The Valley star Jasmine Goode is “confused” by Jax Taylor getting cozy with model Paige Woolen after Brittany Cartwright split.
“I’m not surprised. [It’s] typical [for] something that Jax does,” Jasmine, 36, exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday, May 28, of Jax, 44, being spotted with Paige, 32, earlier this month. “I don’t know the level of this — who this woman is or what’s going on there. … I don’t know if I believe it.”
Jasmine noted that she thought Jax was “trying to get back with Brittany” but stepping out with Paige negates that.
The former Bachelor contestant told Us that she thinks Jax’s actions are a way to get under Brittany’s skin during their separation.
“That’s what I think he’s doing. I think he sees Brittany thriving and being happy and shining and that’s rubbing him the wrong way possibly,” Jasmine explained. “I think Jax is so used to Brittany just kind of falling in line and always being there, ride or die, which is one thing I love about Brittany. She will ride for you. But I think he took that for granted and now he’s, like, scrambling.”
Brittany, 35, and Jax announced their separation in February after five years of marriage. The estranged couple, who previously starred on Vanderpump Rules together, share 3-year-old son Cruz.
Earlier this month, Brittany confessed that she “can’t even be in the same room” with her estranged husband “very long.” She told Tom Schwartz during the Friday, May 24, episode of her “When Reality Hits with Jax and Brittany” podcast that it’s “very up and down” for the pair.
The following day, Jax was spotted with Paige on a lunch date in Los Angeles. The duo reportedly spent three hours together on Saturday, May 25. The next day, they attended Jeremy Madix’s birthday bash in Studio City.
While Jax seems to be moving on romantically, Brittany is focusing on her own well-being, according to Jasmine.
“I think Brittany, honestly, her being away from Jax has brought this confidence and fire in her,” Jasmine told Us. “She hasn’t been sick [from stress] and she’s just been thriving.”
She revealed, “I’ve never seen her happier right now. [It’s] just crazy that she just took Jax out and now she’s winning.”
Jasmine added that when she saw Brittany two weeks prior the reality star was working on her “fitness goal” and “so happy” in her Jax-free environment.
Despite their recent drama, Jasmine confirmed that Jax and Brittany are successfully coparenting their toddler.
“He is a good dad, but I just don’t know. I think him and Brittany just need time apart,” Jasmine confessed, telling Us that she doesn’t see them rekindling the relationship. “I want all my friends to be happy, but at the same time it’s like if you’re happy away from each other, then maybe that’s a good thing.”
When asked if Brittany is dating, Jasmine teased, “I don’t know if I can spill that.” However, she did reveal that Brittany is “doing good.”
Jasmine is equally as good in her own relationship with Melissa Carelli, who has appeared on The Valley, but isn’t a main cast member. (Fans might also recognize Melissa from her time on Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge.)
“I wanted to do something with my partner, so I wasn’t scared about that,” Jasmine said about showcasing her love life on Bravo.
However, after seeing her friends’ relationships hit bumps on The Valley, she teased she’s grateful Melissa was under contract somewhere else. “It’s hard to think that my relationship could be something like that, but I don’t think it is,” Jasmine explained. “I just know me and Melissa, we actually communicate very well. I think that some of these people in this group don’t do that with their partner and they’re like, ‘Maybe you just listen to your partner, you’ll understand.’”
While Brittany and Jax are among the couples who ended up in the hot seat this season, Jasmine told Us, she thought she’d “be the drama” when they first started filming.
“This group is wild,” she teased. “This group’s just all over the place. I’m like, ‘What’s happening? Am I in the Twilight Zone?’”
As a reality TV veteran, Jasmine noted that she was mentally prepared for how “tough” filming with her close friends would be.
“I’m coming from The Bachelor where [you talk about] just love and your feelings. Now, it’s like everything about your life,” she continued. “So I think that was a little scary going into it, but I was like, ‘You know what? I’m going to have fun with my friends. It’s summer.’ I didn’t expect all this crazy drama [and] how intense it is, but I just knew it was going to be fun.”
The Valley airs on Bravo Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi