Vanderpump Rules alums Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright shocked fans after announcing their split last month – just weeks before the launch of their new Bravo show The Valley.
While some have speculated that the breakup could be a publicity stunt to promote their reality TV comeback, Dailymail.com can confirm that their separation is very much the real deal both in front of, and behind the cameras.
The former couple noticeably avoided each other all night at the premiere party for The Valley, which was held at Jax’s bar in Studio City on Thursday.
The pair only came together when it was time to shoot official press photos, and then went back to keeping their distance once the cameras went down.
Unlike the other couples on the show, Jax and Brittany were only together when they had to pose for group photos.
EXCLUSIVE: Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright’s split isn’t a ploy to promote their reality TV comeback on Bravo’s The Valley. (Pictured together in 2023)
The former couple noticeably avoided each other all night at the premiere party for The Valley, which was held at Jax’s bar in Studio City on Thursday
The pair came together for an awkward group shot with their castmates to cut a Valley-themed cake
Their co-stars Jesse and Michelle Lally -who have also just split- kept their distance too, while lovebirds Janet and Jason Caperna were inseparable all night.
Jesse and Michelle announced their separation after six years of marriage to Us Weekly, just hours after The Valley premiere party.
Jax arrived at the venue hours before his estranged wife and appeared to be in good spirits as he mingled with guests and co-stars.
The 44-year-old seemed overjoyed to be back on television and perched himself in front of a TV when the first episode of The Valley started playing.
Brittany, 35, arrived much later and was less jubilant than her House of Villains star husband.
After posing for photos and doing some press, Brittany spent the rest of the night close to her girlfriends, which included co-stars Kristen Doute and Michelle Lally, her publicist Lori Krebs, and comedian Heather McDonald.
Meanwhile, Jax spent a lot of time with executive producer Alex Baskin, Bachelor In Paradise’s Wells Adams, and some of his former Vanderpump Rules castmates including Tom Schwartz and Tom Sandoval.
Jax arrived at the venue hours before his estranged wife, and appeared to be in good spirits as he mingled with guests and co-stars. (Pictured with Wells Adams)
Jax poses with Michelle Lally, who also just split with husband and Valley castmate Jesse
The 44-year-old seemed overjoyed to be back on television and perched himself in front of a TV when the first episode of The Valley started playing
Jax was all smiles as he posed up a storm with Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz
After The Valley premiere wrapped in Studio City, Jax, along with Kristen, Schwartz, Sandoval, and some other Valley cast members continued the party at The Bourbon Room in Hollywood.
Brittany was noticeably absent from the group, but a source tells Dailymail.com that Jax was ‘enjoying the party’ and seemed ‘upbeat and excited’.
While there’s speculation that Jax and Brittany’s breakup may be due to infidelity, Jax told several guests that wasn’t the case.
The former bartender insisted that there was no cheating this time, stating that a lot of their issues are down to ‘communication’ problems.
Jax’s castmates on The Valley also defended the reformed Lothario against cheating allegations on The Vanderpump Rules after show last week.
‘I can tell you he is one hundred per cent not cheating,’ Zack Wickham stressed.
Kristen added, ‘I’m with Jax and Brittany literally almost daily and I’ve never heard anything. I’ve never thought that – and I’d be the very first person to call him out if I thought so.’
Brittany spent most of the night leaning on her female friends for support, including comedian Heather McDonald
The 35-year-old spent some time with her publicist Lori Krebs at the event
Brittany surrounded herself with her female co-stars from The Valley
Instead of working the room like Jax did, Brittany spent a lot of the night seated with her castmates
Despite some awkwardness between them, Jax and Brittany seem to be working through things in the days following The Valley party.
The former couple, who have been living apart since their separation last month, reunited at their Los Angeles home over the weekend to take their son Cruz to the zoo.
They documented the outing on social media, and then came together again on Sunday for St Patrick’s Day at Jax’s bar in Studio City.
Brittany and her estranged husband initially met in 2015, and their relationship became Instagram official in May of that year.
Although Jax admitted to infidelity in December of 2017, the couple ultimately remained together and became engaged the following year.
The only time Jax and Brittany came together was when they had to take group photos to promote the series
The pair kept their distance as The Valley’s executive producer Alex Baskin stood between them for a photo
Jesse and Michelle Lally awkwardly stood together at the event, just hours before confirming their split to the world
As their castmates relationships imploded, Jason and Janet Caperna were inseparable all night
The pair held a wedding ceremony in Kentucky in June of 2019, and they welcomed their son Cruz in 2021.
They remained together until last month, when the Brittany revealed that she had separated from her husband during an episode of the their podcast, When Reality Hits.
The Valley is the former couple’s long-awaited return to the Bravo universe.
Jax rose to fame in 2012 as an OG member of the Vanderpump Rules cast with Tom Sandoval, Tom Schwartz, Katie Maloney, Kristen Doute, Stassi Schroeder, Scheana Shay and restaurateur Lisa Vanderpump
Brittany joined the show in season four as Taylor’s new girlfriend from Kentucky and they later wed on air in season eight.
But the couple exited the show in 2020 after being ‘fired’ by Bravo in a sweep that also saw Doute and Schroeder leave.
The Valley is the former couple’s long-awaited return to the Bravo universe and will document their crumbling marriage
The highly-anticipated series will premiere on Bravo on March 19
The Valley premieres Tuesday, March 19 and give fans a play-by-play of Brittany and Jax’s crumbling marriage.
And this cheating speculation has flooded over to the current season of Vanderpump Rules as it was briefly alluded to by Jax and Brittany’s former co-stars Katie, Scheana, and Lala Kent.
In response to Katie accusing him of ‘running around town’ and being unfaithful, Jax vehemently denied the claim during a conversation with Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz.
‘Katie loves to f**king just start s**t. That’s what she does,’ he told his former pals.
He continued: ‘She plays at home and she sees something on her phone on Reddit, and she will start the rumor mill. That’s what she does. She’s spreading all kinds of s**t.’