Jax Taylor, Brittany Cartwright, Tom Sandoval, and Raquel Leviss.
Shutterstock (4)Dealing with drama. Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright offered his thoughts behind Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix‘s relationship – including what led to the relationship with Vanderpump Rules costar Rachel Lewis.
“[Sandoval] never controlled Ariana. She’s a strong, independent woman and I feel like I can’t control her, and she can control Raquel very easily,” said Taylor, 43, in an interview with Entertainment Tonight on March 21, referring to Sandoval, 40, and Madix split. “[Raquel’s] very easy to manipulate, and you can control them just by looking at them. He is easily controlled, you can say that he is codependent. They are the definition of codependency.
The Michigan native, who appeared alongside Sandoval on the hit Bravo series from 2013 to 2020, had some choice words for his former teammate amid the drama.
“You know, we all make mistakes in life, and God knows I’ve made my fair share,” he said. “I think he’s lost in his head, a nine-man cover band and a little bar in a strip mall, like, that’s going to his head and he needs to, like, come down to earth and know if he’s done. Again, coming from me, coming from me no means a lot, but only modesty, and shows some sympathy.
Taylor, who married Cartwright, 34, in Vanderpump Rules in 2019, praised Madix, 37, for supporting the co-owner of TomTom for almost ten years.
“I mean, look at Ariana. He stands by you whether you are the right person for each other or not. He stood by you for how many years? He has put up with many. I see what goes on behind closed doors,” added Taylor. “What people don’t see, they have a lot of. He’s not the easiest person, so, you know, just humble yourself.”
Earlier this month, Us Weekly confirmed that Sandoval and the Florida native called it quits after nine years because he had an affair with Leviss, 28. Taylor and Cartwright, who left the show in 2020, both took to social media to show their support for Madix at the time.
“I’ve said a lot of things on the show that people never believe… everything I say always ends up being true.. #pumprules,” Taylor tweeted. Cartwright, for his part, uploaded an Instagram photo of himself and Madix, writing, “Obviously.”
According to the former sweater designer, it is not surprising to see the scandal in public. “I mean, I don’t want to say I predicted it, but I predicted it. I mean, I’m just not surprised, I’m not surprised, I just let it go,” he said on Monday, referring to past allegations that Sandoval was hooked on a girl in Miami while with Madix. “You know, they’ve done this before and nobody believed me. It’s not the first time.”
The Kentucky native, for him, is open about how Madix has been doing since the separation.
“Yes, I checked Ariana twice. I haven’t gone to see him yet, but definitely checked on him and, you know, just try to be there for him as much as possible. I know he’s not alone for a while, so it’s good,” Cartwright, who shares his 23-month-old son Cruz with Taylor, noted. “Having to go through this publicly is mortifying. Having to live in public and being embarrassed and, like, having to go through, like, I feel so bad that Ariana has to go through this in public.