Jax Taylor spent Thanksgiving in the Tampa Bay Area before heading up to New York, then back to his home in LA to continue filming his reality show, Vanderpump Rules. While here, Taylor visited his family in Tarpon Springs and helped promote the opening of his mother's new salon – Bloom Salon and Spa in Dunedin.
Taylor – a model, actor, designer, and bartender — is most recognized for his role on Vanderpump Rules, a show that focuses on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Lisa Vanderpump and her staff at Vanderpump's trendy California restaurant, SUR.
The show follows Vanderpump's hectic life as she balances work and home life, as well as the drama between castmates. Often labeled the show's “villain” or “instigator,” Taylor has quickly become a fan favorite with more than 143,000 followers on Twitter.
When asked about his feelings toward the "villain" label, the star claims he doesn't mind it. “Well there's always a villain on every kind of show.” He goes on to say, “nobody forced us to do this. I am who I am. I never blame editing, I never blame the show [for his portrayal].”
Although Taylor assures fans that the show is “100 percent real” and not scripted, he admits that the viewers only see bits and pieces of what really happens. “[Fans] are only seeing a very small, small portion of myself and the cast,” he says, “when you see a fight or you see somebody do something that's really messed up or that's douche-y...you're seeing a very tiny part of a fight that was probably a two-week [or] three-week-long thing.”
Despite the drama, Taylor is thankful for the opportunities that being on Vanderpump Rules has given him. “It's been a fun ride,” he says. “We're going on our third year, hopefully our fourth, and we're using this to build other businesses.”
So what is Taylor's aspiring business? Designing his own clothing brand, XCALIBER.
This brand focuses on casual yet upscale heavy sweaters, leather jackets, button-down shirts, leather and wing-tipped shoes, sneakers, snap-back hats, and hoodies. Taylor says the brand is similar to Tommy Hilfiger, and is a “very rustic, Hamptons kind of style.”
Fans should think Daniel Craig as James Bond — only not in a suit, but a sweater.
For now, his line can be found at xcalibershoes.com and in several pop-up stores around the US, but will make an official appearance in an upcoming episode of the show.
As for what fans can look forward to until then, Taylor says things are just heating up. “I'm always portrayed as a liar, a cheater ... and I kind of just take the heat from everybody,” he says. “[The castmates] are gonna find out this season that I'm not putting up with any more and I'm calling everyone out on their crap.”
Meanwhile, Taylor's love life is taking a back seat.
“I'm kind of just concentrating on myself right now, to be totally honest. It's up and down like any other guy that's living in Hollywood that's trying to start a couple businesses, but also trying to have a love life.” He goes on to say, “One week I am dating, the second week I'm not and it's still going that way right now.” Despite this, Taylor does admit that his love life is a little “crazy.”
New episodes of Vanderpump Rules air every Monday at 9 p.m. on Bravo.
