'The Valley' teases the tension that led to Jax and Brittany's split — here's where the couple stands today

• In February 2024, Brittany Cartwright announced she'd left Jax Taylor and had moved out with their son.
• The former "Vanderpump Rules" stars returned to reality TV for their spinoff "The Valley."

Brittany Cartwright and Jax Taylor's famously tumultuous relationship might be over for good.

The former "Vanderpump Rules" stars, who first started dating in 2015 after meeting in Las Vegas, recently announced they'd separated after four years of marriage. The announcement came just weeks before the premiere of "The Valley," the new spinoff show starring Taylor, Cartwright, and fellow former "VPR" star Kristen Doute.

"Jax and I are taking time apart and I made the decision to move into another home to take some space for the sake of my mental health," Cartwright said on the February 29 episode of their joint podcast "When Reality Hits."

Here's what we know about Cartwright and Taylor's break-up and what they've said about the possibility of reconciling.

Why did Brittany Cartwright and Jax Taylor split?

Despite speculation that cheating had caused the separation, Cartwright said it was actually a lack of sex that led her to leave.

"We've been together nine years, and people stop appreciating and take you for granted after some time — and that should never happen in a marriage," Cartwright told Page Six at "The Valley" premiere party Thursday, which took place at the former couple's bar, Jax's Studio City in Los Angeles.

Cartwright said that she's trying to get that physical intimacy back. "And if it doesn't come back, then we won't get back together," she added.

She also told Page Six that she'd asked her estranged husband to do "four little things," including go to therapy, but he "hasn't done that yet." They also disagreed over whether to have a second child.

"We'll see if he does it all, but we'll also see if it changes anything," she said.

Cartwright told People at the same event that she and Taylor had "a horrible fight" the day she finally moved out of their shared home and into an Airbnb. "I just packed up my stuff and left," Cartwright said.

Taylor and Cartwright both denied that the split announcement was a "publicity stunt" to drum up attention for "The Valley."

"It's been hard because a lot of people think our timing is weird because the show is coming out," Cartwright told People. "But I can't control the freaking timing. I wish I could. If people have actually watched me and know my personality, they should understand this is not something I would do for a show."

Still, neither is ruling out a reconciliation. Taylor told People that he and his estranged wife "still see each other every single day," between running their shared businesses and co-parenting their 2-year-old son Cruz. Sure enough, the two were pictured outside Cartwright's Airbnb together earlier this week.

"Nothing has really changed other than we're not sleeping in the same bed right now," he said.

Taylor and Cartwright costar on 'The Valley,' which may show the cracks in their marriage

Variety initially reported in June 2023 that a "Vanderpump Rules" spinoff was in development at Bravo, revolving around Taylor, Cartwright, and Doute and their new, family-focused lives in the San Fernando Valley. The network officially announced in January 2024 that the spinoff, titled "The Valley," would premiere in the spring.

Issues between Taylor and Cartwright have apparently been brewing for a while. The trailer for "The Valley" shows Cartwright telling her friend and castmate that she and Taylor "don't have sex ever" and that she believes he's no longer attracted to her.

Meanwhile, Taylor is seen commenting that it's hard to be married sometimes. The preview also briefly mentions more rumors that Taylor is cheating on Cartwright, which were also brought up by Katie Maloney in a recent episode of "Vanderpump Rules." (Taylor denied the rumors, and other "The Valley" stars said they didn't think they were true either.)

Of course, people were quick to believe the infidelity rumors given Taylor's history on "Vanderpump Rules," which chronicled multiple instances of him cheating on partners over the years before he was fired from the show in 2020. In the most infamous example, Taylor cheated on Cartwright with fellow SUR employee Faith Stowers in 2017.

The scandal unfolded on the show's sixth season, which saw Taylor admit to the affair on-camera (leading to Cartwright's iconic "rot in hell" moment). Cartwright ultimately forgave Taylor, but he ended up ending their relationship to work on himself.

The two ultimately got back together, and Taylor proposed to Cartwright in 2018. The engagement was filmed for the seventh season of "Vanderpump Rules," and their Kentucky wedding, which happened the following year, was featured in season 8.

"The Valley" premieres March 19 at 10:30 p.m. ET on Bravo.