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Credit: Casey Durkin/Bravo, Instagram
Jax Taylor opened up about his strained relationship with his mother, Marie Cauchi, and Brittany Cartwright‘s new bar while appearing on a podcast on Thursday.
As he also commented on Jesse Lally, 44, and Michelle Lally‘s ongoing divorce and admitted to fearing backlash over what will be revealed on The Valley season two, Jax, 45, confirmed whether his estranged mother has met his son, 3-year-old Cruz, and shared where they stand today.
“No, [she hasn’t met him], and I haven’t really spoken to my mother,” Jax said on the November 14 episode of Bravo’s Hot Mic podcast. “I think she got wind through the tabloids. She reached out to me while I was in the facility. She checked in on me everyday.”
According to Jax, his communication with his mom has been “vague,” but he wants her to have a relationship with his son.
“I send her pictures of Cruz. I do want her to meet him. I would regret it down the line if my son says, ‘Why didn’t you try to work it out with your mom,’ or ‘How come I could have never met her?’ I think I would never forgive myself,” he admitted. “It’s hard to hold grudges. It’s hard to be angry and mean. It’s a lot easier to forgive. I don’t need to be in the best relationship with my mother, but I would like to have a sit down with her … So I’m gonna go to Florida and meet her one-on-one and eventually bring my son over.”
Following Brittany’s announcement about her new bar, Jax said it would have never happened if it weren’t for him allowing his partners to team up with his estranged wife.
“My partners came up to me literally four weeks ago and say, ‘Hey Jax what do you think of us opening a bar called Britt’s?’ And I go, ‘Really?’ They’re like, ‘Listen, we understand what’s going on with you, we know you’re going through a divorce. If you say no, we won’t do it,’” Jax shared.
While Jax was initially skeptical, he ultimately decided to be an investor and silent partner while giving Brittany free reign to design and run the place as she pleases.
“But I will be having a stake in it. It’s under my business title. It’s under Jax Taylor, Inc. So as much as it is hers, I will still have a percentage of it. I’m gonna give it to her … I’m just gonna take a cut,” he stated. “You don’t have to put a dime into it … You’re just gonna collect a check … And I made this happen for you.”
Although Jax is very much involved in Brittany’s new bar, he said that he doesn’t think that has “really suck in” for Brittany.
“But trust me, I’m gonna make her very aware,” he warned.
When asked about the biggest misconception fans have of him, Jax, who said Brittany often calls him “awful” and “selfish,” said he gets all the time that he’s “a terrible person” and “a vindictive a**hole.”
“And it’s just so not true. I do have a lot of traits that I’m trying to change, I have a lot of bad qualities, narcissism, and just my ego,” he admitted. “I’m trying to be a lot more humble with my life and I’m trying to be more grateful. I just fell into some bad habits and I don’t mean to hurt anybody, sometimes I just shoot first and ask later. I’m not a malicious person, I just make stupid mistakes.”
“I feel like I am a good guy,” he added.
Moving on to his co-star Jesse’s split from Michelle, 36, Jax said his divorce is “a lot worse” than his and Brittany’s.
“They’re nickel and dimming over little things here and there and they butt heads on certain things. It’s tough. It’s really really tough. I see him going through it, and I just hope I don’t get to that point,” Jax explained. “[But] I knew them personally. I didn’t see that lasting. In that marriage, he was a different person. He’s a lot different now.”
According to Jax, the changes he’s seen in Jesse are likely the result of his new relationship with Lacy Nicole.
” He’s got a new girlfriend and I think she brings out the best in him. She’s a really lovely young lady, and I like her a lot,” Jax revealed. “She works with mental health and I think she’s really changed him. I see a really vulnerable side to him. He’s a completely different human being, and I really like this new Jesse.”
“[But] I know the divorce is really wearing on him. He calls me and just cries,” Jax added.
Looking ahead to the airing of The Valley season two, Jax confessed to being concerned.
“It’s probably the hardest season of reality tv that I’ve ever filmed in my life and I hope people can watch the whole season before they judge me because the beginning of it is gonna be really, really tough, for the viewers, for myself, for everybody,” he explained. “I don’t think it got any lower than episode one, episode two. And I know people are going to come after me … People are going to be blindsided for sure.”
Jax went on to note that he was hesitant to join The Valley because things he did years ago wouldn’t fly today.
“I was very very nervous going back to The Valley because the Jax Taylor on Vanderpump Rules, that guy can’t exist today. I would be done,” he noted.
The Valley season two is expected to begin airing on Bravo sometime in early 2025.
