‘The Valley’s Zack Wickham ‘Very Protective’ of Brittany Cartwright Amid Jax Taylor Separation (Exclusive)

Zack Wickham will always be there for bestie Brittany Cartwright as she navigates her separation from husband Jax Taylor. Following Wednesday’s explosive episode of The Valley, which featured Taylor giving his wife a hard time after she got sick during Janet Caperna’s babymoon, Wickham told PopCulture.com the altercation was “less shocking” than what he’s witnessed over the past few years. 

“The thing is, I see more than anybody because I’m there always,” Wickham shared of watching Taylor and Cartwright’s fights play back on the Bravo series. “So it’s actually less shocking seeing this stuff than the stuff I’ve seen. … It’s not like it’s a super surprise, like, ‘Oh, my God, how dare he?’ Yeah, I’ve been there.”

The Vanderpump Rules alum, who share 3-year-old son Cruz, announced in February that they had separated after four years of marriage. Wickham explained to PopCulture that he’s working on supporting Cartwright through this difficult time without trying to tell her what to do with her marriage.

“As someone who obviously is very protective, it is hard seeing her go through this and it’s also hard not to react,” he said. “Jax and I – I love him and I hate him all wrapped up in one. But we’ve had issues in the past, and it’s pushed me away from Brittany. … I’ve had to learn to adapt to that and learn not to put my feelings or what I feel [first]. That doesn’t matter in this situation. What matters is I give her my opinion and then that’s full stop.” He added, “But this is more than that. I’m here period. And I’m not going anywhere no matter what.”

Wickham insisted that he’s not here to decide what’s next for Cartwright and Taylor, “But Brittany has always known I am there as the support.” He continued, “So whatever she wants, or however she feels, I’m there to be whatever she needs. I’m not here to make any decisions. I’m not here to force anything. I’m not here to whatever. But I will always be there.”

Taylor opened up about the possible future of his marriage in a March interview with PopCulture, saying that their “main goal right now is just to raise our child.” He continued, “We both love our son more than anything and as long as he sees that he’s got two loving parents that love him more than anything, that’s all I care about.”

“As for me and Brittany, I’m not sure where things are going right now,” Taylor added. “But we’re both amicable. Nothing is like hostility. There was no cheating … it’s more of a communication thing, but we’re working on it. We’ll see what happens, but I don’t really have an answer for you right now.”