Katie Reacts to Jax Wanting to Return: He’s Been Talking ’S—t’ for 3 Years

Cameras or not, the drama between the SUR crew of past and present never ends. Following their exits from Vanderpump Rules, Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright’s relationships with their former costars changed.

While Taylor was an original cast member of the Bravo show, Cartwright joined during season 4. The couple, who wed during season 8, announced in December 2020 that they would not be part of season 9.

“The last 8 years on Vanderpump Rules have been some of the most challenging, rewarding and fulfilling years of my life,” the former bartender wrote via Instagram at the time. “Although this is difficult to share, Brittany and I will not be returning for another season of Vanderpump Rules. We are excited to take this time to focus on our growing family and share with you our new endeavors. @bravotv, @evolutionusa and our Vanderpump castmates will always remain close to our hearts. Thank you to all the fans who have shared our journey with us and supported us through everything. We love you.”

In the months following, Taylor and Cartwright spent a lot of time with their former costars who welcomed babies around the same time she gave birth to their son, Cruz, including Stassi Schroeder and Beau Clark, Scheana Shay and Lala Kent. Taylor’s relationship with former best friend Tom Sandoval, however, didn’t seem to recover after their season 8 falling out.

“I don’t talk to him as much,” Sandoval told Us Weekly in September 2021. “They’re busy, we’re busy.”

Taylor, for his part, referred to their relationship as “cordial” in November 2021. “I mean, I’m 42 years old. I’m not gonna go, ‘I hate you,’ and this and that. I’m like, ‘How are you? How are you doing? Life is good. Great.’ That’s it,” he told Access Hollywood.

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Cartwright, for her part, remained tight with the female cast — until she and Taylor skipped Schroeder and Clark’s May 2022 wedding.

“There’s some rifts going on right now. … With me and Stassi, there’s some things going on, which I hate. I love her to pieces. And I wish we could figure this out,” the Kentucky native said on the “Betches Moms” podcast in June 2022.

While Cartwright claimed that there were “actual reasons” why the twosome weren’t at the nuptials, Schroeder and Clark previously implied that Taylor was lying about his intention to attend.

“Good friends don’t do that. They don’t talk s–t about your wedding behind your back or pretend that they’re coming and give a list of reasons why they’re not coming to other people,” she said on their “The Good, the Bad, and the Baby” podcast in May 2022. “Friends don’t do that to each other.”

Clark added, “I was sitting there going like, ‘Really? This is the type of people we’re having in our lives?’ I just want good people in my life.”

Scroll through for a full breakdown of where the couple stands with the cast (past and present):

Maloney was in attendance as the maid of honor at Schroeder and Clark’s wedding. The “You’re Gonna Love Me” podcast host and Taylor no longer follow each other on Instagram. Maloney was previously in attendance at Cruz’s first birthday party in April 2022 with Schroeder and Clark.

During an appearance on WWHL in March 2023, Cartwright confirmed Maloney still isn’t speaking to her.

“She’s so far up Stassi’s butt,” Taylor added. “It makes no sense. [It’s like] high school.”

During that same press tour, the couple told E! News that they would be interested in returning to Vanderpump Rules — a comment Maloney didn’t understand.

“Jax has also been talking s—t about the show for three years. So like, what?” she said on “Everything Iconic With Danny Pellegrino” podcast in April 2023. “I find that odd. Obviously he’s changed his tune, but OK.”

In September 2022, Sandoval noted that he doesn’t “hang out” a “ton” with Taylor but ran into him on Labor Day. “We talked and hung out. It was cool. It’s chill. We’re not super, super tight, but we’re cool. We’ll catch up,” he told E! at the time.

Months later, Taylor shared his side of the story while reacting to news that Sandoval had an affair with Raquel Leviss, leading to his split from Madix.

“There’s times and events where I saw them together and it just didn’t even click until now,” he told People in March 2023. “We saw them Labor Day at our friend’s house. They were together. But I wouldn’t have thought anything until this came up.”

He went on to slam Sandoval and praise Schwartz, whom many have speculated knew about the affair. “I think Schwartz is a good guy,” Taylor said. “He’s not going to rat on his friends. Sandoval’s being very selfish. He shouldn’t have put Tom in that position. … When you get to a certain point, you think you have this diva mentality where you’re just not going to get in trouble and you’re not going to get caught. He’s gotten to that point where he’s [thinking], ‘I can’t be touched. I can do whatever I want.’ And it caught up with him.”

Madix told Us in June 2021 that she hadn’t met Cruz yet. She later slammed Taylor that October. “He would say whatever he wants about anybody, then you would spend three and four days talking about it. It just sucks all the life out of everything else,” she said on the “We Should Talk” series.

In July 2022, Madix added that she sees “Brittany from time to time,” but didn’t mention Taylor.

“It’s always nice when I see her, she’s honestly always been so sweet,” she said, noting that she hopes “everything works out” for Cartwright and Schroeder amid their drama.

After Scandoval broke, the couple made it clear they were Team Ariana, with Taylor slamming Sandoval and Cartwright revealing she wanted to check in on Madix.

“I called, I texted Scheana and Lala first thing. We have a group chat and I was like, ‘Is this true?’ And they just wrote back YES, like, all caps, and then I was like, ‘Oh my God, how’s Ariana?’ Because, like, having to go through this so publicly is so mortifying,” she told ET. “Having to live this publicly and being so embarrassed by it and, like, having to go through it, like, I just feel so bad for Ariana having to go through this so publicly. … I’ve checked in on Ariana a couple of times. I haven’t gone to see her yet, but definitely checked in on her and, you know, just trying to be there for her as much as I can. I know that she hasn’t been alone for a second so that’s good.”

Taylor added: “I guess [Ariana] said with all the guys, I’m the only one that’s checked in with her, me out of all people. She was like, ‘Jax Taylor’s the only guy who’s checked in, you know, who checked up on me.'”

“I have a great relationship with Jax,” Schwartz told Andy Cohen in January 2022. “I’ll always love him. His kid is so cute, Andy.”

Schwartz added, however, that the “dynamic” between himself, Taylor and Sandoval “is kind of dead,” adding, “But, [Sandoval] doesn’t have a close relationship. I mean he returned the[[Randy Jackson]sword[from[fromStep Brothers]. I feel like that was the end, that was the symbolic end, of their relationship.”

While Sandoval wasn’t in attendance, Schwartz was at his former costar’s surprise 43rd birthday party in July 2022.

While they didn’t leave on bad terms with the former boss, they haven’t exactly stayed in touch.

“She said she missed us and stuff, but we don’t hear from her as much as I thought we would, which is kinda sad,” Cartwright said on the “Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef” podcast in May 2022.

“But I still love her to pieces.”

She added that her spouse “doesn’t really say anything about it, but I’m sure if you asked him, he probably would be [upset] a little bit,” explaining, “I know she was really close to him during all the filming and stuff. So I just wish that would have, like, continued a little bit, but we’ll see.”

Vanderpump responded to Cartwright’s comments during an exclusive interview with Us in July 2022, noting that she sent a “hand-embroidered” baby gift with Cruz’s name on it when he was born.

“I’m always there. It was never me reaching out to them really. Apart from when they had the baby, it was never me reaching out. I’m always there for them. If they need me, I’m always there,” she said. “[But] I have hundreds of people that work for me, sometimes thousands, and I can’t say I have a close relationship with everybody that works for me. How could I? But through this journey, in this show, of course I have. That’s why when they had the baby, even though they were no longer working for me, I reached out with all personalized gifts and everything, because I love them. I do. … I’m sad that it was a sign of the times that a lot of people were let go. I mean, that’s what happens. It doesn’t go on forever.”

Months later, Taylor spent time with Vanderpump and her husband, Ken Todd, at TomTom in March 2023.

“It was great, just ‘How you doing? How’s the grandchild? How’s your kids?’ She was really nice,” he said on WWHL. “Just your typical Lisa.”

While Cartwright has said she wants to give the couple “time” and make amends, Schroeder and Clark didn’t mince words when discussing how upset they were with how Cartwright and Taylor handled skipping the wedding.

“We knew that this person was texting Beau’s friend this. … Whenever we were around them, they’re like, ‘We’re coming.’ … Then it kept happening,” Schroeder said in May 2022. “This person would text Beau’s friends again. … And two weeks before the wedding, right before I left for the book tour, I was like, ‘We need to address this with them because I’m not playing this game.’ I ordered all the stuff we needed to have in terms of seat assignments and the place cards. That’s done. So I need to know if I need to quickly ask to get things rearranged. …  They knew that we were planning this wedding for this month for a year. So they had ample opportunity to say, ‘Don’t waste an invitation on us because we’re not going to come.’”

She added: “It’s not about the fact that you guys didn’t come. It’s the way you handled it. You obviously don’t care that much about us or have that much love and respect for us to communicate and handle it in a respectful way and I’m not here for it.”

After seeing the couple at Ocean Kent’s birthday party in March 2023, Cartwright and Taylor gave an update to ET.

“I should have just went right to Beau because I thought maybe I could ask his friend, ‘How do you think I should handle this?’ It’s one of those things where we would have went. … I hope one day they can forgive us,” he said.

Cartwright agreed: “I definitely wanted to be there and I regret not being there. … We’re slowly starting to be able to talk and stuff and I don’t want to pressure her or anything.”

Taylor then interjected: “Let it organically happen ’cause she knows I’m very sorry.”

The former Vanderpump Rules star has stayed close to Cartwright, attending the couple’s son’s birthday party in April 2022.

Doute was also at Taylor’s 43rd birthday party in July 2022. “Aww, this is FRAMILY! … We’ve been friends for almost 15 YEARS!!” she wrote via Instagram. “You’re an amazing dad, an amazing husband, and a sub-par friend 😉. Love you. Stop blocking me or don’t. Cant wait for what’s to come…”

In March 2023, however, she confirmed she’s much closer to Cartwright than her husband, revealing Taylor had her blocked on social media again. 

During the same interview in which she discussed her falling out with Schroeder, Cartwright noted she was close with Kent. It’s unclear if the “Give Them Lala” podcast host is cool with Taylor, however, as she previously said she cut off anyone who was still in touch with her ex-fiancé, Randall Emmett — and according to Cartwright, Taylor may still see the movie producer.

“Jax and Randall were super close. I’m not really sure exactly what’s going on with them, but let me just say I’m team Lala. I hope the best for her and Ocean and their entire family,” Cartwright told E! News in January 2022. While Taylor follows Kent on Instagram, she doesn’t return the favor.

Kent made her stance more clear in July 2022, telling Us: “I’m cordial with him because Brittany is one of my best friends. It would be the same type of situation if Katie and Tom [Schwartz] were still married. I would have to maneuver those waters in the same way I have to maneuver them with Jax and Brittany.”

Cartwright also named the “Good As Gold” singer as someone she is close to during her June 2022 “Betches Mom” interview. While Taylor follows Shay on Instagram, she does not appear to keep up with him on the app.

Shay later made it clear she sided with Cartwright in her feud with Schroeder, inviting the Kentucky native on her podcast to share her side of the story in July 2022. The “Scheananigans” host made the list for Taylor’s birthday party that same month.

Despite a rocky time on the series, the DJ left on good terms with Taylor. While Kennedy also follows both Taylor and Cartwright on Instagram — and vice versa — he hasn’t been spotted with the twosome in recent months.