‘The Valley’ star Brittany Cartwright has heard about Scheana Shay’s alleged hookup with John Mayer “for years”: “She’s got the receipts” 

Everyone’s favorite Kentuckian, Brittany Cartwright, is back on our screens in The Valley. After she and her recently estranged husband, Jax Taylor, exited from Vanderpump Rules back in 2020, Cartwright had no problem keeping busy in the middle of a pandemic. In addition to welcoming her son, Cruz Cauchi, back in 2021, Cartwright is a brand ambassador for Jenny Craig, a podcast host (When Reality Hits with Jax and Brittany), and a restaurant owner (Jax’s Studio City). Even though most of her businesses are wrapped up with Taylor—including co-parenting—Cartwright is “taking the space [she] needs” from her husband of nearly 4 years. “It’s good for me and my mental health, which is so important,” said Cartwright.

Cartwright will need to prioritize her mental health in the wake of tonight’s episode of The Valley. During Jesse Lally’s and Michelle Saniei Lally’s dinner party, Cartwright’s bestie Kristen Doute tries to apologize for repeating what cast mates Zack Wickham and Jasmine Goode allegedly confided in her, which was that Saniei Lally is a “racist and a Republican” based on what they were supposedly told by Janet Caperna. Trying to defend his wife (whom he is now estranged from), Lally tells Kristen, “You were thrown off a fucking show for being an actual racist,” referring to her being fired from Vanderpump Rules for making a racially motivated police report against former co-star Faith Stowers.

Cartwright was shocked when Lally brought up Doute’s past actions and the deserved consequences. “I knew that once he said that there was no coming back for Kristen and Luke [Broderick, Doute’s boyfriend] and Michelle and Jesse,” said Cartwright. She added: “I knew that once he broke that barrier that it was going to just only get worse from there.” However, Cartwright believes Doute “definitely has grown and changed in many, many ways.” She also praised Broderick for “ha[ving] Kristen’s back the entire time.” “That meant a lot to her and it meant a lot to me as her friend.”

Cartwright stopped by the Page Six studio to talk to DECIDER about her new show, seeing pal Ariana Madix in Chicago, and whether Scheana Shay had a fling with musician John Mayer.

DECIDER: Bravo fans are absolutely loving The Valley. What’s it been like to see all the positive reactions?

BRITTANY CARTWRIGHT: I’m so happy. This has been a kind of comeback for me, and Jax and Kristen. It just means so much to us that the show has become so popular so soon. We’ve been really excited and grateful for the opportunity. The fact that fans are loving it just proves that we know how to make good TV.

This is also the first time you’ve been on TV as a mother. Are you excited to share your son, Cruz, with the rest of the world?

Oh, yeah. It can be a little scary because people judge you like crazy, but he’s the best thing in my entire life and he’s my whole world. Having him be a part of all this is really exciting.

Now, Luke recently called you the “number one person in the group.” Is it hard to be the linchpin for a group as messy as this one?

Yeah [laughs]. I’m always the one who’s trying to bring everybody back together. You’ve seen me in action the past couple episodes. I try to smooth everything over with the group, in addition to constantly taking up for Jax. At the end of the day, all I really want is for everybody to get along and not fight, but it doesn’t really happen like that in the Valley, so we go through a lot of ups and downs.

While the group is no doubt chaotic, there’s obviously a lot of love here. Some of you have been friends for decades. What do you think keeps the group together in times of turmoil?

Me [laughs]. Not just me, I’m kidding. We’re almost forced to talk about our problems and really face them. Most friends, if they get in a fight, they just walk away and don’t talk to each other for a while. They never get over their issues because they never have to confront anything. We’re doing all that on camera. We’re getting to the bottom of all our problems, and, hopefully, everybody will figure out how to make peace and come back to being friends. I mean, that’s the goal.

You and Jax recently announced you’re taking some time apart. Given all the hats you wear–wife, mother, daughter, spokesperson, party planner, podcaster, business owner–what are you doing to take care of yourself and recharge?

Just taking space that I need right now. I’m spending a lot of alone time with Cruz and trying to relax. I’m trying to get away and doing different things like seeing my friends. Having more one-on-one time with my friends is super important to me because I’m always with Jax. We have always been together working, doing shows, doing this, doing the bar, doing a podcast. We have been constantly together so this is a much-needed break. It’s good for me and my mental health, which is so important.

I’m glad you’re taking care of yourself! Now I want to get into the third episode. Zach sums up all the chaos by saying, “if you call someone a Republican in LA, that’s a death sentence right there.” How did this game of telephone spiral so far out of control?

Oh my gosh. It’s one of Kristen’s major downfalls. Both Kristen and Jax do the same thing. They’ll hear something and add their own words to the story, and I think that’s what happened here. Kristen heard something, added a little bit to it, and as the rumor went down the line, it just got worse and worse and worse. The game of telephone is never good.

Jesse elevated the misunderstanding between Kristen/Zach/Jasmine/Janet/Michelle to the next level by throwing the most painful experience of Kristen’s life back in her face. What was going through your mind when that exchange was happening?

I was just like, “Shut up.” That’s the last thing that we wanted to have to talk about. I knew that once he said that there was no going back for Kristen and Luke and Michelle and Jesse. I knew that once he broke that barrier that it was going to only get worse.

Kristen says something in this episode like “given my past, I’m a pretty easy target” and people don’t like that she’s a “walking truth serum.” Do you believe Kristen is continuing to grow and change?

Wait, she said she’s a walking truth serum?

She did say that, yes.

I love Kristen. She’s an amazing friend to me. She definitely has grown and changed in many, many ways, but she still likes to tweak the stories a little bit. I don’t think she means to do it. I really think that she felt like that she was reporting what she heard, but, in reality, she added her own pieces to the story.

It was nice to see a boyfriend of Kristen’s finally have her back. Do you think Luke could be the “one” for Kristen?

Yeah, I think that they could definitely make it work. It’s great that he was standing up for her and had her back the entire time. That meant a lot to her, and it meant a lot to me as her friend. He’s so different from all of her exes, so maybe that’s why it could actually work. He’s a lot calmer. He’s an introverted guy, and she’s always dated these huge personalities. Maybe she needs somebody to balance her out a little bit.

Can you give us any teases about what happens in the aftermath of Jesse’s bringing up the allegations against Kristen?

It just keeps getting crazier. The drama just continues, and other things are brought up. I mean, it just gets worse, honestly.

Yikes.

Yeah, yikes is right.

On a happier note, I saw you went to see Chicago last night! What was it like to see Ariana on Broadway?

Oh, it was amazing. She was so good. I’ve only ever seen her sing in a karaoke environment when we would belt out Moana songs. She has that Broadway voice. She was incredible. I was so proud of her. She’s killing it.

And I hear Scheana and Brock Davies are moving to the Valley! How close are they to your house?

I think they’re like seven minutes away. Scheana always bops around everywhere, so, it’s nice to have her close by for a change. It’ll be a lot easier to do play dates with the kids.

I do have to ask about Scheana’s recent claim on Vanderpump Rules that she once had a threesome with John Mayer. Did you know about their alleged wild night together before the episode aired?

I’ve known about that for years. It’s true. I saw that John Mayer posted that it didn’t happen, but I’ve heard about this story since I met Scheana. She’s got the receipts. It happened.

New episodes of The Valley air 9/8c on Tuesdays on Bravo