Amid his divorce from Brittany Cartwright, Jax Taylor is leaning on some old friends — including Tom Sandoval.
During the Oct. 3 episode of his and Brittany’s podcast, When Reality Hits with Jax and Brittany, Jax shared that he’s been in touch with Tom a lot since separating from Brittany and subsequently spending some time in a mental health facility.
“Yes, actually Tom Sandoval has reached out to me more than anybody,” The Valley cast member said in response to a fan question wondering where he stands with the Tom Tom part owner today. “And I know people are gonna be shocked by that. I have been hanging out with him a little bit more lately.”
The Jax’s Studio City partner explained that he now holds a lot of sympathy for what Tom Sandoval went through in 2023 after his relationship with Ariana Madix came to an end.
“I don’t understand or I can’t even comprehend what he’s gone through,” Jax said, referring to the fallout from his affair, which Jax said was “nationwide.”
“Regardless of how you feel about Tom Sandoval, you got to remember what he went through on this. And I know, like I said, he did go through a lot, and he caused it — he did a very bad thing, but the world just, like, came down on him…” the dad of one continued.
Jax went on to note that he’s been in frequent contact with Tom amid his mental health issues.
“I couldn’t believe it. He actually reached out to me while I was in the facility,” the Vanderpump Rules alum said about his time in in-patient treatment in the summer. “He was just checking in on me, ‘How you doing? What’s going on?’ And I was shocked because I haven’t heard from Tom in a long time.”
Jax Taylor says Tom Sandoval is his “best friend”
Since Tom began reaching out again, Jax said that the two have repaired their friendship.
“And now I probably talk to Tom three to four times a week,” Jax gushed on the podcast. “He comes to the bar, he sings karaoke, you know, he’s on tour right now, but I just hung out with him and his mom and his dad, and it was just great to see them.”
He added, “I love Tom, and I will always love him no matter what he does. He’s my best friend, along with Tom Schwartz. They’re both my best friends.”
Jax then spoke about the importance of forgiveness.
“People make mistakes in life, but you got to move on from it, and we all gotta forgive each other at some point,” he concluded in his podcast.
Jax Taylor has Tom Sandoval’s support as he navigates his divorce from Brittany Cartwright.
“Actually, Tom Sandoval has reached out to me more than anybody, and I know people are gonna be shocked by that,” Taylor, 45, said during the Thursday, October 3, episode of his and Cartwright’s “When Reality Hits” podcast. “I have been hanging out with him a little bit more lately.”
Taylor, who recorded the episode solo, noted that Sandoval, 42, also reached out to him when he spent 30 days in a mental health treatment program over the summer.
“[He was] just checking on me. … I was shocked because I [hadn’t] heard from Tom in a long time, and now I probably talk to Tom three or four times a week,” Taylor said. “I love Tom, and I will always love him no matter what he does. He’s my best friend, along with Tom Schwartz. They’re both my best friends. People make mistakes in life, but you gotta move on from it, and we all gotta forgive each other at some point.”
Taylor and Sandoval’s at-times rocky friendship was documented on Vanderpump Rules for years before Taylor left the show after season 8 in 2020. Who could forget the season 2 episode when Sandoval punched Taylor for sleeping with his then-girlfriend Kristen Doute or the season 4 moment when Taylor told Sandoval, “Dude, stop acting like you’re the No. 1 f—ing guy in this group, man. I’m the No. 1 guy in this group?”
More recently, Taylor repeatedly slammed Sandoval for how he handled the fallout of his affair with Rachel Leviss, which came to light in March 2023 when he was still dating Ariana Madix.
“I want to make it very clear. I did not go after Tom Sandoval about cheating. That had nothing to do with it … Everybody on the show has cheated,” Taylor exclusively told Us Weekly in March 2024. “My anger issue was how Sandoval handled it afterwards. He didn’t stay here. He didn’t take the bullets. He deflected them on to Tom Schwartz, who had to sit there [and] take a beating.”
Taylor then claimed that Sandoval left Schwartz, 41, to deal with the deluge of negative reviews that their bar, Schwartz & Sandy’s, received in the wake of the scandal.
“Because Tom Sandoval wasn’t around, his restaurant took a beating,” Taylor said at the time. “I just felt like, ‘Dude, why did you take off? … You should have stayed here and said you know what, I f—-ed up. I made a mistake. And I’m gonna own it and I’m gonna be here for my business partner, my best friend.’”
After telling Sandoval to take accountability for his mistakes, Taylor is now trying to do the same. During a September episode of his podcast, the Valley star admitted that he believes he is a narcissist.
“I am a narcissist, yes. I breadcrumb, I love bomb [and take part in] gaslighting. I’m missing some, but I do all these things. I had no idea there were terms for these things,” he said. “I look up the definition for all these new terms and I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, I do that. I do that too.’ I don’t even know how to talk anymore without being labeled as one of these things.”
Taylor also hinted that he wasn’t easy to be married to, saying that Cartwright filing for divorce in August was “the right decision” for the former couple and their 3-year-old son, Cruz.
“I know I’m an amazing father,” said Taylor, who has agreed to grant full custody of Cruz to Cartwright. “And I know that I will make an excellent ex-husband.”
