Tamra Judge Shades Jax Taylor’s 'The Valley' Exit: ‘So He Was Fired’

Tamra Judge has a theory behind Jax Taylor’s exit from The Valley after two seasons.

“One other little snippet that I just read while we were on this podcast … Jax said he’s not returning [to The Valley],” Teddi Mellencamp said on the Thursday, July 17, episode of her and Tamra’s “Two T’s in a Pod” podcast.

In response, Tamra, 57, asked, “So, he’s fired?”

Teddi, 44, told her that Jax, 46, had said in a recent statement that he wanted to “focus on his mental health.”

“So, he was fired,” Tamra replied. “OK.”

Us Weekly broke the news on Wednesday, July 16, that Jax planned to exit The Valley ahead of its third season.

“After an incredibly challenging year and many honest conversations with my team and producers, I’ll be stepping away from the next season of The Valley,” Jax told Us in an exclusive statement. “Right now, my focus needs to be on my sobriety, my mental health and coparenting. Taking this time is necessary for me to become the best version of myself — especially for our son, Cruz.”

Jax shares Cruz, 4, with estranged wife Brittany Cartwright, who filed for divorce last year while they were filming The Valley season 2. Amid their divorce, Jax voluntarily checked himself into a rehab facility for mental health struggles.

“A little over a month ago, I checked into an intensive inpatient treatment facility, scared of the unknown and what I would find out about myself,” he wrote in a September 2024 Instagram statement. “After many years of knowing something was wrong but not knowing exactly what it was, I recently learned that I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and PTSD.”

He added, “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. 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.”

Jax later revealed his sobriety challenges, noting in March that he had dealt with a cocaine addiction and is now sober.

“My life has changed dramatically. I’m probably the healthiest I’ve ever been, I feel the best I’ve ever been,” he told Us in a cover story that same month. “And I don’t put myself in situations I’m not comfortable with. I know it’s weird because I do own a bar, but I’m a very strong person. If I say I’m not going to do something, I’m not going to do it.”