‘Vanderpump Rules’ Villain Jax Taylor Is Ready for His Big Comeback

By Marlow Stern

"I’ve done some fucked-up things," says Jax Taylor. "But when I did what I did, I went down in a hole and fought to get my wife back."

The man formerly known as Jason Cauchi (though not to his reiki master) is discussing the differences between his past misdeeds and those of his former Vanderpump Rules co-star, ex-roommate, and ex-friend of about 20 years, Tom Sandoval. For eight seasons of Lisa Vanderpump's Bravo reality series, the emo Sandoval managed to hide behind the alpha Jax — the self-described #1 Guy in the Group — and the chaos the tan, chiseled bartender left in his wake. And there was plenty of it, from knocking up a porn star in Vegas while dating Stassi to having sex with Sandoval's then-girlfriend, Kristen Doute, during a watch of the movie Drive to cheating on his then-girlfriend (and now-wife) Brittany Cartwright with SUR waitress Faith Stowers, who recorded a damning postcoital conversation between the two to boot. He lied about all of it, until he was caught. Then he lied some more.

But Jax, who is now 43, has grown by leaps and bounds since he was let go from Vanderpump Rules in summer 2020. He's a devoted husband to Cartwright and father to their two-year-old son, Cruz. And the man who was once out every night doing god knows what, much to Stassi's chagrin, is now a homebody who drinks sparingly. He sells merch with his wife, Brittany, including apparel with their catchphrases "#1 Guy in the Group" and "Rawt in Hail"; they co-host the podcast When Reality Hits With Jax and Brittany as well as a Vanderpump Rules watch-along special on Peacock; he filmed a pilot for a new reality series, House of Villains, which will see famous reality-TV villains compete against one another; and is rumored to be in discussions to return to the Vanderpump Rules universe in some capacity, whether in a spinoff or in Season 11.

"Usually where there's smoke, there's fire," is all he can say of those rumors.

He even donated his trademark white sweater — you know, the one he ripped off before that embarrassing parking lot fight in Vegas — to Watch What Happens Live, where it hangs framed in the hallway of Andy Cohen's late-night talk show. And unlike Sandoval, who's now embroiled in the cataclysmic cheating scandal known as Scandoval, wherein the "worm with a mustache" conducted a monthslong affair with Raquel Leviss, the best friend of his live-in girlfriend of nearly a decade, Ariana Madix, Jax owns his mistakes.

"The worst is the lack of empathy he has," Jax says of Sandoval. "He's making a joke of it, putting it in his songs. It's almost like he's getting off on this a little bit. That's where it's next-level sociopathic. Tom has definitely cheated on Ariana many, many times."

Jax has even buried the hatchet with his former nemesis, DJ James Kennedy, whom he says has "grown a lot," is "really funny," and confesses that he thinks he's the new #1 Guy in the Group, "especially when you look at all the guys who are left." He now functions as "sort of a mentor" to the volatile DJ, and the two are even co-hosting an event together at SUR on June 13.

In a lengthy chat with Rolling Stone, Jax dished on Scandoval, his mistakes, and what his future may hold.

Where does the name "Jax Taylor" come from?It's kind of a funny story. When I moved to Miami in 1999, I started modeling. My legal name is Jason Cauchi, and that name didn't flow well with what they wanted. Clients couldn't really pronounce my last name, because it's Maltese and pronounced "cow-chi." I was dating a girl at the time, and she said, "Why don't you just leave the ‘s’ out of your first name and use your mom's maiden name?" It just stuck, to be honest. ­

It sounds like a porn name.[Laughs] Uh, "Jax Taylor"? I don't know!

How's it been watching all this Scandoval madness go down? Has it made you miss being on the show?It definitely doesn't make me miss it! To be honest, a lot of people are unfaithful in this world. I’m surprised it's taken off as much as it has. I don't really have much of a leg to stand on when it comes to this topic. I feel really bad for Ariana, but I know she's doing fine and she's happy.

Does a part of you regret the way you treated Ariana on the show? There were a lot of things you said about her sexuality.I regret a lot of things that I’ve said and done in life. I think we’ve moved past that. I’ve seen Ariana more times in the last month than I have in the last five years. She seems like a completely different person. We haven't always gotten along, and you’re not going to get along with everybody in this world. We have different views on things, and there's nothing wrong with that. I’m allowed to have different views on things. But that doesn't mean we can't be around with and talk to each other. And now she's glowing and smiling from ear to ear. She's happier. Her and Brittany went to the spa the other day, and I was just on the phone with her the other day. She even sounds different. I fucking hate to use this word, but she's thriving. And she deserves it. Before I did interviews or podcasts, I’d ask her, "Do you mind if I talk about this?" because I wanted to be respectful to her. And she said, "Go for it."

Did Bravo ever give you an official reason for why you were let go from Vanderpump Rules?No. I don't know. If they didn't like me that much, they wouldn't have had me on Watch What Happens Live or the Peacock show. I think the water is under the bridge with that. We had time to take a refresher, and here we are now. We all needed a break. I’m not upset or mad about how anything went down. It was actually good for my marriage, my son, and my mental health. [His rep says Bravo wanted to "take the show in a different direction."]

So, it didn't have anything to do with Faith Stowers?No, I don't think so.

I’m curious how you feel about Faith Stowers now.I don't want to get into any of that.

Who do you still hang with among the cast of Vanderpump Rules?I probably see Lala four times a week. We go to Disney together. I see Scheana all the time. I see Tom Schwartz all the time. I recently started seeing Katie and Ariana again. I see Kristen. The only ones I really don't see are Stassi and Sandoval.

Sandoval seemed to get away with a lot in the early seasons because he was riding the wake of everything you and Kristen Doute were doing.Exactly. Whatever I did always took precedent over what everyone else did. This has been going on for years. Now that I’m not there, all their true colors are showing.

At least you’ve taken accountability for the things you’ve done. People's issue with Sandoval is it doesn't seem like he's taken any accountability for his actions or displayed any signs of growth.I agree. I personally don't think he's sorry. I don't. I found it really weird that he cried to Lisa and cried to Tom, but didn't even shed a tear for Ariana. That was odd to me. If you’re gonna cry for anybody, shouldn't you be crying to your girlfriend? He still hasn't given an authentic apology, from what I have been told. Having your PR team write up these statements saying that you’re sorry, and it's not even in his words? I don't think he cares. I think he cares that it's hurting his image. That's the only thing that's bothering him. He always says, "I’m sorry, but …" There's no "but." Just own what you did! Just say you’re sorry. That's all you gotta do.

That crying performance in front of Lisa was something else. Talk about bad acting.He's really trying push this narrative that he's this actor-musician, and it's really not working. It's tragic. I’ve seen it. I’ve seen a bunch of his concerts, and I’ve seen him trying to act. He just won't give up. He still thinks he has it.

You’re very close to this group, and people who’ve only watched the show may not be aware that for months, Schwartz, Jo, Raquel, and Sandoval were partying together and essentially going out on double dates.I don't really think they were being that secretive about it. They want on a ski trip together [to Big Bear], all four of them. And when they’d be out together in a restaurant and people would start noticing, they would leave out a back door and sneak off. My question is, "How did you get away with this for so long?" I’m shocked Ariana hadn't noticed any of this, to be honest.

The whole Raquel-pursuing-Schwartz element is very weird. It seems like deliberate misdirection on all of their parts.There's no misdirection. Schwartz knew, and it's not fair that he knew. There's a lot of people that knew before Ariana did. He should have went right to Ariana. And Tom and Tom have a business together. Sandoval's putting [Schwartz] in the middle and saying, "This is going on," and Schwartz is saying, "You need to tell her." And Sandoval was just buying time. Schwartz's life savings is tied up in this. It's not a fair thing to do to your friend. And yeah, Schwartz should have come forward, but what's he supposed to do? It's his best friend and business partner.

I enjoyed your watch-along episodes with your wife, Brittany. Why were there only three?I think that's just what they had in their budget. They wanted to test it out, and people liked it. We’d love to do more if they asked us, but as of right now, that's all they wanted to do. I think we’re doing something [pegged to the final episodes]. I’m not sure what we’re doing, but I think we’re doing something.

Was it an audition of sorts to eventually bring you back into the Vanderpump universe?Definitely not an audition. I think I have a little seniority! I don't know what their plan is. I honestly don't. If they came to Brittany and I and offered us something, we would consider it. But there are a lot of things in the works right now. Things change every day. We’re here for it, though.

There's been a lot of online chatter about you and Brittany returning for Season 11.We just can't talk about it right now, unfortunately. I wish we could!

There was talk of a Valley Village spinoff of Vanderpump Rules at one point featuring you, Brittany, Kristen Doute, and some others.It's definitely not dead, but I can't talk about it. I apologize. There are a lot of moving parts right now, and this interview is happening right in the middle of it.

We saw Sandoval in the Season 10 finale tell Scheana he only cheated on Ariana one other time (besides Miami Girl), and I don't think anyone bought it.That's a lie. And he finally came clean about the Miami Girl. And how many years did that take? Eight years? And he said Ariana knew about it. Well, if she knew about it, why did you have to lie about it? When this Miami Girl situation happened, I was in the other room. She was in the room next to me. I heard it. I let her in! I went downstairs to the pool to go get her. And on that trip, he’d be on the phone with Ariana. They were dating. If they weren't exclusive, then they shouldn't have had to lie. I know this has happened a lot. I’ve been around. It happened while he was dating Kristen, too. And I know I don't have a leg to stand on, but you make a mistake, you own up to it, and you grow. I think he's moving backward in life, and he's having a midlife crisis. Maybe he has this diva mentality where he thinks he's untouchable. I think he thought, "We’re going to tell her after the reunion, and then we’ll get away with it, because everyone else on this show has been unfaithful," and it blew up in his face.

Sandoval seems to be obsessed with his public image.He's never really cared about anyone else but himself. He's very narcissistic, and when he does things for other people, he uses it against them. He’ll say, "I did this for you" or "I did this for you." He threw that elaborate Rachella and he did it so he looked good on TV. Last time I talked to Tom was at the Labor Day barbecue at my buddy Will's, and he was with Raquel. I hadn't seen him in two years, but he didn't ask how I was doing. He just went right into what he's doing with his band. I don't give a shit about your shitty band. I have a son, and he never even asked about my son or my family or how I was doing.

And that was the infamous Labor Day barbecue that Sandoval stayed at for hours with Raquel after Ariana told him that her grandmother had passed away and she wanted him home.I was having a conversation with Tom when he picked up the phone and said, "Oh, Ariana's grandmother died." And he said, "Oh, and I can't get a ride home" — which was not true. It was a barbecue, and there were people coming and going all day. He didn't want to go. If my wife has a hangnail, I rush home!

You’ve mentioned returning a gift to Sandoval. Was that the samurai sword he gave you signed by Randy Jackson [in a nod to Step Brothers]?I just left it on the doorstep. Now that I think about it, I should have put it in the backyard or something. That's a freaking weapon. But I don't want anything from that person. Anything he ever gave me I’ve gotten rid of. It's bad juju. He's a bad person and I don't want it.

When Sandoval punched you on the show, you were bleeding from the head. And it looked like he threw a glass at you while punching you, which is a dirty move.He had a wine key in his hand, and part of the metal piece was sticking out. That's what got me on the head. Just say, "Let's go out back and handle this like men," don't surprise-punch me in a restaurant where I’m surrounded by women.

Obviously, there was the big cheating scandal with you and Kristen early on in the show. And I’ve always wanted to ask you this: Why the movie Drive?That's just what was on at the time. I want to be very clear: I wasn't cheating on Stassi at the time. People think I was dating Stassi, but I was not dating Stassi at the time. Tom was dating Kristen, but he was also hooking up with another girl on the side that I knew about. So, yes, what I did was horribly wrong, but in hindsight, he was hooking up with another girl on the side, and it's not like he was madly in love with Kristen. They weren't even talking, and she was sleeping on the couch. And so was I.

Oh, so this wasn't like a Ryan Gosling mood-setter thing. I mean, it's got a cool soundtrack.No, it was just on at the time. And it was a rough time for me. I was going through a bad breakup with Stassi and at the bottom of the barrel with myself. I made a bad mistake. Me and Kristen laugh about it now.

I read that you first hooked up with both Brittany and Stassi in Vegas. A lot has happened to you in Vegas. With the whole porn star-pregnancy thing, did you ever talk to that woman after it happened?I don't want to get into any of that. But I never spoke to her again.

Apparently, you and Brittany didn't make Stassi's European wedding. And now it's led to this rift where she isn't talking to you and Brittany, and Katie isn't either.It's slowly, slowly coming back. [Brittany and Katie] talked at Scheana's birthday a little bit, and they’re trying to fix that — which is bizarre to me, because it doesn't have anything to do with Katie. I was planning on going to the wedding, we were coming right out of Covid, and my son Cruz's passport wasn't ready. I can't change the law. So, I was going to stay home and watch Cruz, and Brittany and her mom were going to go to the wedding. Then, Brittany's mom's best friend's husband died, so she couldn't go anymore. Also, this was a very expensive trip for us. It would have cost, like, $20,000. And I have no help with the baby. So, it didn't work out, and we felt bad, so we sent Stassi and Beau $500 to cover our food. And they didn't really accept it, which I understand. I miss my friendship with Stassi and Beau, and I hope it will be fixed soon.

Speaking of large sums of money, has Randall Emmett paid you back the money he owes you?I’m glad you touched on this. No, he has not. He owes me $75,000. This was not an investment. This was a bridge loan, so he owes me the money. It happened before Covid. I don't understand how he can do this to his "friend." I’m not a big studio. I can't afford to take a $75,000 loss. That's a lot of money to me. I’ve got a family to feed. I don't know how you can parade on Instagram with Rolls-Royces, private jets, and trips to Miami, when I was the only one who stayed with you after the stuff with Lala. I said, "He never did it to me," and then he did it to me. I’d really just like my money back, and I don't know how I’m going to get it. His lawyer is ghosting my lawyer. He's a really bad person. I didn't see it, and I stuck up for him, and everybody was telling me not to get involved with this guy.

You’re a good-looking guy. Why all the cosmetic surgery? Was that also part of not liking yourself?I’ve always wanted a nose job. The reason why I got so many was because I never took the doctor's advice after I got surgery. I went swimming. I walked into a door. I did everything you weren't supposed to do, and that's why I got so many. I was a model and in the limelight, always wanted to fix this or that, and my friends are plastic surgeons, so why not? Right?

Speaking of your modeling days, you’ve told a story before about being roommates with Channing Tatum. Could you elaborate on how that came to be?I started modeling in Miami and went to New York, and I was with this agency called Ford. This was around 2002, and those agencies had apartments for models that were coming into town. They’re basically like dorm rooms with bunkbeds. A tiny room with bunkbeds and a bathroom. Channing was one of six guys in our room. Now, he got famous real quick. He did this Mountain Dew commercial where he flipped a car, and once he got that job he took off. We lived off peanut butter and jelly and Subway. We got some free dinners and got to go to any clubs we wanted, but other than that we were just broke and trying to make a living.

What actually happened between you and John Walters in Miami?Nothing actually happened. We just had a falling-out. I didn't like the way things were being handled. He was my friend, and there were times when I think he wanted more than that. I’m a straight man, and he was crossing that line a little bit. I couldn't have a relationship like that because … I like women. And that's just it. I think he developed more than a friendship for me, and I had to draw the line. And that's where we parted ways.

Because the cameras caught him confessing his love to you in an episode of Vanderpump Rules when he visited.[Laughs] I … I don't know.

I hear that you’ve become friends with Spencer Pratt of The Hills.Yeah. I really want to do something with him, because I think him and I have had very similar paths on reality TV and are pretty funny together. I think there's something there. I’m not quite sure what we need to do — a podcast, a tour, or something — and we’re still trying to figure that out. I used to watch him on TV. I think people view me as a villain of reality, but I view him as my villain of reality. He's a great guy and he's a father, so we have a lot in common.

Your father's death seemed to have a profound effect on you and shifted your perspective.I was going through a pretty rough time before my dad died, and that was the icing on the cake when that happened. Thank god my now-wife was there, because I honestly don't think I would be here today. She picked me up and said, "We’re gonna get through this." And me and her were not on the best of terms at the time, but she set all that aside and took care of me. I couldn't have done it without her. My father and I were really, really close. It was a wake-up call. I want to be the same father that my father was to me. He worked two jobs to give us everything we wanted, and my mom did, too. I thought, "I’m going to change my life around. No more of the bullcrap. It's time to put my big-boy pants on." Before then, I didn't like myself at all. Now, I feel good about myself.

Last but certainly not least: Do you still have your Hooters membership card?I sure do! I just got a new one two weeks ago. I get 100 percent off for life. We don't pay for anything. My wife is a hall of fame Hooters girl and used to do the pageants. And I’m a fan of Hooters. I’ve always been a fan of Hooters. And they gave us a membership. It's tough though, because there aren't many locations left. So, we travel to them. When we take our son to the aquarium in Long Beach, there's a Hooters attached, and we make a day of it. We go to the aquarium, take our son to ice cream, and go to Hooters.

How does your son, Cruz, like Hooters?He loves it.