Brittany Cartwright and Jax Taylor on Watch What Happens Live
Vanderpump Rules began with a bang. Notorious liar Jax had a secret to share about his girlfriend Brittany, a Southern transplant now working at Sur with the rest of Jax's crew, and it was salacious. As he was eager to relay to coworker Tom Sandoval and ex girlfriend Stassi (in perhaps a desperate bid to get her attention) the tale was one of walking in on Brittany in a..shall we say..compromising hookup position with Kristen.
Apparently, according to the unspoken rules of modern dating (at least, in this group), it is OK to say "I kissed a girl and I liked it" while you have a boyfriend. Brittany and Kristen deny Jax's account and say kissing is absolutely ALL that transpired between them after several drinks. This is a claim that some Vanderpump Rules fans find hard to believe while others cite Jax's history of perpetually lying with a straight face, sticking to his stories and creating drama.
"This has been hard for me to watch back," Brittany told me in an interview, "It's something we already worked through at the time and now we're in a really, really good place with our relationship." She adds: "That rumor that Jax spread is 100 percent not true. You will see Jax stick by the story for a few episodes. I try to remember as I watch this that we got past all of it."
After informally polling a group of viewers, I found that the majority sided with Brittany, expressing the sentiment that Jax is a pathological liar craving a juicy story line for the benefit of the cameras filming.
“Trying to figure out whether Jax lied about Kristen and Brittany is like trying to have a conversation about the presidential election with a hamster. What’s the point in trying?” asked Kate Casey, Host of Reality Life with Kate Casey podcast and writer, www.loveandknuckles.com.
Brittany says "it wasn't for a storyline" but perhaps she knows from being coached, the rule is not to break the fourth wall when you're on a reality show. She's still green to being on screen and I think this was her first interview, but she brings something refreshing to Vanderpump Rules, compassion. I watched episode 2 which sheds light on why this very well could be a lie...stay tuned!
"I don't judge people for their pasts" she explains, elaborating that she's not one to be swayed by rumors and that the present and future are her friendship-related considerations.
The viewers I polled who thought Jax's story was authentic had little faith in Kristen who also reportedly - currently and while filming - has a steady beau. After all, "Crazy Kristen" was her moniker in past seasons (and in a quip to cameras in a testimonial, server Ariana suggests a new, equally alliterative name for her nemesis.)
Brittany is by her own description "patient and understanding." When I ask why she is still with Jax, she explains that the two of them have a great time together, know each other really well and she sees a man we don't get to see on camera. "I know he'll say something and he'll realize later he was an idiot. I know his pattern so well and I can just work with him. He has the biggest heart and he’ll really go above and beyond to make someone feel better! I see that and I really love that."
When I ask her about her friendships with the sometimes catty clique of girls, she says: "I'm close with all the girls on the show. Stay tuned for some Schaena drama. There's a big blow up eventually which was hard for me because she and I are best friends! You'll see that at that time she was fighting with my other friends. Lala is a whole different story - for some reason there's something really different about her and we're not friends." There has been some buzz on social media that Lala was fired from the show and doesn't film with the cast all the way through. Only time, tabloids and perhaps (website) Reality Tea will tell.
A Bravo rep says the reason Brittany does not appear in promo photos for the show is because she is not one of the main characters. However, she certainly does get a lot of screen time as a supporting one.
Dynamics between Brittany and Lisa Vanderpump, owner of Sur, have gotten better since the former's interview last season. "Ugh," Brittany says looking back "When I interviewed with Lisa...she didn't think I'd stick around because of Jax's dating history. This season she realized I wasn't going anywhere. I love her and I think she's amazing. I love working at Sur and everything that comes with it. It's still new for me and really fun."
More to look forward to in episode 2: -The Spanish speaking kitchen staff discussing the crew's drama -A metrosexual outing for Tom and Tom (Sandoval and Schwartz) -A heart to heart between Brittany and Lisa Vanderpump. -Some trademark-worthy quips from Lady V. -A charity event for dogs that Katie helps organize in her new role as Lisa's assistant -Some disconcerting word botching by Scheana and Katie (yes, the word is "disconcerting," Scheana!)