Jax Taylor Exits ‘The Valley’ for Season 3: “Taking This Time Is Necessary”

Jax Taylor won’t be back for season three of The Valley.

Bravo‘s reality series that spawned from Vanderpump Rules is currently airing its second season. Ahead of the July 22 finale, Taylor released a statement about his future on the series.

“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,” said Taylor in the statement. “Right now, my focus needs to be on my sobriety, my mental health and coparenting relationship. Taking this time is necessary for me to become the best version of myself — especially for our son, Cruz.”

Taylor will still appear on the season two reunion, which will air in two parts following the finale and was filmed in May. Bravo declined to comment, however a source close to production tells The Hollywood Reporter that the network and producers had mutual discussions with Taylor and respect and support his decision as they look ahead to season three.

The Valley was renewed earlier this spring, following a hit first season that Bravo said was one of its most-watched new series premieres in a decade. The unscripted series, which streams on Peacock, follows several Vanderpump Rules alums, including Taylor and his now-estranged wife Brittany Cartwright, along with Kristen Doute, as the show’s couples leave behind their their West Hollywood lifestyles to settle into new family routines in San Fernando Valley.

Taylor and Cartwright separated ahead of the first season airing, in January 2024, but after the season had finished filming. Cameras picked back up to capture the breakup and escalating tension between the couple with Cartwright reaching a breaking point. 

Nearly six months after announcing their split, Cartwright filed for divorce from Taylor. The pair share son Cruz, 4. The divorce is not yet finalized.

The Valley launched four years after Taylor left Vanderpump Rules in controversial fashion. The second season has explored the challenges for the pair as they navigate beyond their tumultuous history (which included a dramatic cheating scandal that played out on season six of Vanderpump Rules) and now, filming now in separate houses, explore custody, coparenting issues and Taylor’s toxic behavior. The second season premiere saw Taylor and Cartwright recounting an off-camera domestic violence incident where Taylor flipped over a coffee table when he found texts on Cartwright’s phone from a friend of his.

“I went full fucking unhinged rage,” said Taylor when sharing the story on the season two premiere. “I lost all control. I saw red. I had an out-of-body experience.” The next episode saw Taylor checking into a mental health facility where he stayed for 30 days, learning upon his release that Cartwright filed for divorce and sole legal custody. Later episodes have continued to explore Taylor’s problematic behavior as he relapsed, which has resulted in viewers calling on Bravo and producers to fire Taylor.

Ahead of that season two premiere on April 15, Taylor, 46, revealed that he had been addicted to cocaine on and off for more than two decades.

“My son, he comes first,” Cartwright previously told THR about doing the show with her and Taylor separated back in season one. “I’d rather him be in a happy home than have to deal with us fighting and arguing. And I don’t know what the future is going to hold by any means, but this space that I’m taking is much needed.”

The Valley hails from 32 Flavors Entertainment, Haymaker East and Evolution Media, an Amazon MGM Studios company, with executive producer Alex Baskin as showrunner.