Life of Daniel
The Valley Season Two Premiere Recap
Written by Daniel Meyers for Hustle Magazine
Bravo’s The Valley returned for its second season on Tuesday, with all of the main cast returning with even more drama than last season. A spinoff of Bravo’s Vanderpump Rules, the series follows six couples living in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles County, “taking a shot at adulting,” while juggling marriages, divorces, friendships, children, and careers.
The series stars Vanderpump Rules alums Brittany Cartwright, Jax Taylor, Kristen Doute, as well as Doute’s boyfriend, Luke Broderick, Danny and Nia Booko, Janet and Jason Caperna, Jesse Lally, and Michelle Saniei, all of whom starred in season one, while Jasmine Goode and Zach Wickham were upgraded to series regulars after serving in recurring capacities for the first season. Melissa Carelli, Aaron Nosler, and Benji Quach will be joining the series as recurring cast members. Vanderpump Rules alums Scheana Shay, Brock Davies, Lala Kent, and Tom Schwartz will make guest appearances throughout season two.
Jax and Brittany
On the season two premiere of The Valley, viewers learned that Jax and Brittany are still separated and co-parenting their son, Cruz. We learned in a confessional from Jax that he and Brittany had considered moving back in together, until Jax found that Brittany hooked up with his friend, Julian. According to Brittany, Jax got jealous and angry after finding out, going so far as to flip a table that hit Brittany’s knee.
Jax expressed regret for his actions throughout the premiere and was grateful his son, who was in the next room, didn’t witness his actions. Jax’s friends and Vanderpump Rules co-stars Kristen Doute and Tom Schwartz also expressed disapproval of his actions. Doute, who has seen Jax through some of his worst times, said, “I’ve never seen anything like he did to Brittany.” It appears that Jax and Brittany will be fighting the whole season, potentially leading to a divide in the friend group between team Jax and team Brittany, all while trying to shield their son the best they can from the drama.
Kristen and Carter
Viewers learned in the season two premiere of The Valley that Kristen and Carter are still going strong while trying to have a baby. In November 2024, they announced on Instagram that they were expecting their first child. Kristen even made amends with Jesse, with whom she was at odds last season due to her allegations that Jesse’s then-wife Michelle was cheating on him.
Jesse tells Kristen, “You were right about almost everything.” Kristen tells the audience in a confessional, “I think everyone should take a page out of Jesse’s book.” Given the tense place that Michelle and Jesse are in, it seems the group will be divided due to their split, with Kristen and Luke on team Jesse.
Danny and Nia
This season, Danny and Nia have another baby to take care of, and now have three kids under three in their household. They are lucky enough to be full-time parents and spend any free time they have nurturing their marriage. The couple is in a much better place in their relationship than their friends, and are currently contemplating having a fourth child. Nia appears to be more open to expanding their family than Danny, who feels that if they’re gonna have another child, they should consider moving to a bigger house in Santa Clarita.
Janet and Jason
Another thriving couple this season of The Valley is Janet and Jason. The couple’s son, whom Janet was pregnant with last season, is seven months old at the time of filming. However, Janet is still at odds with Kristen and Zach, after having several verbal altercations with both of them last season.
Janet claims she misses her friendship with Kristen and wants to be civil for the group, but Kristen has different feelings. Kristen is angry with Janet for claiming on a podcast that she and Zach “didn’t wish for her baby to be carried full-term.” Kristen has suffered a miscarriage herself and took offense to those accusations, saying in a confessional, “Just because I don’t like her doesn’t mean I don’t like her child.” She couldn’t accept Janet’s apology, telling her, “Your apology feels so not genuine”, to which Janet responded, “I genuinely wish you well”. Kristen says in a confessional, “I don’t see a future where I can trust Janet again.”
Jesse and Michelle
The drama never stops for Jesse and Michelle, who are separated and waiting for their divorce to be finalized while co-parenting daughter Isabella. Both are in new relationships, and Jesse believes Michelle cheated on him with her current boyfriend, Aaron, while they were still together. Jesse is dating a yet-to-be-seen woman from Orange County, leading to disagreements over where to raise Isabella. Michelle wants to keep her in L.A., while Jesse is considering moving to Orange County.
Michelle hopes they can keep their divorce out of court, but threatens Jesse that she will go for sole custody “if she has to,” but Jesse tells her she’ll “never win.” She later asserts to him, “Isabella is not moving to Orange County because you’re dating a girl in Orange County.” Michelle also claimed in a confessional that Jesse will do “anything it takes” to ruin my life. It appears these two will be at each other’s throats the whole season, and their daughter may unfortunately be caught in the middle. Despite that, it’s clear they both love and want the best for their daughter.
Jasmine
Now a main cast member of The Valley, Jasmine is happily engaged to partner Melissa. She navigates this crazy world with the help of her best friend, Zach, and remains a neutral figure, thus far, in the friend group.
Zach
This season, Zach is once again everyone’s favorite gay best friend – well, except for Janet, of course. Zach and Janet are still at odds with each other after having several quarrels in season one, which involved Janet not inviting Zach to a group event and Zach calling Janet “the Queen of England because she’s dead to me.” Janet believes Zach’s behavior is “demonic.” Zach is also upset that his feud with Janet has negatively affected his friendship with Brittany, who he believes is scared of Janet.
New episodes of The Valley air Tuesdays at 9/8c on Bravo and stream the next day on Peacock.
