Jax Taylor and Tom Sandoval Michael Simon/startraksphoto.com (2)
Jax Taylor is opening up about what to expect from his upcoming sit-down with Tom Sandoval on Vanderpump Rules.
“I want to make it very clear. I did not go after Tom Sandoval about cheating. That had nothing to do with it,” Taylor, 44, exclusively told Us Weekly at the Thursday, March 14, premiere party at Jax’s Studio City for Bravo’s The Valley. “Let’s be honest. Everybody on the show has cheated. Nobody has a leg to stand on.”
Sandoval’s affair with Rachel “Raquel” Leviss was revealed in March 2023 as news broke of his split from Ariana Madix, his girlfriend of nearly a decade. Taylor has since spoken about his former VPR costar’s infidelity on multiple occasions.
“My anger issue was how Sandoval handled it afterwards,” Taylor continued. “He didn’t stay here. He didn’t take the bullets. He deflected them on to Tom Schwartz, who had to sit there, take a beating.”
While some things never change, the cast of Vanderpump Rules is used to a shake-up … and a touch-up. Vanderpump Rules was introduced to Bravo viewers during a special episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in January 2013. Season 1 starred Lisa Vanderpump, who was a Beverly Hills Housewife at the time, Stassi […]
Following the success of Sandoval and Schwartz’s restaurant TomTom, the pair decided to open a bar called Schwartz & Sandy’s. After the public learned of Sandoval’s affair, Schwartz & Sandy’s was slammed with negative Yelp reviews, and Schwartz, 41, claimed in April 2023 that it had been vandalized. (In January, Schwartz claimed Sandoval, 40, is now “mostly a silent partner” but is still financially involved.)
“Because Tom Sandoval wasn’t around, his restaurant took a beating,” Taylor said of the situation. “He was going through a lot of stuff with his family and I just felt like, ‘Dude, why did you take off? You should have never left L.A. You should have stayed here and said you know what, I f–ked up. I made a mistake. And I’m gonna own it and I’m gonna be here for my business partner, my best friend.’”
Jax Taylor Michael Simon/startraksphoto.com
He continued, “That’s what I had a problem with. The fact that he left his best friend slash business partner. I want to make that very clear. I don’t give a s–t who he cheats on. I don’t care.”
As for where his friendship with Sandoval stands now, Taylor shared, “He’s been coming to my bar singing karaoke on Monday nights.”
When viewers were introduced to staff at Lisa Vanderpump‘s restaurant during Vanderpump Rules‘ 2013 premiere, it was clear everyone was intertwined in one another’s love lives. From Stassi Schroeder‘s rocky relationship with Jax Taylor, which took a turn when he hooked up with her best friend Kristen Doute, to Peter Madrigal’s casual connections to several […]
Taylor added that “everybody has made mistakes, especially on Vanderpump Rules,” saying, “He cheated on Ariana. It’s been a year now. I feel like it’s time to move on. She’s happy. Clearly, she’s doing very well. She has a new boyfriend.”
Madix, 38, has since moved on with fitness coach Daniel Wai.
“It’s time to stop talking about Scandoval,” Taylor continued. “There are other things to talk about, like The Valley.”
The Valley premieres on Bravo Tuesday, March 19, at 9 p.m. ET and streams the next day on Peacock.
With reporting by Mike Vulpo
