Jax Taylor is coming clean about battling a cocaine addiction for two decades.
During the Tuesday, March 4, episode of Alex Baskin‘s “Hot Mic” podcast, Taylor, 45, announced “I am an addict.”
“I have substance issues — primarily with cocaine. It’s hard to say out loud,” he began. “I’ve been dealing with this on and off since I was 23 and now I’m 45. There was times where I would stop doing it but then there were times where I’d go heavy on it.”
Taylor — who made his Bravo debut on Vanderpump Rules in 2013 — acknowledged that fans had picked up on his issues over the years. “[They] could kind of tell that I was on something. Obviously production and [other] people, they didn’t know what I was doing,” he said.” Everything I was doing was on my own but I was just on that train and I couldn’t get off.”
The reality star revealed he’s recently cut out alcohol to help him stay clean from cocaine. “People ask you, ‘Do you have an alcohol problem too?’ I don’t necessarily think I have an alcohol problem but the two go hand in hand,” Taylor said. “I can’t do cocaine without drinking. So I just gave up both. I’m proud to say I’m 83 days sober right now, which is the longest I’ve ever gone in my life without either.”
Viewers saw Taylor’s highs and lows — including his marriage to Brittany Cartwright — for eight seasons of VPR. After exiting Vanderpump Rules in 2020, Taylor and Cartwrigh, 36, focused on raising their now-3-year-old son, Cruz, before returning to Bravo on The Valley in 2024. ‘
After gaining a platform from his time on various reality shows, Taylor wanted to offer support to those in a similar situation with addiction, which he will discuss more in addition to his recovery and day-to-day on his new “In the Mind of a Man” podcast series, “I just want to let people know this is a really, really tough disease and it’s a really tough sickness.”
“I’ve never said this in my life.,” he continued.“So to come out and say that I have an addiction [and] that I have a sickness that I have to work on the rest of my life is a really big deal for me. Obviously, it’s a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.”
In an exclusive statement to Us on Tuesday, Taylor added: “For many years I’ve depended on alcohol and drugs as a way to cope and mask many deeper issues. This past year has been the hardest year of my life but also the most eye opening and transformative. Coming to terms with my many mental health challenges and being honest about my addiction — both with myself and others has been a crucial part of my healing. It’s been a day-by-day process, but I’m committed to my recovery and working towards a healthier future in order to be a better person and someone my son will be proud of one day.”
Watch the video edition of Bravo’s “Hot Mic” podcast here or listen wherever you get your podcasts. Keep scrolling for the biggest revelations from Taylor’s tell-all podcast appearance:
The Negative Effects of the Drugs
During his candid conversation with Baskin, a producer of both Vanderpump Rules and The Valley, Taylor recalled the side effects from extensive cocaine use. “The next day is the worst. You feel like absolute s–t. You feel at the bottom of the barrel,” he said. “You have zero serotonin. You are just angry and depressed. Anybody who’s done cocaine will tell you that the next day is brutal. It’s weird why we do it for two hours of fun and the next 48 hours are miserable.”
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How His Divorce Escalated the Addiction
“This year was probably the hardest year of my life,” Taylor recalled of his marriage to Cartwright coming to an end. “I’m going through a divorce right now, which is extremely difficult. When Brittany and I separated [in 2024], that’s when the addiction got worse. I’ve been doing it for a long time but the addiction got worse during my divorce and during my separation. I literally lost control. I hit rock bottom and I had to go to rehab.”
Breaking Down His Rehab Stints
Taylor checked himself into rehab twice before getting sober.
“It didn’t happen the first time. It happened the second time,” he explained. “I got a lot out of it the first time. Then when I was out, there was an incident. Brittany and I were actually on the way to a doctor’s appointment for our son and her phone was connected to my car and a man’s name came up. It just triggered me. I did slip after the first incident and I did take substance the night before. I lost it. I went crazy in the car yelling.”
Taylor chose to make a change because of his son. “The worst part about all of this — and this is why I checked myself in — is that my son was in the backseat. That’s when I knew that I have a problem and it’s still there,” he continued. “This was just this utter disgust. The first time I put up a little bit of a fight and the second time I knew I had to go back.”
Taylor noted that his first rehab stint ended after 17 days because he didn’t think another 14 was “going to do anything” for him. Taylor revealed he stayed sober for “a week or two” after his first attempt, but his second stint was different because he was ready to make a change.
“I personally don’t think that drugs and alcohol are the problem for anybody. There’s issues with their lives and people use that to mask the issues that they’re going through,” he noted. “I’m a firm believer in drugs and alcohol are never the problem. People just don’t fix their problems. So they’re too lazy and then they use drugs and alcohol to mask their issues instead of fixing things.”
His Daily Experience in Rehab
“I was in therapy the first time [and it is] 30 days of seven hours of therapy a day for six days a week. It’s intense and you see doctors and then you go to therapy [both personal and group]. Then you break for lunch, then you go for a walk, and then they allow you to go to the gym once a day and there’s a nurse that follows you to the gym,” he detailed. “This was just utterly embarrassing for me because people know who I am and they’re looking at me. It was tough and it broke me down. I got a lot out of it [though].”
Once Taylor put in the work, he started to see results: “I dug deep and I took over the groups and therapy. I tried to be a mentor to some people and I loved it. The second time, I was really a little bit more into it.”
Working Toward His Bipolar Diagnosis
Taylor revealed in September 2024 that he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and PTSD after checking into an inpatient treatment facility.
“When my marriage was getting really bad towards the last three years, Brittany was like, ‘You need to go get some help. You need to figure out what is wrong with you,’” he recalled. “To get her off my back, I went to my family physician. I go, ‘Listen, my wife thinks I’m depressed. I am a little bit depressed. Can I have some medication for it?’ She just gave it to me. There was no diagnosis. It wasn’t a psychiatrist. I self-diagnosed myself.”
Taylor was put on Lexapro, which he said “didn’t do anything” except exacerbate his anger issues. He was properly diagnosed in treatment and told he wasn’t depressed.
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His Ups and Downs With Brittany
While looking back at his and Cartwright’s issues, Taylor realized how many outside factors caused his marriage to get worse.
“I would store all this anger up throughout the day and then I’d go home for dinner. Who’s in my target line? Brittany. She didn’t do anything. But I’m just so angry with my anger issues that I would just take it out on her and it was not fair. And I knew what I was doing,” he explained. “The only time that Brittany and I really have ever gotten angry is the next day after a bender for me. That’s the only time I’ve ever had a shouting match. I’ve never done a sober shouting match with Brittany ever. But unfortunately, I was doing drugs so much.”
He added: “I had issues without the cocaine. Then you throw cocaine on there, then you throw alcohol on there, then you throw Lexapro on there. This was a f—ing recipe for disaster.”
Making Adjustments Now That He’s Sober
“I don’t want people to walk on eggshells around me and be like, ‘Well, we don’t want to drink.’ I want people to enjoy and have fun. If people just walk around on eggshells, no one’s going to want to hang out with me,” Taylor, who is still making appearances at his bar Jax’s, shared. “I still have fun. I just switched over to Celsius now and that’s about it. I’ll have a cup of coffee but I don’t mind people drinking in front of me.”
Taylor isn’t “bothered” by the personal adjustments.
“I’m still doing events and I still do appearances and like that, but I’m very regimented now. I go do my appearances and I’ll take some pictures with people after and [then] I go right to my hotel,” he explained. “Before I would wander around, end up meeting fans at a bar and drinking 25 shots. … I’m just a people pleaser and I just want to make sure everybody has a good time.”
Since getting sober, Taylor developed a new routine, adding, “I go to therapy once a week — I probably should be going a little bit more. I’m going to start trying to do a little bit of outpatient but I check in with a therapist once a week. I’m drug tested every week and that’s something that I chose to do. I need to be held accountable and I want the results to be sent to my ex-wife.”
Taylor clarified that his sobriety falls under the California sober category.
“I’m the No. 1 sober guy in the group,” he quipped. “I do still smoke weed a little bit. I need that to go to sleep. I prefer to do that over pills. So I’m what you call California sober and that’s fine.”
Where He Stands With Brittany
“We had a little bit of a blowup last night. It’s daily. It changes. One day she’s happy, one day she’s mad. …. I never know what I’m going to get with her,” Taylor claimed on Tuesday. “I walk on eggshells constantly — as I should. I just want her to know that I’m really, really trying. I’m doing everything she’s asked.”
Taylor revealed he “moved a mile away” from Cartwright.
“When I moved, I wanted to be a five minute drive away. I wanted to always be there for her. Even if and when she starts dating and being with somebody, I’ll always still be there,” he said. “I wanted her to see that. We still have hiccups and I still do stuff that pisses her off. I’m not a perfect human being. I’m nowhere near it. So I’m still going to have incidents where I make her mad. It’ll never be with drinking or drugs again.”
He concluded: “I’m asked a lot if I will ever ever end up back with Brittany “Unfortunately, no. It would be just a ticking time bomb.”
Seeing Other Women
“During my separation — and even now — I would just text random girls. I’m just going to go down my roster and just call anybody. I didn’t even care who they were. I didn’t mean to say stuff that was sexual and just the most absurd things,” Taylor recalled. “I would tell these people [anything] to get them to come over and basically just float my ego. … Like I said, I fixed this one huge problem but I opened up another problem and I’m trying to keep myself very busy. When I start getting in my head, that’s when that s–t start happening.”
Taylor called his need for approval “disgusting,” adding, “I was so hurt and angry. It got really bad when I found out that Brittany was hooking up with my friend Julian [Sensley] two weeks after we separated. I knew in my head that she’s been definitely texting him prior because nobody hooks up with somebody that fast — especially a friend of mine. When I heard that, that was my low and that’s when I was doing all the drugs and drinking.”
Taylor said he was “amped up even more,” doing cocaine “three or four times” a week.
“’I’m was going to call every girl because I wanted to hurt her. I didn’t care. I was so into the drugs and the alcohol and I was so upset that she hooked up with my friend, which is ironic because what have I done over the years? I hooked up with my friend’s girlfriends too,” Taylor acknowledged. “And let’s be honest, I did it to Brittany too. That’s why I can’t be that angry. But I think it’s my ego. My ego gets in the way of everything.”
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Getting Advice From Lala
Taylor’s former Vanderpump Rules costar Lala Kent has had her own journey with sobriety. (Kent is six years sober after revealing she’s an alcoholic.) But Taylor hasn’t reached out for support yet.
“The girls are all very team Brittany right now, which is understandable. I am going to reach out to Lala when I hit 100 days,” he explained. “She’s really put in the work and it’s not easy. So I am going to reach out to her and I don’t want to say [I owe] an apology to her. But I am reaching out to everybody and apologizing about the way I treated Brittany and the way I treated everybody during this drug alcohol craziness that I went on because I was not a nice person. The drugs and alcohol make you such a f—ing crazy person.”
Taylor says he’s now “as healthy as I’ve ever been.”
“I have an addictive personality [but] I’m really into talking to my therapy groups and AA meetings. I just love it,” he said. “I feel like my [late] dad was like, ‘This is what you’re meant to do. You’re meant to talk about your problems that you’ve gone through the last 20 years to other people.’ I feel so good about it. I feel I was taking over the meetings in rehab and I’m happy that I can talk about it.”
Filming Scenes While Under the Influence
When asked about filming Vanderpump Rules while on drugs, Taylor was honest. “I thought for the most part that I was keeping a lot of it under the radar. But clearly I wasn’t,” he said. “When I watch back I’m like, ‘How big are my f—ing pupils? I’m sweating and there’s no reason to be sweating in the scene. Why am I sweating? There were some signs. And they did pull me aside a couple times and say, ‘Listen, calm down now.’ They didn’t know but they thought I was drinking too much.”
The TV personality clarified that production wasn’t “supplying” the cast.
“I would go off on my own. We would film a scene and you have 30 minutes [of] downtime so most people go rest. I would go to a bar, get lit or go next door from SUR and that’s where we all went because we weren’t allowed to drink during scenes,” he noted. “During certain times, we would go to parties. But when we’re doing these important scenes, they were like, ‘Stay away from that’. But we’d all sneak in the back alley or we would all go get ripped before a scene.”
Trying to Be Better for His Son
“[I am focused on] one day at a time. The big thing here is my son. He’s my drive and he’s my No. 1 driver for this,” Taylor concluded. “Obviously, I’m not the type of person who can have one drink and be OK. It’s just not in my cards and I had to stop. I was going to lose custody. I’m embarrassing my ex-wife and I’m embarrassing myself. Nobody’s looking at me seriously. I want to do it for myself.”
He continued: “I take care of my son as much as [Brittany] allows me to. I don’t know what else she wants from me. I’m doing everything that she’s asked for just because I respect her and I want to make her happy. I’m going above and beyond to show her that I do care and I want to be in my son’s life.”
With reporting by Amanda Williams
