Jax Taylor made a stunning statement in the aftermath of his stay at a mental health facility: “This has been the worst year of my life.”
He detailed his struggle to come to grips with his failing marriage, drug addiction, and anger issues on The Valley After Show, as hee’s been candid about his years-long struggle with alcohol and cocaine.
“I just didn’t see it. Instead of dealing with it in a mature way, I just went rogue. I just went to war. I tell you what, the drugs didn’t help,” he shared.
During Season 2 of The Valley, Brittany Cartwright and Jax recounted a particular night as the turning point, when Jax discovered Brittany had been messaging his friend, Julian, and ended up throwing furniture in his anger. Jason Caperna revealed Jax turned to him for help.
“I was definitely worried about him, so that’s why when there was a night when he just found out about those text messages from Julian, I know he called me, and Brittany called Janet [Caperna],” Jason said on the After Show. “And I just heard him screaming at Brittany, so I was like, ‘I’m coming over, I’m getting you right now.’ I took him to a hotel.”
But this wasn't quite the moment of clarity Jason hoped for.
“I think at that moment, Jax should have realized he was at rock bottom, but I don’t think he did realize it at all at the moment,” Jason added, as he recounted Jax’s final days before agreeing to go to a mental health facility.
How did Jax's friends convince him to check in to a mental health facility?
Brittany was very vocal about her desire for him to get help, despite their pending divorce.
“At the end of the day, he is the father of my child,” she said on the After Show. “I still have so much love for that man because we were together for 10 years. I have always, always, always wanted him to be a better person. I’ve needed him to get help.”
She added she tried to get through to Jax the biggest reason why he needed to go.
“The main reason is because of our beautiful, innocent son,” she said. “He deserves to have a mother and a father who are both happy and both doing good.”
Zack Wickham revealed he and others tried to stage an intervention of sorts, after Jax resisted the idea.
“I had been with Brittany where her and multiple other people were on the phone with Jax and they were like, ‘You need to go into rehab.’ And he was like, ‘No, I need to make money for my family,’” Zack said on the After Show.
Danny Booko said he urged Jax not to think about money when making the decision.
“Go to this facility, lose whatever [money] you’re going to lose, because this is the rest of your life you’re talking about,” he said on the After Show. “This is the rest of your relationship with your son that you’re talking about. Man up, make the change and make the sacrifices that you need to.”
Is Jax glad that he checked into the mental health facility and got help?
Jax admitted on the After Show that he resisted help when he first checked in.
“My ego, I could barely fit through the door when I got there, like, 'I don’t need to f—king be here,'” he shared. “It took me a few days to warm up.”
He revealed the moment that caused him to change his attitude at the facility.
“It took somebody to come up to me and be like, ‘Listen, I don’t know who you are, but you seem like you’re really standoffish,’” he said. “She’s like, ‘Listen, you paid to be here, let this place work for you. You’re here. You might as well just do the work. You might as well let your guard down.’”
Jax shared that he’s “glad” he worked on his health at the facility, and gave his estranged wife and friends credit for helping him turn his life around.
“It saved my life. I’m probably still here right now because of Brittany and everybody saying, ‘Listen, you need to go,’” he said.
Don’t miss Jax sharing another surprising person who pushed him to seek treatment.
