response to estranged wife divorce petition cited that the pair were never legally married, but the claim was nothing more than a mistake.
In court documents obtained by Us Weekly on Wednesday, October 2, Taylor, 45, gave Cartwright, 35, full custody of their son Cruz, 3. Taylor also checked two separate boxes: one that claimed he and Brittany, 35, were married, and another that stated, “Respondent contends that the parties never legally married or registered in a domestic partnership.”
In a Wednesday statement to Us, a rep for The Valley stars clarified that Taylor had simply filled out the paperwork incorrectly. “While Jax made errors in filing out forms that are usually done by trained legal professionals, those errors will be amended without delay,” the statement read. The rep also addressed Taylor’s request to give Brittany full custody of Cruise, telling Us, “Jax and Brittany have already long resolved all matters related to custody of Cruz, and will continue to work together privately for the best interest of their son, which remains their overriding concern.”
Taylor cited the exes’ date of separation as September 26, the same day he submitted the filing. He also asked that his and Cartwright’s shared property, which consists of their Los Angeles home, be divided “at a later time.”
Cartwright filed for divorce from Taylor in August, listing the pair’s date of separation as January 24. Weeks later in February, Cartwright had revealed on the pair’s then-joint “When Reality Hits” podcast that she had moved out of their shared home. At the time, Cartwright and Taylor were filming season 1 of Bravo’s The Valley.
Taylor and Cartwright started dating in 2015 and tied the knot in Kentucky four years later during a televised special. After navigating ups and downs together, Cartwright hit her breaking point in the marriage.
“It has been such a roller-coaster deciding to separate. I really thought that we would be able to get back to a place where we could probably get back together,” Cartwright exclusively told Us in September. “I didn’t know for sure, but I really wanted to try everything I possibly could to save my marriage and keep my family together.”
She added, “I’m really feeling confident in my decision, and I think that a lot of people are going to be able to relate to everything I’m going through. … I never thought I would be divorcing him. I always thought we would be together forever.”
According to Cartwright, she is now “confident” in her decision.
“I have been separated since January, so this took a lot of courage and a lot of strength for me to actually go through with it,” she stressed to Us. “I don’t think that he ever thought that I would go through with it.”
Taylor, meanwhile, recently concurred with Cartwright’s position during a solo episode of “When Reality Hits.”
“I’ll always love and care for Brittany. She’s the mother of my beautiful son,” Taylor said on a September podcast episode. “All I want for us is to be amicable and even hopefully really, really good friends. One day. I know I’m an amazing father and I know that I will make an excellent ex-husband.”
One month earlier, Taylor checked himself into a treatment facility. He later confirmed that he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and PTSD.
“It’s been a lot to process and an emotional time for me, however, I’ve come home to my son with a newfound sense of peace,” Taylor wrote via Instagram on September 2. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared for the future but my focus is just trying to be a better version of myself than I was yesterday. Mental health is a lifelong battle of not letting it control you but rather you learning to control it.”
In a separate Instagram post, Taylor noted that he wanted to improve for son Cruz.
