Brittany Cartwright Opens Up About Son’s Autism Diagnosis

Brittany Cartwright recently opened up about her 3-year-old son, Cruz, being diagnosed with autism.

In a new interview, Brittany Cartwright shared more about how she’s planning to support him as he continues to develop. The “Vanderpump Rules” alum also hopes to be a helpful resource to other families navigating the same journey.

During her chat with Us Weekly, Cartwright, who shares her son Cruz with fellow Bravo star Jax Taylor, said she and her soon-to-be ex-husband weren’t surprised when they received the news from doctors about their child’s autism.

“It wasn’t a shock whenever we had it, but to finally have that … it opens a lot of doors,” she said.

Cartwright explained that her son, who’s mostly nonverbal, has “everything he needs” for now, including an occupational therapist, a speech therapist, and a therapeutic companion who “goes to class with him every day.”

The mother of one said her hope by coming forward with her family’s new normal is to “help other families” experiencing something similar.

Although she’s ready to use her platform to help others, Cartwright admitted it’s all “new for me, too.” However, she’s ready to “spread awareness” and learn “as we go.”

“The world doesn’t know,” she told Us Weekly about raising a child with autism. “There’s so many people [who] think they’re doctors in the comment[s] section … that think they know everything that’s going on. I’m like: ‘No, you don’t. Because even I don’t know.’”

She went on to say that she and her family are “learning as we go,” but if she can help others, “that’s a dream come true.”

Cartwright also opened up about the support she’s received from the other moms around her despite them not having children with autism.

“I’ve had other people reach out to me [who] are, like, advocates,” she explained. “[People who] have fought for their kids for a long time. And they’re just like, ‘Thank you for sharing this.’ And it means a lot to me. We’ve had an outpouring amount of love and support and I think that’s amazing.”

“I wanna help other people as much as I can,” she added. “I feel grateful that I’m able to do a lot of the stuff that I can for my son. I know it’s not easy for everybody, and if I can, like, help in any way — that’s really, really, really important to me.”

Cartwright’s soon-to-be ex-husband, whom she filed for divorce from in 2024, touched on his son’s development during a previous interview and said he was the reason he decided to get sober after using cocaine for two decades.

“I just needed to do it for myself, and I needed to do it for my son,” Taylor, 45, said.

He continued, “Everyone’s like, ‘You should do this for you first.’ I did this for my son first and then I did it for me.”

“I want my son one day to be like, ‘My dad….there was something wrong with him, and he fixed himself; this is why he’s here today,” Taylor added.

In another interview, Cartwright acknowledged Taylor’s sobriety journey, which is now over 130 days, and said she’s hopeful the “House of Villains” reality star can stick to his plan of staying away from drugs and alcohol.

“He’s done so much damage, and me and Cruz weren’t enough for him to get help for a very long time,” she said. “I want his dad to be in his life, but it’s just really hard when you can’t trust somebody. It’s going to take me a long time to regain trust in him, and that makes co-parenting extremely hard. I can just hope and pray that one day he will completely knock this because I’m not sure yet.”

Still, despite their issues, Cartwright, who will appear in season 2 of “The Valley,” which airs on April 15, 2025, wants Taylor to be healthy not only for himself but also for their son.

“As much as me and Jax are not getting along, I want Cruz to grow up with his dad in his life. So if he can stay consistent, I think that’s very important in co-parenting,” she added.