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Jax Taylor just dropped a bombshell on both reality viewers and those who have starred alongside him over the past two years:
This cast member is walking away from The Valley.
The 46-year-old announced this decision in an statement to Us Weekly on Wednesday, July 16, telling the outlet:
“After an incredibly challenging year and many honest conversations with my team and producers, I’ll be stepping away from the next season of The Valley,” Jax said, adding to the publication:
“Right now, my focus needs to be on my sobriety, my mental health, and coparenting. Taking this time is necessary for me to become the best version of myself — especially for our son, Cruz.”
Indeed, Taylor shares the four-year-old with Brittany Cartwright.
The exes got married in 2019 and then the latter filed for divorce in the summer of 2024 while filming season 2 of The Valley, citing “irreconcilable differences.”
She has since trashed Jax on a number of occasions.
Previously, Jax checked himself into a rehab facility for mental health issues.
Meanwhile, a source tells People Magazine that Taylor’s colleagues were “blindsided” by his decision.
“They were not given any advance notifications about his exit,” said the insider.
“Most of the cast were notified that filming was going to begin at the end of the summer, and they expected Jax would be a part of the new season because — even as lately as yesterday — he hadn’t said otherwise. This is a huge surprise.”
We may also be surprised by just who will comprise The Valley Season 3 cast.
“We’re figuring out all of it,” executive producer Alex Baskin told Variety last month. “It’s very likely the show does look different next season, but I don’t know what different means.”
As for Jax, we can only hope his hard drug days are over and that he really is a changed man.
Taylor entered an in-patient facility for mental health and addiction struggles in August 2024, six months after announcing his separation from his estranged wife.
“Right now, my focus needs to be on my sobriety, my mental health, and coparenting,” Jax said in a statement back then. “Taking this time is necessary for me to become the best version of myself — especially for our son, Cruz…
“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…
“I’ve never said this in my life. 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.”
