Jax Taylor’s Co-Stars Say His Addiction Neqws Was ‘Convenient’

Jax Taylor may have opened up about his previous cocaine addiction, but some of his co-stars don’t seem to believe his reasoning for sharing.

In a new interview, Nia Booko and Kristen Doute shared their thoughts about Jax Taylor revealing he’d been “an addict” since he was 23, and one of them seemed to question whether his intentions were genuine.

In March 2025, Taylor appeared on Bravo’s “Hot Mic” podcast and revealed he’d struggled with an addiction to cocaine for over two decades.

“I have substance issues—primarily with cocaine. It’s hard to say out loud,” he said, adding that he’s been using the illicit drug “since I was 23 and now I’m 45.”

The reality star continued: “There [were] times where I would stop doing it, but then there were times where I’d go heavy on it.”

“I’ve never said this in my life,” he continued. “So, to come out and say that I have an addiction [and] that I have a sickness that I have to work on the rest of my life is a really big deal for me.”

Taylor’s co-stars agree that sharing about his addiction was a big deal. However, one also seems torn about his intentions.

“When he came out with, you know, sharing his addiction and all that, I had two thoughts. I had one of, like, ‘Good for him. That’s got to be hard to do,'” Booko told Decider.

“But also, the timing seemed to be convenient,” she added, suggesting it was likely Taylor only opened up because the cameras were rolling.

Elsewhere, during his initial interview, Taylor admitted he was now sober, which Doute hopes the “House of Villains” reality star is being honest about.

“I hope that he is sober. I hope he’s telling the truth,” she said. “I haven’t seen anything that has made me think otherwise as of late, so kudos to him, of course.”

However, Doute shared some of her concerns about the former “Vanderpump Rules” star’s future behavior.

“I think Jax’s personality will always trade one addiction for another,” she said. “So what that next thing will be, I don’t know, and I’m not saying a substance necessarily. I’m just saying in general, that’s just kind of how he is, and until he’s willing to truly do the work, like, seeking help is one thing, but doing the actual work is quite another, and that I haven’t seen yet.”

In a previous interview, Taylor shed more light on his sobriety journey and reflected on the time in his life when he was using cocaine and consuming alcohol.

“I will say drugs and alcohol are not the problem,” said Taylor. “The problem was I just didn’t address my mental health at all and used drugs and alcohol [to] mask it.”

He went on to say that the issues he was facing in his life, such as his ongoing divorce from soon-to-be ex-wife Brittany Cartwright, bipolar disorder, and other woes, were so pressing that the drugs allowed him to escape reality.

“It’s just so overwhelming, so drinking and substances just helped,” he said.

Later, during his conversation, though, Taylor, who shares a 3-year-old son with Cartwright, admitted he was the real reason he began pursuing sobriety.

He called the moment when he decided to be open about his issues with the Bravoverse “tough” before saying it was something he had to do for himself and his family.

He said, “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,” he explained.

Ahead of the season 2 premiere of “The Valley,” Cartwright opened up about her and Taylor’s son being diagnosed with autism.

On Instagram, Taylor shared a carousel of images of him and Cruz, and also wrote about how he’d always be his biggest supporter.

“The sky is the limit even though life may look a little different,” he wrote.