Brittany Cartwright has been partially granted a temporary restraining order against her estranged husband Jax Taylor, requiring him to stay 100 yards away after she claimed he repeatedly threatened her life. Court documents obtained by E! News reveal the legal action follows allegations of severe domestic misconduct.
In the request filed Aug. 27, 37-year-old Cartwright alleged that 47-year-old Taylor exhibited a pattern of coercive control, financial abuse, emotional and psychological abuse, gaslighting, and physical violence. The couple split in 2024 after five years of marriage.
According to court filings, Cartwright declared that throughout their relationship Taylor threatened to "gut me like a fish," threatened to kill her, physically attacked her, and threw furniture, causing her personal injury.
Cartwright alleged Taylor broke at least three of her iPhones and one iPad, destroyed property at their home, and attempted to break in. She further claimed he stalked her, accessed her messages and Instagram account without consent, deleted messages, and removed her jewelry from the home without returning it.
The court documents cited numerous occasions where Taylor allegedly threatened Cartwright and called her names including "bitch," "c--t," "wh--e," and "fatty" in front of their 5-year-old son, Cruz. The most recent altercation occurred on Aug. 21, when Taylor allegedly threatened to call police on Cartwright over a pool safety fence.
Under the temporary order, Taylor must stay 100 yards away from Cartwright until their next court date on Sept. 17. The judge denied Cartwright's request for temporary child custody until the forthcoming hearing, where custody will be considered.
Jax Taylor Responds to Court Allegations
Taylor addressed the claims in a statement shared to Instagram on Aug. 28, writing, "I made a lot of mistakes and behaved in ways during that period of my life that I’m truly ashamed of and regret and take full responsibility for." He added, "The person I was in 2024, during the darkest time of my life and at the height of my addiction, is not the person I am today. I got help, went to treatment, and today I’m 1 year and 9 months sober. I’ve remained committed to treatment and therapy, working on myself and changing my life."
The former SUR employee added, "there are allegations being made that I strongly dispute. The full story, context and evidence will be addressed where it belongs - in court." He concluded, "I will respect the court’s orders and the legal process. My focus continues to be my sobriety, working on my mental health, being the best father I can be to Cruz and moving forward in a healthy and responsible way."
Cartwright and Taylor are reality television personalities who starred in the Bravo series Vanderpump Rules, which centers on staff at Lisa Vanderpump's West Hollywood restaurant SUR. They later starred in the spin-off series The Valley, which follows their lives and social circle in Los Angeles.
New Romance and Public Reactions
The restraining order follows Taylor confirming earlier in August that he is dating Lori Krebs, who previously served as a publicist for both him and Cartwright. Taylor confirmed the romance in a video published by Page Six on Aug. 6 after years of working together professionally.
Speaking to paparazzi about Krebs, Taylor said, "I love her to death. You can’t help who you fall in love with. Everybody deserves to find happiness." He added, "I’m in the happiest place I’ve ever been, and I couldn’t be happier right now. My mental health has been so amazing since I’ve been with her."
Cartwright reacted to the relationship during an interview with People earlier in August, saying, "I never wish bad for anybody but they have to be absolutely miserable, and I hope they are." The Kentucky native added, "My honest opinion is that my ex needs a mommy. I've never seen another publicist want to be the center of attention like she did."
Timeline of Marital Issues and Separation
The couple's turbulent relationship includes a 2017 cheating scandal, when Taylor hooked up with former SUR waitress Faith Stowers. Taylor admitted on Vanderpump Rules, "This isn't my first time being caught cheating. In the past, I've gone through months and months of deny, deny, deny, and that didn't work for me." Although a devastated Cartwright initially broke up with him, they reconciled months later and wed in 2020, with later court filings also referencing a June 2019 wedding date.
In February 2024, Cartwright announced on their podcast, When Reality Hits, that she and Taylor were separating after four years of marriage. She stated, "Yes, marriages in general are very hard and I've had a particularly rough year this past year. 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." She added, "I'm taking one day at a time. I don't know what the future holds, but right now my focus is on being the best mom to Cruz."
Cracks in the marriage deepened in March 2024 when Bravo released a preview for The Valley, in which Cartwright stated, "I don't feel like he's attracted to me, we don't have sex ever," and Taylor remarked, "It's so hard to be married sometimes." Costar Janet Caperna also teased in the clip, "There's a rumor about Jax cheating online."
Taylor denied infidelity claims on March 14 at The Valley premiere party, telling E! News, "We're just having a little communication issues right now. That's all, there's nothing else. 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." He added, "We see each other every single day. The only thing that's different is we just don't sleep under the same roof. That's it."
On March 18, 35-year-old Cartwright told E! News that cheating did not cause the split, revealing, "We got into a very bad fight and I decided to pack up my stuff, and I've been staying in an Airbnb since January 24." She added, "I'm doing it for my mental space, and I feel very strong with my decision to get out for a while."
Regarding their son, Taylor told E! News, "He's no. 1 and we both agree on that. 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." Cartwright agreed, stating, "I just don't want that for our son. I don't want him growing up thinking it's normal to live like that."
Cartwright noted in March 2024 that "there's always hope," adding, "I don't think anybody will ever love Jax the way I've loved Jax. 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."
Former SUR boss Lisa Vanderpump told E! News, "Everybody predicted that when they got married. They said, 'Oh this won't last long,' but I kind of never liked to draw conclusions." She added, "I don't know what the reason was, 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." Costar Scheana Shay told E! News on March 23, "I think it’s for the best. I think she deserves better and she deserves a partner who’s going to treat her with respect." Costar Kristen Doute agreed, stating, "I'm proud of Brittany for setting boundaries for making the choice for her. But I'm very hopeful that they can work this out. But that's on Jax, that's not on her."
Divorce Proceedings and Subsequent Fallout
During The Valley season finale on June 4, Cartwright confronted Taylor over alleged verbal abuse. 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?'"
By June 2024, Cartwright told E! News, "We said that, going into this, that we could test the waters with other people if we wanted to. 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 2024, Taylor entered an in-patient treatment facility for mental health issues, sharing an Instagram photo on July 31 with Cruz captioned, "Working on getting better for you buddy. I love you."
Cartwright officially filed for divorce in August 2024 after seven months of separation, citing irreconcilable differences and seeking primary legal and physical custody of Cruz with child visitation for Taylor. In October 2024 court filings, Taylor requested sole legal and physical custody of Cruz but checked a box contending the parties were never legally married. His representative told E! News, "While Jax made errors in filing out forms that are usually done by trained legal professionals, those errors will be amended without delay." Cartwright responded on Instagram, writing, "We are legally married. I’m guessing paperwork is hard for some people."
In November 2024, Cartwright confirmed on Bravo's Hot Mic podcast that she had a fling with Taylor's friend Julian while single in Los Angeles, stating they had no rule against dating within their friend group. Taylor called the romance a "slap in the face" during a Nov. 14 interview on Hot Mic, stating, "I don’t think I would have been bothered by it if it was somebody else that I didn’t know. I want her to meet somebody, just not somebody I know." He added that he caught her in a couple of lies after discovering she was sending Julian naked photos.
In March 2025, Taylor revealed he was nearly three months sober following a decades-long battle with cocaine addiction. Cartwright said in a statement, "I pray that one day he completely knocks this addiction, but I'm skeptical. His behaviors are still alarming and his treatment plan seems to be the bare minimum. I'm trying to navigate this as best as I can for my son and I, but every day is still a challenge and very difficult. Jax has caused an enormous amount of damage and I have very little trust in him at this point. My only hope is that one day, he will be a better person for his son.”
In August 2025, Doute told People that Cartwright was in a new relationship, saying, "She has someone in her life that's really amazing that I am head over heels for. She's dated people during her single years since her ex-husband, and I have not approved of them. They've been fine, but not wonderful. This person is very wonderful and very cool. Very family-feeling." Doute added, "He's a dad, so it makes it really easy, a lot easier and understandable."
Cartwright and Taylor are now scheduled to return to court on Sept. 17, 2026, when a judge will rule on restraining order and child custody terms.
