Brittany Cartwright Reveals the One Thing She’ll ‘Never Forgive’ Ex Jax Taylor for Doing (Exclusive)

• Brittany Cartwright says Jax Taylor would not leave their Los Angeles home for seven months after they split in February 2024
• Cartwright says the home is a “safe space” for their 4-year-old son Cruz, who was diagnosed with autism in the fall
• Their separation will be explored on season 2 of The Valley premiering on April 15

At the front entrance of Brittany Cartwright’s Los Angeles home that she shares with her 4-year-old son Cruz is a welcome mat that says “The Cartwrights.”

“It used to say the Cauchis,” says The Valley star, 36, who filed for divorce from her ex Jax Taylor (né Jason Cauchi) in August. “I changed that immediately.”

The mat is a reminder of Cartwright’s fight to move back into the home, as she says Taylor, 45, refused to leave it for months when they first separated after 10 years in February 2024.

“Jax would not leave for seven months, while I had to move to different rental houses,” says Cartwright, who has primary physical custody of Cruz. “I even said that he could move into the rental houses that I paid for. He still wouldn’t do it. No matter what.”

“I didn’t know if I was going to get a chance to come back here,” she continues. “I went looking for houses, and I did all these different things. But I wanted to be here. I feel like I made this house a home. Cruz was born here. This is his house. He’s got his pool outside; he’s got his swing set. He’s got his playroom. He’s got everything here.”

Cartwright says the house is a “safe space” for Cruz, who was diagnosed with autism in the fall, and Taylor’s refusal to leave is something she won’t forget.

“I’ll never forgive him for doing that to us,” she says. “When you’re dealing with a child with autism, we shouldn’t be the ones moving around. That should have never happened. But that’s just how Jax is.”

Cartwright says Taylor finally moved out of the home when he bought his condo.

For more of Brittany Cartwright’s exclusive interview, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE on newsstands Friday.

“I think, eventually, when the cameras got turned on [for The Valley season 2], he realized, ‘Oh God, everybody’s going to see that I made her move out of the house,’” she says. “That’s probably the only reason he finally moved out, I’m not even going to lie.”

Now that Cartwright and Cruz are back in the home, “we’re not going anywhere,” she says.

 “I’m not putting her for sale,” she says. “This is my house. I’m proud of myself, that I could do it by myself. I’m a girl from Kentucky, and I never even thought I would have a house like this. He don’t [sic] help me, at all. Let me make that clear. He does not help me at all, with any of my bills. So I’m just proud of myself that I’m able to do it.”

Cartwright’s relationship with Taylor — who said in March that he’s sober after a 20 year struggle with cocaine addiction — remains touch and go.

“He’s done so much damage, and me and Cruz weren’t enough for him to get help for a very long time,” she says. “I want his dad to be in his life, but it’s just really hard when you can’t trust somebody. It’s going to take me a long time to regain trust in him. I can just hope and pray that one day he will completely knock this, because I’m not sure yet.”

The Valley premieres April 15 at 9:15 p.m. ET on Bravo.