that he’s changed.” Chelsea Lauren/Variety/Shutterstock
Taylor popped the question in June 2018. “She said yes!!!” he wrote at the time via Instagram. “I can’t wait for y’all to see how this happened next season!!! I am marrying the woman of my dreams and I could not be happier!! 💍” Courtesy of Jax Taylor/Instagram
A little more than a year after he proposed, Taylor and Cartwright walked down the aisle at a castle in Kentucky. 'NSync singer Lance Bass officiated the nuptials after the couple came under fire for initially picking a pastor who has made offensive remarks against the LGBTQ community in the past. Gustavo Caballero/Bravo
Two months after they tied the knot, Taylor was spotted sans wedding band in Los Angeles in August 2019. While Cartwright assured Us at the time that things were good between them, fans watched Taylor question if they rushed into their marriage during season 8 of Vanderpump Rules. “I’m thinking about my wedding, it just was so quick,” he told Stassi Schroeder during a May 2020 episode. “Did I do the right thing?” Nicole Weingart/Bravo
Taylor’s affair with Stowers made headlines again in June 2020 when she opened up about being the only Black cast member on the show. “I felt like after their friend did something that we both were involved in that he’s done like, a thousand times, they wanted to attack me instead of him. They wanted to attack, attack, attack, attack, attack,” Stowers said at the time via Instagram Live. “I was wrong, I was this, I was that, calling me names, saying my hair was nappy, which is weird coming out of their mouths. … I was just really, like, confused that they were attacking me and giving him nothing — in my opinion. He got off very, very, very, easy — especially with the things I’ve been told.” Fans subsequently accused Cartwright of being racist toward Stowers, which she denied. Taylor’s old tweets about his former costar also resurfaced, prompting some viewers to call on Bravo to fire him. That same month, Cartwright’s mother was placed in ICU due to serious complications from bladder surgery. “Brittany is beyond overwhelmed. Her mom is in the hospital, in the ICU, and that matters more than anything else. Imagine dealing with that and combating comments calling her a racist, when she is anything but that?” a source told Us. “She’s being hit at all angles. Jax has his flaws, but when it comes to being Brittany’s rock, he has not wavered. He is unconditionally and wholeheartedly there for her, as are her closest friends. She knows she is loved and supported as she navigates through this really difficult time.” Amy Sussman/E! Entertainment
Taylor joined Cartwright in Kentucky for their first wedding anniversary in June 2020. "Happy 1 year anniversary honey! ❤️❤️,” she gushed via Instagram at the time. "Thank you for making me laugh every single day and for being my best friend. You’re my lobster and I love you to pieces. ❤️" Gregory Pace/Shutterstock
Cartwright confirmed in September 2020 she is pregnant with the couple’s first child. “Mom & Dad,” she wrote alongside a series of pics of the pair holding a sonogram. “The love of our lives is coming soon.” They later revealed that they are expecting a baby boy. Courtesy Brittany Cartwright/Instagram
Taylor revealed on his costar Katie Maloney's "You're Gonna Love Me" podcast in November 2020 that he and Cartwright had conceived on their "second try" while visiting her home state of Kentucky. He also shared how he plans to get involved in their son's schooling, saying, "I'm gonna be part of the PTA, 100 percent. I'm very excited to be part of school. I can't wait. Like, any field trips I'm gonna be there." Courtesy Jax Taylor/Instagram
In December, the couple announced that they will not be returning to Vanderpump Rules for another season. "We are excited to take this time to focus on our growing family and share with you our new endeavors," she wrote via Instagram. He added, "It’s time to move on.... we had a good run. It doesn’t make sense anymore." Courtesy of Brittany Cartwright/Instagram
The couple welcomed their son, Cruz, on April 12. “I don’t think I have ever been as happy as I am right now, everything else in life seems so insignificant now,” Taylor captioned their baby boy’s Instagram debut. “I am crying just writing this message. I have the most beautiful son a man could ask for, he’s an absolute blessing from God. I just want to say how absolutely amazing my wife has been through this whole process, it has not been an easy pregnancy for her, but she did an absolute[LY]amazing job all the way till the end. I have always been in awwh [sic] of Brittany but I fell in love with her all over again.” Courtesy Jax Taylor/Instagram
The pair celebrated their second wedding anniversary in June 2021. “Happy second wedding anniversary to the head of our household, my beautiful wife @brittany,” Taylor wrote via Instagram. “I can’t believe it’s been 2 years married and 6 years together already. And now we have a family. Thanks for always being my rock and putting up with my “Dad” shenanigans. You have made me such a happy man over the years and now you have given me the best gift ever, our little boy Cruz. We love you so much. 💜♥️” Bravo/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
"He's only 3 months old, and it just feels like he's always been here," Cartwright said during a July 2021 episode of E! New’s Daily Pop. Taylor added: "I can't remember not having him. It's gotten to that point already. We just love him so much and love having him around. We just can't picture life before him." The proud papa noted that their little one is “a really good baby. He’s so smiley all the time.” Taylor and Cartwright revealed they haven’t gotten a babysitter yet, explaining that they share parenting responsibilities. Courtesy Brittany Cartwright/Instagram
"Brittany and Jax are enjoying this new chapter of their lives as parents,” a source exclusively told Us in December 2021. “Having Cruz has really brought them closer as a couple. They are in a better place now with a baby in the picture.” The insider noted, "Cruz has brought so much joy into their lives” and that Taylor has “changed as a person after becoming a father.” The former bartender has become a “family man” and has been “just as hands-on as Brittany” with the baby, per the source. Courtesy of Brittany Cartwright/Instagram
“Happy Mother’s Day to my beautiful wife, the rock, glue, staples, rope and everything in between that keeps our family strong. Thanks for everything you do for Cruz and I,” Jax gushed via Instagram. “I personally think we need more than a day to celebrate all the amazing moms in the world. Cruz and I are so lucky to have you. We love you!” Courtesy of Brittany Cartwright/Instagram
The married couple made headlines on June 14 after it was revealed that they were no longer as close to Stassi Schroeder and her husband, Beau Clark, after skipping their Rome, Italy, nuptials. “I can’t believe I thought we were close. I feel stupid that I thought we were better friends than that. I wanna surround myself with [friends] that communicate with me, that we have mutual respect,” Stassi previously alleged during a May 2022 episode of her podcast. “And when I was at the wedding, I looked around at everyone that was there and I was like, ‘God, I love every single person that’s here. I’m so thankful for each person that’s here and what a wonderful group of people that we love [and] that wouldn’t do that to us.’” The foursome are also not following each other via social media. Shutterstock (2)
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