Brittany Cartwright Reveals Son Cruz, 3, Was Diagnosed with Autism 6 Months Ago (Exclusive)

• Brittany Cartwright is revealing for the first time that her 3-year-old son Cruz, whom she shares with ex Jax Taylor, is autistic and is mostly nonverbal
• The Valley star says she got Cruz’s diagnosis in the fall, after searching for answers as to why her son stopped speaking ahead of his second birthday
• Cartwright admits it’s “been hard” to take care of herself amid Cruz’s diagnosis and her ongoing divorce from Taylor

Brittany Cartwright and her ex Jax Taylor watched their son Cruz breeze through milestones in the first year and a half of his young life.

“He crawled early, he walked early,” Cartwright tells PEOPLE. “He was talking, he was saying, ‘Mommy,’ ‘Daddy.’ He was saying ‘Hot Dog!’ from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Then, as he got closer to 2, we started noticing that he was regressing in his speech. He stopped talking almost completely.”

Cartwright, 36, and Taylor, 45, put Cruz in speech and occupational therapy right away, and their search for answers was a major plot point on the first season of Bravo’s hit reality show The Valley last year.

Now, Cartwright is revealing that Cruz, who turns 4 on April 12, was diagnosed with autism. Though Cruz is mostly nonverbal, Cartwright says he will “sporadically say different words,” like “Mommy.”

“It can be difficult because I’ve never heard him say, ‘I love you,’ but he is so loving, and he shows me he loves me every single day,” she says. “He is such a mommy’s boy.”

Cartwright received Cruz’s diagnosis from his developmental pediatrician in the fall, prior to Cartwright and Taylor wrapping the second season of The Valley (premiering April 15).

Though Cartwright says they were “expecting” the diagnosis, hearing it from his doctor made things more “real.”

“Our life is going to look a little bit different, but I feel like I was meant to be his mom,” she says. “He is my better half. He is my little partner in crime. He is everything to me, and even though he can’t talk, I know everything that he wants, everything that he needs. We’re just so synced, it’s incredible.”

Prior to her PEOPLE interview, Cartwright had only let her closest family and friends know about Cruz’s diagnosis. When she first told them, “I wrote this paragraph out and talked about his diagnosis, what it meant, what we’re working on and how I felt like I was meant for this,” she recalls.

For more of Brittany Cartwright’s exclusive interview, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE on newsstands Friday.

“Yes, it might be challenging at times, but I couldn’t imagine my life being different,” she continues. “It can be sad at times because you want them to live life to the fullest, and he does, he just does it in a different way. What I really want people to understand about autism is he sees the world so much more vibrant and amazing than any of us ever will. It doesn’t mean that he’s not going to be the smartest in his class. It doesn’t mean he is not going to work for NASA one day. There aren’t any limitations to what he can do.”

Right now, Cartwright is focused on “early intervention.”

“This is the time he’s building his brain,” she says. “I’m just trying to do everything I possibly can to help him live the happiest life ever. I feel very blessed that I’m able to give him everything that he needs, and that’s why I want to help as many mothers as I can. I have learned so much over the past couple years.”

At their home in Los Angeles, Cartwright has a sensory room for Cruz, as well as a swing set and a pool for him in their backyard (throughout the hours-long shoot, Cruz switches back-and-forth between swinging, jumping on a trampoline and swimming). 

He also still does speech and occupational therapy several times a week, and he has a therapeutic companion that goes with him to preschool every day to help with his social skills.

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“I just make sure that he never misses a class, never misses a therapy session,” Cartwright says. “If I have to work, I have the most amazing nanny in the entire world, she is literally my family. I don’t know what I would do without her. Sometimes Jax will take him. I want him to learn things as well, but the majority of the time, it’s me. And I feel like I need to be there, I need to be learning what’s going on, so that I can really work with him at home as well.”

Netflix’s Love on the Spectrum has given Cartwright an extra burst of hope for Cruz’s future.

“It is the sweetest show,” she says. “They’re so positive, the way they look at life is just so full of joy and happiness, and if Cruz is anything like that I will be so happy. I hope he falls in love one day.”

As for her own needs, the Vanderpump Rules alum — who announced her separation from Taylor in February 2024 and filed for divorce that August — says she’s trying to be better about putting them to the forefront.

“It’s been hard to take care of myself, honestly,” she says. “It is definitely hard for me to accept help. My friends are always like, ‘You need to have a little bit more time for yourself.’ I just feel like I need to be there 24/7. But’s that’s my new thing in 2025: I need to put myself first more. I need to focus on my health more. Going through this divorce and everything has really made me so much stronger. At the end of the day, everything I’m doing is because of my son.”

And seeing Cruz thrive makes it all worth it.

“I’m just so proud of everything about Cruz,” she says. “He is just the love of my life. He’s learning and growing every single day. With everything I have going on, I always try to stay positive. It can be hard sometimes — I have my ups and downs — but I just feel like I can be proud of myself that I’m staying strong for my son.”

The Valley premieres April 15 at 9:15 p.m. ET on Bravo.