Jax Taylor can say his issues with Tom Sandoval are water under the bridge despite his past criticism of all things Scandoval.
“People were asking me if I talked to [Tom] Sandoval or if I hung out with Sandoval [at BravoCon]. I did,” Jax, 44, said on his and wife Brittany Cartwright‘s “When Reality Hits” podcast on Friday, November 10. “Like I said — I’ve gotten into this before — I feel like enough time has gone by to where we can kind of put this to bed.”
Jax and Brittany, 34, who initially left Vanderpump Rules in 2020, made a surprise appearance alongside Kristen Doute at the fan event in Las Vegas. The trio have been slowly returning to the Bravo universe after filming a Vanderpump Rules spinoff earlier this summer. Jax has since confirmed that he also filmed scenes for season 11 of the hit Bravo series, which allowed him to reconcile with Sandoval, 41.
“I had a really, really nice conversation with him,” Jax noted on Friday. “What he went through though was life changing. I did talk to him. We had a really good conversation. We sat and talked for, like, two hours. … I just wanted to make sure that he was OK. I was checking in on him.”
He added: “I do film a scene with Sandoval. It’s actually a very intense scene. It’s not just with Sandoval either, it’s with a couple of the other guys. It takes place in a pretty iconic spot and there were so many people there watching this scene too.”
Brittany was less thrilled to potentially have Sandoval back in their friend group.
“It’s good you had conversations but you have to take it slow and make sure that people really change. It takes a long time to change. You know from experience,” Brittany told her spouse. “We’ll see how this ends up.”
Despite Brittany’s not-so-enthusiastic response, Jax stood by his new opinion of Sandoval, adding, “I think he’s a good person. He’s just gone through some things. Everybody makes mistakes in life. Everybody screws up in life. Yes, what he did is wrong. But I’m not gonna write the guy off.”
Since making his debut on Vanderpump Rules alongside Sandoval in 2013, Jax has changed his tune quite a few times about his costar. The pair were friends when Bravo starred following the group working at Lisa Vanderpump‘s SUR restaurant. Jax’s season 2 hookup with Sandoval’s then-girlfriend Kristen, 40, was one of many times their bromance almost fell apart.
News broke in March that Sandoval had an affair with costar Raquel Leviss. His nearly decade-long relationship with Ariana Madix ended as a result of his infidelity. Jax and Brittany were quick to rejoin the Vanderpump Rules conversation in the aftermath of the scandal.
“I mean, I don’t wanna say I predicted it, but I predicted it. I mean, I’m just not surprised, I’m just not surprised, I’ll just leave it at that,” he told Entertainment Tonight in March, referring to his past allegations that Sandoval cheated on Ariana, 38. “You know, he’s done this before and nobody believed me. It’s just not his first time.”
Jax used his Sandoval-related press tour to offer some advice to his former friend. “You know, we all make mistakes in life, and God knows I’ve made my fair share,” he continued at the time. “I think it’s gone to his head a little bit, the nine-person cover band and the little bar in a strip mall, like, that’s getting to his head a little bit and he’s gotta, like, come down to earth and realize what he’s done. Again, it’s coming from me, coming from me doesn’t mean a lot, but just humble yourself a little bit, and show some sympathy.”
Jax and Brittany also publicly weighed in on the drama in a three-episode stint for Peacock’s Watch With feature during season 10 of Vanderpump Rules.
