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Jax Taylor is speaking out about his mental health issues and split with Brittany Cartwright.
Cartwright filed for divorce from Taylor late last month after five years of marriage. Now, he says he thinks it is for the best.
In the latest episode of “When Reality Hits with Jax & Brittany,” he says, “Brittany did file for divorce. I understand why she did and I agree this is the right decision for our family. I will always love and care for Brittany, I mean she is the mother of my beautiful son. All I want is for us to be amicable co-parents and hopefully really, really good friends one day.”
The couple shares 3-year-old son Cruz, and Jax said, “I know I’m an amazing father and I know I will make an excellent ex-husband.”
Later in the podcast, he spoke about some of his marital issues with coach and mentor Scott Kaufman.
Jax explained, “My anger is a huge, huge thing for me. I just spiral and unfortunately it has been taking a toll on my marriage. I just have these anger issues, and it isn’t about my wife… If something angers me throughout the day… I take it home with me and I take it out on my wife and it has nothing to do with her.”
Brittany Cartwright’s First Words Since Filing for Divorce from Jax Taylor
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He went on, “Unfortunately, she’s had enough and I don’t blame her at all… to be honest when she decided to leave I was kind of in shock, I shouldn’t have been in shock, but I was in shock. She was like, ‘I got an Airbnb, I’m out of here.’”
Brittany has since moved back into the family home and Jax has moved out.
Days ago, Brittany addressed the split on their podcast and revealed fans will learn more on “The Valley” Season 2.
“You will see how everything plays out once the show airs, but I will say this: this season has been the most difficult season I have ever had to film. I never imagined I’d go through something so personal and painful while having the world watch.”
She insisted the split had nothing to do with ratings, explaining, “It’s the furthest thing from that. My decision to file wasn’t made lightly or quickly. It’s taken me many, many years to get to this point where I gained enough courage and strength to do what’s best for me, get myself out of a toxic relationship and ultimately see my worth.”
Meanwhile, on this week’s episode Jax opened up about his 30 days in a mental health facility.
Jax Taylor Enters Mental Health Treatment Amid Split from Brittany Cartwright
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Taylor shared, “It was a very, very scary step for me but it really, really needed to happen. It is something I’ve been like holding onto for many, many years… I knew something wasn’t right with me and I was really, really scared to find out what it was.”
He found out a lot about himself during treatment, saying, “I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I now have a little bit better understanding of my mental health struggles. I’ve been put on some serious medication that has actually been helping me out a lot and in time I will definitely speak more about it openly, but right now I just need to deal with this process. I’ve been reading up on it and doing research on it because this is a serious, serious disorder and I know a lot of people out there are going through this type of thing.”
Jax also opened up about life at the facility.
“I was allowed to have my phone during specific hours when I wasn’t in therapy. My therapies were approximately seven hours a day and I was allowed outside the facility for an hour a day, so I would go to the gym. I was accompanied by, like, a nurse… Those 30 days were an incredible experience. My days were very structured. I realized something I really needed in my life was structure.”
He admitted that despite the stay, it doesn’t mean, “I’m coming out cured or a changed man… although I wish it worked that way.”
For now, he’s taking “small steps, using coping skills I was taught in therapy, trying to get through the day.”