Jax Taylor is all grown up.Can you believe it? Sure, the Vanderpump Rules alum spent almost a decade on our screens terrorizing his peers and the running wild on the streets of West Hollywood, but amidst the chaos, audiences also saw him grow up. We saw him get married to Brittany Cartwright (the two have recently announced their separation) and move to a spacious home in the Valley. Fans were robbed of seeing the couple expand their family because of a pandemic and a cast shakeup. Luckily for us, Taylor was working on a way to get him, Cartwright, Kristen Doute and a few of their friends back on TV.

He first pitched the idea for the show that would become The Valley to his old Vanderpump Rules producer, Alex Baskin, on a “rainy, cold night” in a hotel lobby. After the two spoke for three hours about the idea, Taylor knew he had the makings of a hit on his hands. “It is my baby,” said Taylor. “It’s the first time I’ve ever done something like this.” It’s surprising that a reality TV veteran such as Taylor never thought about the production side of the process, but apparently, he has found his calling. “I enjoy being on the other side of things a lot more than in the front of the camera,” said Taylor. “I can definitely see myself maybe doing more of this in the future.”

As for his hopes for The Valley, Taylor explained that he just wants “audiences to see the good and the bad” that his friend group experiences so that they will be “be able to relate to what we’re going through.” “If we can help somebody out by being open with our problems, that’s wonderful to me,” said Taylor. As for his recent separation with Cartwright, Taylor confirmed the couple is “just dealing with it day by day.” However, their main concern remains their beautiful son, Cruz. “As long as he’s got two loving parents, that’s all that matters,” said Taylor.

Taylor spoke to DECIDER over Zoom about the new series, his new restaurant “Jax’s,” his concern for Doute’s motherhood journey, and what fans can expect this season.

DECIDER: First of all, I’d like to say I was truly sorry to hear that you and Brittany are separated. How difficult is it going through this tough time so publicly?

JAX TAYLOR: Well, separating is never easy. Throw in the separation being public for the whole world to see and judge, and the situation is even more difficult. We’re working on it and just dealing with it day by day.

I hope you know how many people are rooting for you two.

Yeah, I appreciate that. Thank you. It’ll be fine. Our main concern is our son.He’s all matters. As long as he’s got two loving parents, we are good.

On to the matter at hand! The Valley is really your baby and has been in the works for several years now. Can you talk about the process of bringing the show to our TV screens?

Gosh, it was, I want to say almost two and a half, three years ago. It was a rainy, cold night. I gave a call to Mr. Alex Baskin, who was at Evolution at the time. I met up with him at a hotel at nine o’clock at night. I walked into the lobby and told him, “Listen, I have a show idea.” We sat in the lobby for three hours going over it. He loved it. I got my manager Ryan [Revel] involved. He is also an executive producer on the show and helped pitch it. And the rest is history.

I’m very lucky, very blessed. I always love thanking NBC and Bravo and the whole team over there for giving me another chance at life with this project. It is my baby. It’s the first time I’ve ever done something like this. I really enjoyed creating it. In fact, I enjoy being on the other side of things a lot more than in the front of the camera. I can definitely see myself maybe doing more of this in the future. I never knew creating a project like this could be so fun.

The bio for you and Brittany for The Valley says that you two serve as the “voices of reason” for the group.

For the most part [laughs].Yeah.

Are you excited for fans to see your growth since Vanderpump Rules and since you became a father?

I really never care what anybody thinks, but I work really hard on myself. I know there are obviously things going on right now in my life that are public, but I continue to work hard on myself. I consider myself always a work in progress. That’s just me. I’m really excited for people to see me married, as a father, living in the Valley and being a homeowner. I’m excited to see all my friends at the different stages of their lives and bringing it all together. Hopefully, audiences will see the good and the bad and will be able to relate to what we’re going through. If we can help somebody out by being open with our problems, that’s wonderful to me.

I’m glad we’re getting to pick up with where you, Kirsten, and Brittany are in your lives. You’ve all been doing a lot of living since leaving Vanderpump Rules.

That was the whole reason why I was really adamant about this project. Brittany and I have had such a following over the years. When we suddenly were gone, and people were like, “Wait a minute. What’s going on?” So, when I pitched this idea, I led with that, saying, “I think there are a lot of people out there who want to see what’s going on in Kristen’s life, Brittany’s life, my life, along with other people who have been in Vanderpump Rules here and there.”

We’re all connected somehow. There are no random people. We’ve all been friends for a very long time, and that’s kind of why Vanderpump Rules works so well. I wanted to keep that same organic formula. Everyone plays a part in our friendship. So, I’m really excited for everybody to see us now.

You mention that everyone on The Valley has at least made an appearance on Vanderpump Rules, but was it fun to film with your friends who maybe hadn’t been in the spotlight before?

Yes. It was really, really refreshing. I think everything happens for a reason. There’s a silver lining here. I think it was meant to be for me to do this show. I feel like I’ve grown out of the Vanderpump Rules world a little bit. This show felt more like my calling. I just felt a lot more comfortable during filming.

You can tell towards the end of Vanderpump Rules, I was getting just really tired. I felt like we were beating a dead horse there. This show gave me a new lease on life. I was motivated every day as opposed to wondering: “Oh God, what are we going to film today? What more crap is going to come my way today?” Now I am positive and excited for everyone to see the show, to see the next chapters in our lives.

Speaking of new chapters, I can’t help but notice you’re wearing a Jax’s hat. Can you tell me more about the impetus behind the business?

Well, it came to me through a friend. My business partners were looking to open another bar, and I was just at the right place at the right time. Things were starting to fall in line right after House of Villains. House of Villains was kind of like my comeback. As soon as I did that, everyone was starting to call again. This was just another phone call. I had a meeting and the guys said: “Hey Jax, we love who you are. We love that you’re a family guy. We love that you’re laid back as opposed to the Hollywood type. We want to open a sports bar lounge with you in the Valley.” I was like, “sign me up.”

My business partners, who are in the same stage of life as me, can’t believe how well it’s going. The bar is doing better than expected. My dream is to someday develop a franchise. My partners also want to keep the business going and do more things. It’s easy on the wallet, I always tell everybody. At Jax’s, we have a lot of cool things going on. We have trivia, we have karaoke, we have cornhole, we have watch parties every Tuesday for Vanderpump Rules and The Valley. We have something for everybody.

Just add Jax’s to the Bravo restaurant tour.

It’s funny you mentioned that. Tom and I want to develop something like a “Vandercrawl.” Something where you start at SUR, hit up TomTom and Schwartz & Sandy’s, and then end up at my place. It feels like a good idea, and it would give everybody a little taste of every bar.

Honestly, that’s a fabulous idea.

I think people would like that. We’re just trying to figure out the logistics and the legality of it all.

Now, getting back to The Valley, you and Luke Broderick, Kristen’s boyfriend, don’t seem to get along all that well in the first episode.

I hate that because I love the guy now. You know what? It’s not that we didn’t get along. It’s just one of those things.He came here and started dating Kristen right off the bat.  I know it comes off a little harshly, but I was basically warning him to really thinks things through. I am friends with all of Kristen Doute’s ex-boyfriends, all of them. Carter, Tom, James, Alex, who am I missing? There’s somebody else in there too.

I just wanted him to do his homework before uprooting his entire life and moving from Colorado. He’s quiet, living on the river and fishing, which is just an amazing life, but then to uproot that, move to LA, which is already freaking crazy, and then start living with Kristen Doute. That’s double crazy. Plus, they were trying to bring a child into this world. You’ve gotta have things in order because that’s a big, expensive deal here. I want them to have a baby when they’re ready. At that time, they were not. You want to give your kid all the opportunities possible. You don’t want to be behind the eight-ball right off the bat.

You were very open about how skeptical you are of Kristen’s baby plans with Luke. Did you at any point feel like you should sugarcoat it? Or would that not be being a good friend?

That’s not being a good friend. A good friend tells you things you don’t want to hear. That’s how I grew up. A good friend’s not going to tell you everything’s going to be okay when it’s not going to be okay. I don’t want a friend like that. In fact, I don’t have any friends like that. And if I did, I would get rid of them. I love Kristen to death, but she’s all over the place, kind of like me, scatterbrained. We don’t think things through. She doesn’t pause and say, “maybe I should take care of this first,” or “maybe I should not do this.” She just focuses on,”I want to have a baby.” Well, you got to make sure your ducks are all in a row before you do that. Just make sure you’re careful and you’ve planned to do it the right way. That’s all I was trying to say.

What can fans get excited to see in the rest of the season? There was a lot of drama in that super trailer…

We got a little bit of everything for everybody. Everybody’s going through different phases of their lives. That’s why I love this group so much, and that’s why I chose this group. Every viewer is going to be able to relate to someone. Whether you’re going through separation, you’re trying to have kids, you can’t have kids, you’re buying a home, you’re selling your home, whatever you’re going through, we got it. If somebody watches this show and thinks, “you know what, I’m going through the same thing and it’s going to be okay,” that’s all I want out of this.