All About ‘The Valley’ Stars Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright’s Son, Cruz – ryan

Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright are committed to co-parenting their son, Cruz Michael Cauchi.

The couple, who married in June 2019 after four years of dating, announced that she was pregnant in September 2020. Months after they exited the hit Bravo reality series Vanderpump RulesTaylor and Cartwright welcomed their son Cruz on April 12, 2021.

In 2024, the reality stars shared that they had separated. Months later, they filed for divorce, and Taylor agreed to give full custody of Cruz to Cartwright. The following year, he revealed on Bravo’s Hot Mic Podcast that he had struggled with a cocaine addiction since he was 23. Taylor said on the podcast that his son was his “No. 1 driver” for trying to stay sober.

In 2025, Cruz was diagnosed with autism, which Cartwright said only brought her and her son closer.

“I feel like I was meant to be his mom,” she told PEOPLE. “He is my better half. He is my little partner in crime. He is everything to me, and even though he can’t talk, I know everything that he wants, everything that he needs. We’re just so synced, it’s incredible.”

Taylor shared similar sentiments about his son on Instagram hours after his estranged wife went public with the diagnosis. In a post featuring multiple photos of him playing with Cruzhe wrote that he was “so proud” to be his father.

Here’s everything to know about Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright’s son, Cruz Michael Cauchi.

They announced they were expecting in September 2020

More than a year after they tied the knot in Kentucky, Taylor and Cartwright shared on Instagram that they were expecting a child together.

The post featured a series of photos of the couple sitting on a staircase and holding multiple sonograms. She captioned it, “Mom & Dad. The love of our lives is coming soon.”

Taylor posted the same photos but captioned his, “Sooooo,……..I am gonna be Dad..💟👶🏼.”

He was born on April 12, 2021

Cruz Michael Cauchi was born on April 12, 2021, in Los Angeles. Cartwright shared a photo of her holding her newborn son and Taylor kissing his head on Instagram to announce his arrival. In the caption, she wrote that they “have never been more in love.”

Taylor shared a similar photo on his Instagram, only in this one, he was kissing Cartwright’s cheek. He wrote in the caption that he had never “been as happy” as he was at that moment and that “everything else in life seems so insignificant.”

“I have the most beautiful son a man could ask for,” the caption read. “He’s an absolute blessing from god.”

His name is a nod to Cartwright’s religion

Cartwright told AND! News in April 2021 that it took her and Taylor “a while” to decide on a name after they found out they were having a boy. Eventually, they landed on Cruz, which means “cross” in Spanish.

“Coming from a religious family I thought that was amazing,” she said. “I also, of course, think it’s super cute and goes with Cauchi so perfectly. A lot of people don’t realize that Cauchi is Jax’s real last name. His late father’s last name is Cauchi so of course we wanted to continue his legacy with our son and family.”

Cruz’s middle name, Michael, is another nod to his dad’s side of the family, as it’s Taylor’s middle name and his uncle’s name.

He was diagnosed with autism

In April 2025, Cartwright announced that her son had been diagnosed with autism. Cruz, who was 3 years old at the time of his diagnosis, started regressing in his speech when he was 2 and eventually “stopped talking almost completely.”

Though he’s largely remained nonverbal, Cartwright told PEOPLE that he speaks “sporadically.” To help Cruz as he’s “building his brain,” his mom has set up a sensory room in their L.A. home, enrolled him in speech and occupational therapy and hired a therapeutic companion to attend preschool with him to help develop his social skills.

“It can be difficult because I’ve never heard him say, ‘I love you,’ ” the reality star said in 2025. “But he is so loving, and he shows me he loves me every single day. He is such a mommy’s boy.”

He appeared on The Valley

Like his parents, Cruz is also a reality star. In 2024, he made his TV debut on season 1 of Bravo’s hit reality show The Valleya spinoff of Vanderpump Rules that follows former cast members’ foray into serious adulting.

Cartwright told Bravo’s The Daily Dish that while her son was “a little overwhelmed” on the first day of filming, he eventually warmed up to it.

Taylor told the outlet that Cruz loved The Valley’s production crew and was “always behind the camera watching the scenes when they do the playbacks.”

The couple’s son will also be featured in the second season of the show, which premiered on April 15. Taylor told PEOPLE at the season 2 premiere that he “was at rock bottom” while filming due to his divorce from Cartwright and his ongoing struggle with addiction. He explained that Cruz was the “only reason” he was still here.

Cartwright said Cruz is “very smart”

Since her son’s diagnosis, Cartwright has been vocal about the misconceptions people may have about children on the autism spectrum. She told PEOPLE, “I think a lot of times with nonverbal children, people don’t think that they understand what’s going on, or they think they’re not very smart, and that’s just not true.”

The reality star added that Cruz is “very smart” and that there are no limits to what he can do.

“What I really want people to understand about autism is he sees the world so much more vibrant and amazing than any of us ever will,” she said. “It doesn’t mean that he’s not going to be the smartest in his class. It doesn’t mean he is not going to work for NASA one day. There aren’t any limitations to what he can do.”