Jax Taylor isn’t sugarcoating anything. The Vanderpump Rules alum has opened up about his mental health struggles in a way that’s raw, emotional, and brutally honest.
On the May 8 episode of his podcast In the Mind of Jax Taylor, he revealed that before his bipolar disorder diagnosis, he often turned to drugs and alcohol just to silence the chaos in his head. “I would say f— that. I’m going to take drugs for two hours or whatever and turn my mind off,” he said.
Taylor, now 45, told guest Jason Tartick that he always sensed something was wrong. “Did I know I had something wrong with me for years? Absolutely,” he said. But like so many people dealing with mental health issues, he avoided getting checked out and kept sweeping it under the rug. It wasn’t until last July, when he checked himself into rehab, that doctors were finally able to help him dig into what was really happening. “I was just on the ground,” he admitted. “Something is f—— wrong with me. I’m flying off the handle. I’m angry. I’m easily triggered.”
He described the emotional rollercoaster that ruled his daily life, feeling happy one moment and crushed the next for no apparent reason. “There’s absolutely no reason to be this way,” he said, pointing out that on the surface, he had everything, a house, cars, “toys,” a healthy child, and a wife. But still, the internal storm never stopped. “It was really, really bad, man,” he said.
Taylor explained that while drugs and alcohol were definitely a problem, they were more like a crutch for deeper-rooted issues. “They weren’t the problem,” he said. “I used drugs and alcohol to mask all my problems, validation, insecurity, ego, manipulation, narcissism, all these things that people told me. Anger issues. My family issues.”
He even admitted that in the past, it was all just “fun” for him, doing drugs recreationally, partying, brushing off arguments with Brittany Cartwright (his now ex-wife), and avoiding real emotional work. But it hit different when he realized his actions were affecting more than just himself. “My child was at stake,” he said. That’s when he finally decided to surrender and take his mental health seriously.
Last September, Taylor announced that he had officially been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and PTSD. In a vulnerable Instagram post, he shared, “I’ve come home to my son with a newfound sense of peace.” He said he was scared for the future but focused on being a better version of himself every day. “Mental health is a lifelong battle of not letting it control you but rather you learning to control it.”
On the podcast, he reaffirmed that he still has work to do, and he knows it. “Do I have a lot of work to do? Absolutely,” he told Tartick. “And I’m going to have work to do for the rest of my life. But it was a huge wake-up call.”
Now, Jax Taylor isn’t hiding. He’s speaking out, confronting the darkness, and finally taking control of his story.
- Nicholas Galitzine Wraps Up His Mighty He-Man Role - June 17, 2025
- Karen Gillan and Mike Flanagan’s Secret Film Revealed - June 17, 2025
- Alex Garland Breaks Silence on 28 Years Later Role - June 17, 2025
