Jax Taylor Believes Getting Treatment for Bipolar Disorder Sooner 'Probably Would Have Saved' His Marriage
Taylor's estranged wife Brittany Cartwright filed for divorce in August 2024
Taylor's estranged wife Brittany Cartwright filed for divorce in August 2024 Paul Archuleta/Getty Jax Taylor:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Jax-Taylor-attends-the-2024-Reality-TV-Stars-Of-The-Year-at-The-Highlight-Room-042425-tout-6104d34100fa4165ba275ceca3813b0c.jpg "Jax Taylor attends the 2024 Reality TV Stars Of The Year at The Highlight Room")
Jax Taylor is thankful for his bipolar disorder treatment, but admits that receiving it sooner could have saved his marriage to ex Brittany Cartwright.
On the Thursday, April 24 episode of the In the Mind of Jax Taylor podcast, the 45-year-old reality star spoke with Dr. Drew about where he stands since revealing his diagnosis in September 2024.
“This is the first time in my 45 years of life that I had to ask for help because I just couldn't do it anymore. I just, I couldn't bear the weight. And I just — I surrendered. I surrendered,” Taylor said of his current treatment.
“I'm on it, and I absolutely love it,” he said of Lamotrigine (Lamictal), a mood stabilizer that works in the brain, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Joe Scarnici/Getty Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright, 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards
Taylor continued, “I never miss a day, and it's literally changed my life. I wish I would've took it sooner. Probably would've saved my marriage.”
The Bravo personality married his Vanderpump Rules costar, 36, in 2019. Cartwright filed for divorce in August 2024, six months after announcing their separation. Their divorce has not yet been finalized.
Related: Jax Taylor Admits He 'Cried My Eyes Out' Watching Himself on The Valley: 'So Disgusted'
Taylor and Cartwright share one son, 4-year-old Cruz.
The star of The Valley further reflected on how his life could have been better had he sought treatment sooner. Vivien Killilea/Getty Jax Taylor
“Probably would've saved a lot of friendships. But, again, I was so stubborn, and I grew up a different way. I grew up in the eighties and the nineties where men really didn't ask for help. And it's not my dad's fault. You know, it's not my grandfather's fault,” he said.
“It's just how they were taught. And we just didn't talk about feelings. We didn't talk about emotions. Just because it wasn't really you just shove it under the rug and deal with it.”
However, Taylor said now that he’s a father, he’s doing all he can to make sure that Cruz never has to feel that way.
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The reality TV star added, “I've hit a point in my life where I have a son now and I don't want my son to have to deal with what I dealt with. We're sweeping on the rug. I wanna break the cycle and be like, ‘I want you to talk about what's going on. Tell me what's going on. There's no — this is the trust room. Anything you say stays here.’”
“A little over a month ago, I checked into an intensive inpatient treatment facility scared of the unknown and what I would find out about myself,” Taylor wrote as the caption to an Instagram post when he revealed his diagnosis. “After many years of knowing something was wrong but not knowing exactly what it was, I recently learned that I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and PTSD."
In March 2025, he also shared that he was an addict who had “substance issues.”
If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
