Jax Taylor Shares Conflicting Response on If He and Brittany Cartwright Were Ever Legally Married

Jax Taylor's divorce papers are raising some questions about the legality of his marriage to Brittany Cartwright.

In his response to his ex's divorce petition, obtained by E! News Oct. 2, the Vanderpump Rules alum checked a box confirming that he and Brittany—who share 3-year-old son Cruz—are married as well as a separate box reading, "Respondent contends that the parties never legally married or registered in a domestic partnership."

Under the "Statistical Facts" section of his filing, Jax wrote in pen that the couple's date of marriage was June 29, 2019 and listed their date of separation as Sept. 26, 2024, the day he filed his response.

However, he seemed to have experienced a miscalculation when the documents instructed him to specify the "time from date of marriage to date of separation." Instead of five years and two months—the actual amount of time between June 29, 2019 and Sept. 26, 2024—the Valley star put down four years and six months.

Interestingly, that was the length Brittany listed in her divorce documents, in which she had entered Jan. 24, 2024 as the date of separation.

Another notable detail in their divorce papers? Brittany asked the court to terminate her and Jax's right to spousal support. Meanwhile, Jax ticked the box requesting "future determination" of spousal support to Brittany in his own filing.

Furthermore, Jax—whose real name Jason Cauchi—listed his and Brittany's Los Angeles home as their only asset and asked the court to divide the property "at a later time."

E! News has reached out to Jax and Brittany's reps for comment but has not heard back. 

And though Jax's divorce filing differs from his ex's in many ways, he did have the same request to the court that Brittany be given sole legal and physical custody of their son Cruz. Jax also checked the "other" box under the form's "Child Support" section, but did not provided any specific details on his request.

Recently, Jax reflected on his split from Brittany, saying, "I shouldn't have been in shock, but I was in shock."

"Unfortunately, she's had enough," Jax—who dated Brittany for five years before their 2019 wedding—said on the Sept. 6 episode of their When Reality Hits podcast. "And I don't blame her at all. I can't believe she's been with me this long as it is. That we stayed, to be honest."

As for Brittany, she recently told E! News that the "most important thing" is co-parenting Cruz.

"Obviously, we're both going to put him first," she added. "It's going to be fine no matter what, because we both love him so much. So, even if Jax and I are fighting, it's not going to ever come between Cruz. It's never going to be a thing."

For everything the exes have said about their breakup, keep reading.

Years before they even got married, Jax Taylor cheated on Brittany Cartwright in 2017 when he hooked up with former SUR waitress Faith Stowers. 

"This isn't my first time being caught cheating," Jax admitted at the time as the drama played out on Vanderpump Rules. "In the past, I've gone through months and months of deny, deny, deny, and that didn't work for me." 

But while a devasted Brittany broke up with him, they got back together months later and eventually wed in 2020.

Fast forward to February 2024, Brittany announced she and Jax—who share 2-year-old son Cruz—had separated after four years of marriage. 

"Yes, marriages in general are very hard and I've had a particularly rough year this past year," the Kentucky native shared on their When Reality Hits podcast. "Jax and I are taking time apart and I made the decision to move into another home to take some space for the sake of my mental health."

"I'm taking one day at a time," Brittany added. "I don't know what the future holds, but right now my focus is on being the best mom to Cruz."

One month later, the cracks in the couple's relationship became much more apparent when Bravo released the trailer for its new series The Valley.

"I don't feel like he's attracted to me, we don't have sex ever," Brittany admitted in the March 11 preview before Jax added, "It's so hard to be married sometimes."

Plus, costar Janet Caperna teased in the clip, "There's a rumor about Jax cheating online."

However, Jax slammed allegations of infidelity days after the trailer release.

"We're just having a little communication issues right now. That's all, there's nothing else," he exclusively told E! News March 14 at The Valley premiere party. "There's no cheating. There's no infidelity anywhere. It's just communication. I know it's shocking, but people sometimes just don't get along and that's life."

"We see each other every single day," he added. "The only thing that's different is we just don't sleep under the same roof. That's it."

Despite rumors, Brittany confirmed Jax cheating did not cause their breakup and shared the true timeline of their separation.

"We got into a very bad fight and I decided to pack up my stuff," the 35-year-old exclusively told E! News March 18, "and I've been staying in an Airbnb since January 24."

"I'm doing it for my mental space," she added, "and I feel very strong with my decision to get out for a while."

Despite their personal drama, the estranged couple agreed on one thing: They are doing what's best for 2-year-old son.

"He's no. 1 and we both agree on that," Jax told E!. "It's about knowing he's got two loving parents that love him to death and he's gonna have the best life possible, whether we are together or not."

As for their increased fighting, Brittany agreed, "I just don't want that for our son. I don't want him growing up thinking it's normal to live like that."

Brittany admitted in March that "there's always hope," but she just needs Jax to put in the work.

"I don't think anybody will ever love Jax the way I've loved Jax," Brittany told E!. "Over all these years, I've been through so much with him and I'm stuck by his side through everything. So I think that if he makes certain changes that I've asked, maybe we could get back together. But right now, I just really need to figure out myself. I felt really strong and really proud of myself for being able to step out and do what's right for me. My mental health is super important."

One person who wasn't so shocked by Jax and Brittany's separation? Their former SUR boss Lisa Vanderpump.

"Everybody predicted that when they got married," the Real Housewives alum shared with E!. "They said, 'Oh this won't last long,' but I kind of never liked to draw conclusions."

"I don't know what the reason was," she added, "but I imagine it was probably something to do with Jax's bad behavior. I'm not sure, but the indicator of future behavior is normally past behavior."

"I think it’s for the best," their longtime friend Scheana Shay told E! News March 23 of the split. "I think she deserves better and she deserves a partner who’s going to treat her with respect."

And the couple's The Valley costar Kristen Doute agreed with Scheana.

"I'm proud of Brittany for setting boundaries for making the choice for her," Kristen admitted. "But I'm very hopeful that they can work this out. But that's on Jax, that's not on her."

During The Valley's June 4 season finale, Brittany confronted Jax about insults he allegedly hurled at her behind closed doors.

As costar Kristen Doute recounted, "Does he say, 'I know I treat you like s—t. 'I know I'm mean. I know I've called you fat and I've told you you're f--king lazy and that you're not going to have any friends if you guys break up?'"

"We said that, going into this, that we could test the waters with other people if we wanted to," Brittany exclusively told E! News in June. "I know that seems weird, it might be a little crazy for a lot of people, but that's what we wanted to do."

In July, Jax shared he was seeking in-patient treatment for mental health issues after Brittany had begged him to go to therapy for years.

The VPR alum mainly credited son Cruz as the reason he saught professional help.

"Working on getting better for you buddy," Jax wrote in an Instagram post July 31 alongside a photo of him planting a kiss on the little one's cheek. "I love you."

Seven months after their separation, Brittany made their breakup official by filing for divorce in August 2024. Citing “irreconcilable differences" in legal docs obtained by E!, she requested primary legal and physical custody of their son Cruz, 3, and for Jax to be granted child visitation.