Rachel Leviss recently took to Instagram to voice support for fellow Vanderpump Rulesalum Jax Taylor as he entered a mental health facility. However, her message did not sit well with many fans.
“I am deeply saddened to hear of Jax’s mental health struggles and I wholeheartedly support his decision to seek treatment,” Leviss, 29, wrote in a screen recording of her notes app, which she shared on Instagram Wednesday.
“I pray that his news is met with the open-mindedness that mine lacked, as I faced mockery and accusations of simply being in a spa,” she continued, referencing her three-month stay at a mental health treatment centerlast year following her affair with Tom Sandoval. “I hope he finds the healing that I did through my own journey.”
Leviss concluded her message by emphasizing the importance of mental healthcare for reality TV stars. “Taylor’s situation highlights the urgent need for mental healthcare and accessible treatment for reality TV stars ✨💫,” she wrote. She captioned the video with, “Wishing you a speedy recovery.”
Almost immediately, Instagram users flooded the comments section with criticism. Many accused Leviss of making Taylor’s struggles about herself. Comments such as “How did you already manage to make this about yourself 😭,” “And you made this about you,” and “Did you manage to make this about you? 😅” reflected the general sentiment of disapproval.
Some fans supported Leviss, with one writting, “Why do you all go so hard on her? She is not making it about her. This girl spent a lot of time working on herself and why the comments to bring her down? Does it make you all feel better about yourselves? How about be kind.”
Taylor’s representative told ET on Tuesday that he had decided to seek inpatient treatment. “Jax has always been candid about his mental health struggles, especially during the past few months on his podcast,” Jax’s rep said of the reality star’s When Reality Hits podcast. “He has made the decision to seek in-patient treatment. This is a particularly sensitive time for him and his family. They ask for privacy and respect until he is ready to speak more on this matter.”
Jax, 45, and Brittany, 35 — who tied the knot in 2019 and share a 3-year-old son, Cruz — went public with their separation in February. The months before the split were rocky for the couple, and it was all captured by cameras for VPR‘s spinoff, The Valley.
When news of the split eventually broke, The Valley picked up the cameras again to catch the fallout. Fans got to see it all play out on the show’s season 1 finale.
In a conversation with his pal, Jason Caperna, Jax noted of his and Brittany’s separation, “There’s no affairs. There’s no cheating. There’s no abuse. There’s none of that. I’m so triggered. My fuse is this big.”
Brittany agreed with that assessment, telling the cameras, “We were already having issues all summer long, but once the cameras stopped rolling, things seemed like they were getting worse and worse and worse and worse.”
“So, about six weeks ago, I separated from Jax. I moved into an Airbnb with Cruz because Jax would not leave the house. I just feel like that shows how selfish Jax is,” she said, claiming that she made her decision after Jax allegedly screamed at her for hours. “The fact that I had to move out with Cruz instead of him moving out. Especially being from Kentucky, a man doesn’t do that.”
Brittany added, “I just kind of hit this point where I started noticing everything that he did to me. It just hit me like a ton of bricks or something. And then I was just kind of like, ‘What am I doing? Why am I here?'”
In a confessional, Brittany noted, “I’ve come into my own. I make a lot of money. I just feel like I have woken up. I feel so much stronger now. I know I’ll be OK. I know my worth, and I know I do not deserve to be in a relationship like this. What was I thinking, staying with him this long?”
As for where their relationship stands today, Jax revealed in May that he and Brittany have agreed to see other people amid their separation.
The following month, Jax tweeted in the middle of the night, claiming that Brittany had been sleeping with someone else for four months. However, h=he quickly deleted the social media post.
The Valley is currently in production for season 2.
