“The Valley” star Brittany Cartwright, 35, and her husband Jax Taylor, 44, split this spring after five years of marriage and nearly 10 years together, and this week, Vandeprump villain Taylor was seen having lunch with model Paige Woolen.
The couple, who have a 3-year-old son named Cruz, have weathered their share of relationship woes including a cheating scandal, all of it documented on not one, but three reality television series.
Bless.
What stars drew these two together — and what planetary forces are pulling them apart? Read on to learn more.
Star-crossed and moon-cursed
Born Jan. 25, 1989, Cartwright is a professionally weird Aquarius sun with a “don’t be sorry, be better” Virgo moon. Taylor was born on July 11, 1979, making everyone’s favorite cad bartender an emotionally sunburned Cancer sun with a cult leader Aquarius moon.
Just two weeks after meeting at a bar in Las Vegas in 2015, the Kentucky-based Cartwright moved to LA to be with Taylor. Why the fast track and the bold moves?
Taylor’s moon in Aquarius is conjunct with Cartwright’s sun, an aspect that, upon first meeting, can feel very much like going home.
The sun-conjunct moon connection is instant and intense, and because Aquarius represents the archetype of the outsider, there is the added relief of finally finding someone who can relate to feeling like a distant alien forced into the itchy skin suit of the human form.
So why can’t these crazy kids seem to get it together?
Beyond their sun-moon connection, these two share little else in terms of compatible or companionable placements.
Cancers like Taylor are ruled by the waning and waxing of the moon, fluctuations that often translate to sensitivity, a preference for soft fabrics, a moody temperament, passive-aggressive tactics and serious inconsistency. Case in point: In late April, Taylor claimed to be working on himself to get Cartwright back and a scant three weeks later was seen having a three-hour lunch date with some gal in a black unitard.
Get it together, bro.
Aquarius, meanwhile, is ruled by structured, suspender-wearing daddy planet Saturn and wild-out, ride-the-lightning Uranus, suggesting that Cartwright is a healthy mix of tradition and revolution. That’s a duality we see in her desire to have a family and stay the course amid alleged infidelity juxtaposed with her willingness to move in with a dude she just met, party hard, outearn her man and cut bait when he fails to give her some steady loving.
Given their respective sun signs, it tracks that Cancer Taylor would stay put in the family home while Aquarius Cartwright would rent a bachelorette pad. As she said on her podcast, “I made the decision to move into another home to take some space for the sake of my mental health.”
Aquarius = need for space and Cancer = absolutely capable of destabilizing your mental health,
Cancer holds on even — and especially — when what they are holding amounts to trauma, mistrust and a modern farmhouse aesthetic.
On a basic level, this is an oppositional relationship between foundation (Cancer) and freedom (Aquarius).
Cancer holds on even (and especially) when what they are holding amounts to trauma, mistrust and a modern farmhouse aesthetic. (For further evidence of Cancers holding on by both claws, see crab exes Tom Sandoval and Ariana Maddix continuing to cohabitate.)
If Cancer takes the crown for codependence — and they do — Aquarius answers with autonomy, the unexpected and better living through boldness, suggesting that Cartwright is on her way to coming out on top … and hopefully on top and underneath a stable of suitors.
Venus signs
In astrology, Venus represents what we are attracted to, and Brittany’s Venus is in Capricorn, the sign of the strive and the holy drive. Capricorn doesn’t so much fall in love as put stock in a prospect they believe will pay off.
This Venus placement is that of the loyal opportunist, and while our girl has suffered much in her relationship with Taylor, she’s also turned that pain and proximity into a payday.
If you’re wondering why our girl would put up with Jax’s alleged cheating, backpedaling and gaslighting for the better part of 10 years, we can blame it on her Venus in Capricorn.
Cartwright’s Venus placement combined with her steadfast Taurus Mars also serves to explain why sex is so important to her and why its absence in her relationship was a deal breaker, or boner, if you will.
Interestingly, this split came at roughly the same time that Cartwright was experiencing her Jupiter return. Jupiter is the planet of luck, abundance, expansion, growth and boons of every imaginable type, suggesting that for Brit, life after Jax is about to get much, much better.
Taylor, meanwhile, has Venus in Cancer and Mars in Gemini; Venus is what we love, and Mars is how we get it done. That combo suggests that Jax loves the idea of a happy home, but the chaotic, chase-the-shiny and sext your co-workers energy of Gemini keeps him from truly committing. The shadow side of Cancer also low-key lives to self-sabotage and then seek out sympathy, so perhaps this is the angle our boy is taking to lure in his lunch dates.
Wishing both parties peace, love and therapy moving forward.
Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports back on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture, and personal experience. To book a birth chart reading, contact her via her website.
