Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright Separate After 4 Years of Marriage: 'Pray for Us'

The 'Vanderpump Rules' alumni wed in 2019 and share 2-year-old son Cruz Michael Cauchi

Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright are separating.

The Vanderpump Rules alumni, who are set to take part in the Bravo spinoff The Valley this spring, have announced their separation, four years after they wed in 2019.

Cartwright announced the news Thursday on the pair's joint podcast When Reality Hits.

"Many of you guys have been asking me about Jax and I and our relationship," she began. "I just think it’s important to be real and honest with you guys because our life is definitely — we’ve shared so much of our life with you guys. So, I feel like ... I don’t want to seem like I’m lying or anything like that so I think it’s important for me to say this."

"I know on my last podcast, I alluded to many marriages go through rocky times," she continued. "Yes, marriages in general are very hard and I've had a particularly rough year this past year. Jax and I are taking time apart and I made the decision to move into another home to take some space for the sake of my mental health."

Related: Brittany Cartwright Admits to 'Ups and Downs' amid Rumors of Marital Strain with Husband Jax Taylor

Noting how she didn't want to share specific details about the matter, the Bravolebrity said the breakup is "still very hard to talk about."

"I'm taking one day at a time," she added. "I don’t know what the future holds, but right now my focus is on being the best mom to Cruz and I love you guys. Pray for us and everything will be just fine. We’re good."

PEOPLE has reached out to Taylor and Cartwright's reps for comment.

Taylor, 44, and Cartwright, 35, first met at a Las Vegas bar in 2015. After they briefly split in 2017, the pair reconciled off camera and later announced their engagement in June 2018.

A year later in June 2019, they wed at the Kentucky Castle in front of 240 guests. They later welcomed their only son, Cruz Michael Cauchi, in April 2021, months after they announced their departure from the Bravo series.

The duo has been candid about going through ups and downs in their relationship over the years. Taylor told PEOPLE in 2017, after revealing he cheated on his then-girlfriend, that they had "weathered the storm" in that chapter of their relationship and ended up "in a great place" afterward.

Related: Jax Taylor Says He and Wife Brittany Cartwright Want 'At Least One More' Kid (Exclusive)

Taylor and Cartwright later opened up about their marriage in March 2023, when Cartwright told PEOPLE that they were "trucking through" it, despite outsiders thinking they'd only be together "for one year."

Taylor added that both the "good days" and "bad days" made their relationship stronger. "I don't believe in divorce. My parents didn't get divorced," Taylor said last year. "I don't believe in that. Marriage is work. I'm not saying every day is amazing."

The VPR alum also shared at the time that the pair "have a lot of fun with each other" and that he "honestly can't imagine my life with anybody else."

"Like I said, she's the ying to my yang, a little," he said. "I'm a tough guy to be around, so it takes a certain person to deal with my crap. Even through all this, and even though my life is a lot better now, I'm still tough to handle. I think she's the only one that can put up with me really."

Related: Vanderpump Rules Spinoff The Valley Starring Jax Taylor, Brittany Cartwright and Kristen Doute to Premiere Spring 2024

In April 2021, the couple announced the birth of their only child Cruz, with Taylor explaining on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in 2023 that being a father "changed my life."

"I think becoming parents made us stronger too because I love seeing him as a dad," Cartwright told PEOPLE of Taylor. "It just makes you love him more."

As of August 2023, the pair had their sights set on expanding their family, when Taylor revealed to PEOPLE that he and Cartwright were "definitely gonna have more kids."

"At least one more," he said. "We're just really busy right now. It's been a very busy summer. We're very blessed."

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In that same interview, Taylor credited Cartwright for being "the rock" of their family of three. "I love her to death and I don't know if I'd still be on this planet if it wasn't for her to be honest. Her and my son, they kind of really saved me after my father died," he said of the late Ronald Chauci, who died in 2017 at age 61. "I really owe my whole life to her."

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