Jax Taylor says his exit from The Valley is temporary.
“Myself, my team [and] the producers got together [and] we decided to take a break from season 3. This is not goodbye. This is kind of just a pause on things,” Jax, 46, said on the Thursday, July 24, episode of his “In the Mind of Jax Taylor” podcast. “The more I talked about it with everybody, it just didn’t seem to make a lot of sense for me to walk right back into filming right away.”
Jax explained that The Valley will start “filming soon,” and he didn’t think it made sense to “walk back into” it after the drama from the previous season. (Season 2 has followed Jax and estranged wife Brittany Cartwright’s ups and downs amid their divorce.)
“We get past a lot of stuff after filming and then we have to relive it again,” he shared. “You know when the show comes on, so that kind of never allows the wound to technically heal because now the scab keeps getting ripped open.”
In addition to Jax’s divorce, he’s publicly struggled with his mental health and a cocaine addiction.
“Right now, my recovery is very important to me,” he stated. “To kind of catch you guys up on things as far as the drugs and the alcohol goes, that’s under control, believe it or not, that it’s all under control. I have no issues with that anymore.”
Jax shared that he actively attends AA meetings and has abstained from other substances. Now, he wants to “figure out” his mental health and is in search of a new therapist.
“I haven’t gone to therapy in the last couple of weeks because I was done with that particular therapist. Now I have to go find another one,” he admitted. “As you guys know, finding a therapist is so freaking stressful.”
Jax said he’s seen “maybe five or six” different professionals over the years and knows all too well it takes time to find the right match.
“You gotta trust this person and they gotta trust you. You got to really dive deep and get to the bottom [of the issues.] As you guys know if you’ve gone to therapy, it takes a month or two for the therapist to even get to know you, to kind of figure you out, feel you out a little bit,” he shared. “Right now I am in the process of looking for a new therapist. I don’t wanna just jump into therapy.”
Jax noted that he wants his next therapist to be someone he can turn to in the “long haul.” He’s also looking into potential “retreat” options that he’ll take more seriously this time around.
“I manipulated the system a little bit there … using my phone and texting and texting. I wasn’t getting the full benefit of the facility that I needed just because I was so caught up in my head that they were filming and I wasn’t part of it and they were talking about me,” he said. “I just couldn’t get it out of my head that I had no say, I had no control and you know my brain got the best of me and you know I started the rage texting and all that I mean, I wish I would’ve just put my phone away. It would’ve saved so many problems.”
Jax shared that he hopes that the break from his costars will help mend their broken bonds.
“I think everybody’s OK with me stepping away at this time. I hope … they miss me a little bit or I can rekindle somebody’s relationships that I’ve screwed up,” he said. “That’s kind of where I’m headed. I want to fix a lot.”
Us Weekly broke the news earlier this month that Jax would not be returning to The Valley for season 3.
“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 in a statement. 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.”
The Valley also stars Brittany, Kristen Doute, Luke Broderick, Danny Booko, Nia Sanchez Booko, Jason Caperna, Janet Caperna, Jasmine Goode, Jesse Lally, Michelle Lally and Zack Wickham.
