Jax Taylor Gave Himself ‘The Ick’ Watching Himself Back on ‘The Valley’: ‘I Look Disgusting’ (Exclusive)

There is no one who wants to watch Jax Taylor on season 2 of The Valley than Jax himself.

“It is really rough. I don’t know who that person is. I look disgusting,” Taylor, 45, exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, April 10, at the red carpet premiere for The Valley about watching season 2 back. “I give myself the ick just looking at it really.”

Taylor referred to himself as a “shell of a human being” while filming the second season, adding, “I was very disgusted with myself, very emotional and very sad. But again, that was a year ago. I’m in a very different place now.”

He continued: “I’m healthier. I put on a little weight — healthy weight. I am really into my fitness and health and trying to take care of my body. I’m trying to make things right with Brittany [Cartwright] and take care of our son.”

Despite public ups and downs, Taylor and his estranged wife “put our stuff aside” for Cruz, 3. “We just want that little boy to thrive. That’s the most important thing. It’s not about her and I, it’s about him,” Taylor continued. “He’s in school and he’s in speech and occupational therapy. He’s involved in so much. It’s just taking him a little longer. But, you know what? If he wants to live with me for the rest of his life, that’s fine by me.”

Taylor admitted that he wasn’t always in a good place with Cartwright, 36. “We talk every day. We’re OK today but God knows what’s gonna happen tomorrow,” he noted. “Anyone going through a divorce goes through this. I don’t know who doesn’t. It’s just a tough thing but we’re gonna be OK.”

The drama between Cartwright and Taylor has played out as they returned to film season 2 of The Valley. By the time cameras picked back up in summer 2024, Cartwright and Taylor were going through divorce proceedings, and he subsequently entered a 30-day treatment program to address his mental health struggles.

Taylor left the in-patient facility in August 2024, with his rep saying in a statement, “Jax has spent the last 30 days in treatment and will be heading back home later this week. It’s been an emotional month for him and he’s most looking forward to spending time with his son.”

More recently, Taylor revealed that he has been battling substance abuse issues, including abusing cocaine, for more than two decades.

“I’ve been in and out of using cocaine for awhile. I wouldn’t use it every single day. There would be months I would take off,” he explained to Us in a March cover story. “And then I would do it like a week here, maybe two times a month or three times a month. It got really bad though. When the divorce started [with my estranged wife Brittany Cartwright], I felt like I was doing it recreationally.”

Taylor noted he is still working on himself every day. “I had all these other issues because I’m masking loneliness,” he said. “I’m masking the texting women by doing drugs and drinking alcohol. I have all these other issues. So it’s a slow process, which is hard for me because I always look for the quick fix. This is one of those things in life that it’s not a quick fix. You have to work at it. I’m not used to that.”

Taylor concluded: “This is not gonna work that way. That’s not how addiction, sickness and mental health works. People are like, ‘Jax, you’ve done a lot of freaking damage. Like a lot. And this is just not going to go away anymore. People have had enough.”

The Valley season 2 premieres on Bravo Tuesday, April 15, at 9 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Peacock.

With reporting by Amanda Williams