Brittany Cartwright has good people around her, ones who have her best interests at heart following her split from husband Jax Taylor.
In a sneak peek at the April 15 episode of “The Valley,” the reality TV star introduces some of her friends to her new boyfriend, Brandon Hanson. The introductions happen at a housewarming party thrown by Nia Sanchez Booko and Danny Booko, one that was clearly cowboy-themed.
Among those meeting Hanson are Lala Kent, Michelle Saniei and Zack Wickham. The latter has been pretty open about his skepticism over Hanson, however, telling Parade he “never saw a green flag” when it came to Brittany’s beau.
Though she and Hanson have since split, upcoming episodes “The Valley” will show the relationship play out.
The Moment Brandon Met Zack
Footage shared by Bravo show Brandon and Zack meeting over a “bonding shot,” before Brittany leaves the two men to talk alone.
“I think you should get it over with now, talk to each other and get to know each other, now,” Brittany tells them.
Zack immediately makes it known he’s “very protective” of his friend, even if there aren’t any obvious “red flags” about whoever she’s dating. It’s then that Brandon admits he has a few red flags of his own, saying, “There are. I do have three kids. I do have an ex.”
“And two baby mamas!” Zack adds, while Brandon says, “There are red flags, I get it.”
Brandon says he understands Zack being “the protective friend,” hoping to get to know him better while claiming to “have Brittany’s best interests in mind.” He then adds that Brittany is “my girlfriend now,” after officially asking her out the night before. That, it seems, concerns Zack.
“One of Brittany’s biggest weaknesses is she’s very susceptible to being love-bombed by men,” he says in a confessional. “She will open up her heart to anyone. I want her to stop opening her heart and just open her legs, it’s a lot more fun that way!”
He warns Brandon to “take it slow,” since she’s in a “fragile” state after her split from Jax. “I want her to have fun,” Zack adds, while Brandon admits he knows that “the wrong person could come around and manipulate that.”
“That’s what I’m worried about,” says Zack, before Brandon jokes that he was “the final boss” when it comes to getting approval from Brittany’s friends. “You defeated me!” exclaims Zack.
As all this is happening, outside, Brittany also speaks with her co-stars about Brandon. As Michelle Saniei says Brandon seems “smart” and the two appear to have a lot in common, Lala Kent adds, “And I think he likes you more than you like him. And that’s what you want!”
Brittany and Brandon’s Breakup
According to Bravo, the housewarming party went down in September 2025. By mid-October, Brittany confirmed she and Brandon split.
During the October 10 episode of her When Reality Hits with Brittany Cartwright podcast, the reality star revealed she was “single” again.
“We actually did not last,” she said at the time. “We were very good friends before we started dating. It was kind of like a whirlwind relationship. It went into the public way sooner than we ever would have wanted it to.”
“We still care a lot about each other,” she continued. “It ended amicably, but I just could not do the long distance, and he’s got a lot of obligations with his three kids and jobs, and we lived three hours away, so it was just too tough to keep it going. We really cared about each other. Hopefully, we can remain friends, but it’s just something I didn’t see that was going to be able to continue in the future.”
“Wish him the best, wish everything the best. It just wasn’t for me, it just didn’t work out,” she concluded, before joking, “So I’m single, tell your friends!”
“The Valley” airs Wednesdays on Bravo.
