Brittany Cartwright’s divorce from Jax Taylor has taken an extremely serious turn.
The Valley star was granted a temporary restraining order against her estranged husband after filing a declaration in Los Angeles Superior Court alleging years of abuse, threats, intimidation and emotional cruelty.
One of the most disturbing claims in Brittany’s filing is that Jax allegedly threatened to “gut [her] like a f–king fish” and “f–king kill” her during an alleged furniture-throwing incident.
Brittany claimed the alleged incident left her injured, and she included photos of the alleged injuries in her court filing.
According to the documents, obtained by TMZ, Jax must now stay 100 feet away from Brittany as their already contentious divorce continues to play out.
Brittany also alleged that Jax repeatedly fat-shamed and degraded her, including in front of their 5-year-old son, Cruz.
In her declaration, Brittany claimed Jax called her “degrading and humiliating” names including “bitch,” “c–t,” “fat ass bitch,” “fatty,” “broke ass bitch” and “whore.”
Brittany also alleged that some of these insults happened in front of Cruz and in public.
Her filing reportedly included transcripts of alleged recordings of their fights, with repeated notations that Cruz could be heard crying in the audio.
Brittany claimed the alleged behavior was part of a larger pattern of abuse throughout their relationship. In the court documents, she accused Jax of “coercive control, financial abuse, emotional and psychological abuse, gaslighting and even physical violence.”
The former couple, who were together from 2015 until their 2024 split, have had their relationship documented for years on Vanderpump Rules and The Valley. But Brittany’s latest filing paints a much darker picture of what she says was happening behind the scenes.
Brittany also alleged that Jax broke three of her iPhones, one iPad and other property inside their former California home.
She further claimed Jax accessed her iPhone, messages and Instagram account without her consent, deleted messages from her phone and took her $70,000 wedding ring, which she alleges he has refused to return.
Brittany also accused Jax of using child support and spousal support issues to intimidate or pressure her after their separation.
She claimed he threatened to spread false accusations about her publicly and shared private messages from their parenting app, OurFamilyWizard, which included discussions about their son.
Brittany requested sole custody of Cruz, but the judge denied that request for now pending a future hearing.
Jax responded to Brittany’s legal filing on Instagram Stories, acknowledging that he is ashamed of past behavior while saying he is focused on his sobriety, mental health and being a better father.
“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,” Jax wrote.
He also said he is committed to “treatment and therapy” and claimed he has not engaged in inappropriate behaviors in more than two years.
“I will respect the court’s orders and the legal process,” Jax continued.
He added, “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.”
Brittany filed for divorce in August 2024 after nearly five years of marriage. Since then, their split has only become more contentious, with both sides making public claims about co-parenting, finances, sobriety and their future.