Zack Wickham will always have Brittany Cartwright‘s back. Having been friends since their college days in Kentucky, The Valley‘s breakout star has had a front-row seat to the ups and downs of Cartwright’s tumultuous relationship with Jax Taylor over the last decade — and he will be the first one to tell critics to pipe down as they question whether the Vanderpump Rules alum should be publicly dragging the father of her child amid their contentious divorce.
“Anybody that could say or have an opinion on how she is handling this should sit down, tape their mouth shut, and go away and don’t be on the internet ever,” Wickham told DECIDER when asked for his response to the haters. “I’m so sick and tired of these people coming for her when she is so strong and she’s doing what she thinks is best.”
Just over a year after they announced their separation, Taylor confessed to his decades-long struggle with a cocaine addiction. While Taylor has since gotten sober, Wickham doesn’t think he’s a changed man just yet.
“I have seen a change for the worse,” Wickham said, noting that Taylor “isn’t even trying” to better himself anymore. “I’ve seen you try in the past, fail, and then pick back up and try again. I haven’t seen the effort that he wants to say he’s putting in … And I’m not gonna let you gaslight America or Brittany into thinking you are.”
When Wickham stopped by DECIDER’s studio this week, he shared why Taylor didn’t deserve to be first seat at the Season 2 reunion, why he put the Vanderpump Rules girls on blast after they unfollowed James Kennedy, and why he thinks their editors deserve an Emmy. Check out our full chat below.
DECIDER: I’m so excited to have you here. You have been such a breakout star. Your one-liners and confessionals are everything.
ZACK WICKHAM: Thank you. About the one-liners and stuff and my confessionals, which I’m so glad people like, it’s really funny, I just speak like that. I don’t come up with it. Every once in a while maybe something will come to mind, I’ll be like, “Ooh, I’ll keep that.” But in general, that’s just how I speak. But it was last season, someone actually asked production if they were writing my lines and could they write it for her, for this person. And they were like, “No, we do not write his lines.”
One of your cast members asked producers to write lines for them?
I won’t be saying who, but somebody did.
Well, you’re an inspiration to all, then! I want to start on a light note. You and Brittany have been best friends for over a decade. What’s one of your favorite memories with Brittany from your Kentucky days?
I don’t know if I could just choose one, but I will say there was this one party that she was working for the Kentucky Derby. We didn’t know that she was working it and I was attending it. And so then she somehow got off and then we ended up having the craziest night ever. But I feel like that’s every single time Brittany and I are together. It’s just magical and we end up doing something crazy that we probably shouldn’t be doing.
Fans were so excited to see you promoted to a full time cast member this season. Guess people love someone who is “petty with a purpose.” What was your reaction to the well-deserved news?
I mean, I felt like I was a full-time cast member last season anyway. But yeah, no, I was super happy. It basically is a validation that what you did mattered or had an impact, and I just felt really good that, “OK, I guess I resonated with people.” I mean, I definitely think I deserved that spot.
Your love life has also gotten a bigger spotlight this season. How are things going with Benji?
Things are going so good. You really get to see it this season. You get to see more of my relationship with him, which is really great. I always like to say he’s almost as funny as I am because I don’t want to date someone funnier than me, obviously. That’s too much. But he can take it and give it back so our dynamics are really good. I’m glad that everybody’s getting to see that this season.
Before we get into everything going on this season, I want to ask about some comments you’ve made about Lala Kent on social media. What are your thoughts on her? And how did you feel about her, Scheana Shay, and Tom Schwartz making cameos on The Valley?
The thing is that we’re all friends from way back in the day. I’ve been in LA nine years. I have known Lala since she integrated into the group on VPR. I’ve been around for everything. And I think with any friendship, you have the ups and downs and you might not see eye to eye on certain things. And so that might be where some of my comments online have come from. But I am actually very happy to see Tom Schwartz on the show. Even Scheana and Lala. The more the merrier sometimes. Do I think our show holds its own without them? Sure. Do they add? Possibly. So I’m here for whatever. If they come on, let’s bring it because they’re part of our groups anyway outside of filming, so it makes sense.
You seemingly called out some of the Vanderpump Rules girls after they unfollowed James Kennedy on social media. Why did you decide to do that?
I think this is no surprise to anybody – I am Kristen Doute’s best friend, No. 1, like, you come for her, you come for me. That’s kind of how my loyalty is in friendships. And I have just seen some not great behavior or friendship that I would consider, like, slights to her over the years. Even when people had all the information, they were making these conscious decisions to either talk about him in the press or to make light of things when if you wanted to, you could have just ignored it. You didn’t have to hit it head on. You could have ignored it. You didn’t have to sing his praises. There were just certain decisions that I was like, “Wow, it felt very fake.” And then all of a sudden when it’s publicly not cool and oh, it’s this other person, then all the sudden it’s a big deal and you want to make this splash, I just felt like, for me, I had to call it out.
It’s not even a slight to any of them. Some people didn’t realize they were following him and then something big happens and you look and you’re like, “Oh, I need to unfollow.” And there were other situations – Scheena will say that she was already about to unfollow him or something like that. I don’t know. But I do feel like sometimes when someone like Kristen has not been supported by her friends in a certain way that like, I’m sorry, I just am not someone that will stand idly by ever.
Getting into The Valley Season 2, you and Janet finally hashed things out in this week’s episode. Were you happy with that resolution? Or do you think there was still more that needed to be said?
With Janet and I, it’s always a back and forth. We’ve been very close in the past and maybe in the future we will also be able to get some of what we had back. I do think it’s an up and down. You never know which way it’s gonna go. I do feel like with this episode and our resolution, we came to a really good place where I did feel like we could move forward and leave the past in the past and kind of try to work on things.
If you would have been invited to Dave & Buster’s, what games would you have focused on? Or would you have been all about the Jesse/Michelle/Boys chat drama?
Not that I don’t like to be in drama, but at the same time, I was on Janet’s side in that. I was like, “Let’s just play. Why are we crying at Dave and Buster’s?” I like Dave and Busters’, too. I would have been like, “Here, let me win you some tickets.” I’ve been at her birthdays in the past where we’ve done Dave and Buster’s. And there’s always a prize that she’s like, “OK, everybody pull your tickets and we’re going for this prize.” And one of the years that I can remember, she wanted the guitar. Because at the time, the guitar was the big prize. And we were able to all pull together and get it. You know, if there’s crying and drama going on, that takes away from getting the tickets. So, I understand her point of view.
The best was the cutting back and forth between Michelle sobbing and Janet having the time of her life.
I’m not going to lie, our editing staff deserves, I don’t know, an Emmy, Oscar. What do you get for that? Whatever the editing Emmy is, give it to them, because that was chef’s kiss.
You said you felt betrayed when you learned that Brittany had told Janet some of the things you said about her last season. But when you confronted Brittany about it, it seemed like you guys were able to move past it quickly. Is that just the nature of your friendship? Or did you hold back because of what she was going through with Jax?
With Brittany and I, we’re family. Our friendship is family. So you’re gonna have ups and downs but it doesn’t matter because at the end of the day, I’m always there to support her and she’s always there to support me and we’re always each other’s number ones. I do still feel like within the scope of that, I did feel a slight betrayal or maybe more than a slight portrayal. And as you’ll see the rest of the season, I don’t know if I got over it that quickly because it’s kind of a culmination of multiple things that had kind of happened slowly over time. But again, it doesn’t matter because she’s still my best friend and we always get over and move past whatever fight we’re in or whatever situation arises.
Being so close with Brittany, I imagine it was really hard to watch the scene between her and Jax before he went off to rehab. What were your thoughts on that argument?
Well, I’ve seen or been a part of many worse situations. So that was maybe Jax on light, which is crazy to say, but it’s not not true. So unfortunately, it’s just another day for me to see it. It absolutely kills me to see her have to go through this and especially in that manner. But I’ve been so proud of her – how she’s handling it and how strong she’s been when she maybe hasn’t been able to do that in the past. So I think that’s one thing to take away from it is seeing her stand her ground and really not give him any leeway and move forward.
The internet has been pretty divided on the way Brittany has handled Jax publicly, specifically after her Watch What Happens Live appearance. What is your take on that situation?
My take is nobody is in this situation and also anybody that could say or have an opinion on how she is handling this should sit down, tape their mouth shut, and go away and don’t be on the internet ever because I’m so sick and tired of these people coming for her when she is so strong and she’s doing what she thinks is best. Also, you don’t understand the manipulation, the emotional beating down she has endured. And it’s not because she wanted. She was in love. And if people aren’t going to give her that leeway in that space to be like, “Oh, okay, we totally understand that it’s going to be hard and you’re figuring out how to deal with this extremely complicated situation,” then we don’t need your opinion and bye.
Do you think Jax has changed at all since getting sober?
No. So there we go. Let’s start it with no. Listen, here’s the thing, I have been around for nine years of their relationship. I have seen when Jax has actually changed. And after the things that have happened in the past, I saw a true change in Jax. That’s why I could stand up at their wedding and be OK to be there and support their marriage. Since certain times, I have seen a change for the worse. And even since this season and what you will see the rest of the season, he just hasn’t changed. Or he’s actually gotten worse. And that’s the biggest problem for me is you’re not even trying anymore. I’ve seen you try in the past, fail, and then pick back up and try again. I haven’t seen the effort that he wants to say he’s putting in. I’m sorry, it’s not there. And I’m not gonna let you gaslight America or Brittany into thinking you are.
The internet was shocked that you and Michelle were seated in the last two seats. Were you surprised as well? Did you get the “last word” like you teased on social?
You guys are good. You went into my socials. I love it. I will say, it was kind of funny because I feel like people were in an uproar for different reasons, for me and Michelle being the last seat. But I don’t think the seating really matters, unless you’re the first seat. First and second, those are the ones that obviously have the most drama, that have gone through the most and deserve to be right next to Andy, which undoubtedly was going to be Brittany [and] Kristen. Jax did not deserve to be second chair, but whatever. He could have Zoomed in or come in for a second. I will just say one word about the reunion because I don’t want to give anything away. I will just say it was – actually, controlled chaos. Because actually we somehow – I never thought I’d ever see our group not talk over each other. We actually all did a really good job of being pretty controlled until we weren’t.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The Valley airs Tuesday nights at 9/8c on Bravo. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.
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