Jax Taylor continued to meddle in Kristen Doute‘s personal life on The Valley by trying to get her boyfriend, Luke Broderick, to spend time with her ex Alex Menache.
During a new episode on Tuesday, March 26, Kristen, 41, said she was frustrated with the way Jax, 44, kept bringing Alex up instead of giving Luke, 33, a fair chance.
“I don’t understand why Jax brought up my most recent ex — Alex,” Kristen, who split from her ex in June 2022, noted. “I sold my house, I moved in with [Alex] and he was the realtor. Then we broke up seven times and he kicked me out and sold all of my furniture that he wrote off.”
Despite meeting Luke the same month her and Alex called it quits, Kristen knew her new relationship was different, adding, “But with Luke, we don’t yell. We don’t scream. Our communication is stupid impeccable.”
Jax, however, was “not on the same” page with Kristen about her new man.
“I am pretty good at spotting a Kristen Doute disaster. I could spot it a mile away,” he said in a confessional. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see what is going to f—king happen here. I have seen a lot of people like Luke come into Kristen’s life. And when they leave, they need therapy afterwards.”
After Jax referred to Luke as Kristen’s “sperm donor,” she put her foot down about their friend group being more welcoming toward her boyfriend. (Kristen had a miscarriage in November 2023 after filming on The Valley wrapped.)
“Luke is my forever. I see it and feel it,” she explained. “I want you guys to start treating him like he is my forever. And not like he is some f—king dude. Does anyone know his last name? Does anyone know where he is from?”
Jax seemingly understood Kristen’s point — until they parted ways. From there, Jax set a plan in motion to surprise Luke at an upcoming guys’ night by inviting Alex.
“Would it be weird if I invited Alex — Kristen’s ex-boyfriend — to guys’ night to have him and Luke have a little bit of a powwow. Is that a bad idea?” Jax later asked Jesse Lalley. In response, Jesse referred to Jax as a “a child,” joking, “Tom Sandoval, [why not] throw him in the mix. He dated Kristen, right? Why don’t you get a shooting gallery together.”
While speaking to the cameras, Jax attempted to explain where he was coming from.
“I am kind of worried that Luke is going to be a rebound guy. She dove into this relationship days after she broke up with Alex,” he said. “I am not sure if Luke knows what he is getting into.”
Jax also addressed why he was still in touch with Alex. “Kristen has slept with pretty much everyone that I know, including myself,” he recalled about their past hookup, which was revealed during season 2 of Vanderpump Rules. “So if I couldn’t hang out with anyone she slept with then I wouldn’t have any friends.”
Jax ultimately extended an invitation to both Luke and Alex. He filled Luke in on the surprise guest moments before Alex joined their group.
“I had great motivation for this. I want you to be part of this group as much as anyone. I tried to figure out a way where we could all hang out. Where I don’t have to ask, ‘Who is coming to this tonight? I can’t invite this person or that person.’ There’s only one way where this could happen,” he told Luke. “You are a reasonable guy and so is Alex. Alex is a nice guy and I think you two would honestly get along. I know it for a fact.”
Jax told Luke he asked Alex to join them so he could get “all the right stories” about Kristen. Luke, for his part, was not thrilled to be potentially running into Alex.
“What is the point? Why would I try to be friends with my girlfriend’s ex? What is the point? I am not going to be OK with a guy like that. I am not OK with a guy like that,” Luke fired back. “Why would I give this guy a chance? Why would I be friends with the ex of my girlfriend? I have her back 100 percent and I have no interest in getting to know this guy.”
Luke continued: “Kristen has told me that her ex was very difficult and that relationship still triggers her. Jax knows her triggers and how to make her freak out. I don’t think that is something friends do to friends.”
After Luke got visibly upset, Jax briefly understood that he “f—ked up,” saying, “With Luke, I don’t think I blindsided him. Yes, OK … I did. The fact that he said he is not going to say a word to Alex is childish.”
Jax and Alex walked away from the others to hang out on their own, which ultimately led to a conversation about Kristen. Jax specifically wanted more details from Alex about how he thought their relationship ended compared to Kristen’s version of events.
“I lent her a lot of money and I sold the house for free. And she lived in my house for six months of zero dollars,” Alex claimed. “It doesn’t matter 1711527961.”
The hits kept coming when Jax’s wife, Brittany Cartwright, told Kristen that Luke would be meeting Alex while they enjoyed their girls’ night. Brittany, 35, appeared shocked by Kristen’s strong reaction to the idea of Luke and Alex being in the same room.
“Come the f—k on, Brittany. I don’t want my ex-boyfriends around me or my f—king family. What is so difficult for everyone to f—king understand?” Kristen asked. “None of you lived with him. None of you dated him. I don’t want him anywhere near me.”
Brittany only made the argument worse when she suggested that Luke shouldn’t be at the group event since Jax has known Alex longer.
“You just said Alex should be there more than Luke?” Kristen noted before elaborating on her frustrations in a confessional. “Alex and I started dating when I was still on Vanderpump Rules. Months later when everything essentially crashed and burned [in 2020], Alex belittled me and made me feel really small. He thought I was a kind of a loser, has-been reality star. It’s not something you want to hear from your boyfriend.”
Kristen came for Jax by calling his actions “malicious,” which caused Brittany to accuse her of “stirring s—t up.”
Five minutes later, Kristen claimed she was told something by Zack Wickham that wasn’t mentioned on screen yet. Zack was trying to convince Michelle Lally that he never shared any information with Kristen. The episode ended with a glimpse at Kristen’s argument with the group, which featured Nia Booko getting visibly emotional by the mysterious claims.
The Valley airs on Bravo Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET and will be available to stream on Peacock the next day.