In late February, just ahead of the premiere of The Valley, Brittany Cartwright and Jax Taylor announced their separation following more than four years of marriage.

“I feel like I was being taken for granted and not appreciated for everything that I’ve been doing for the past nine years,” Cartwright, 35, tells PEOPLE, referring to the time she dated Taylor, 44, prior to their June 2019 nuptials. “I’m taking care of my toddler, and I’m also taking care of another toddler named Jax Taylor, because I basically do everything for the household. I just want to feel appreciated and want to feel wanted by the person that I’m married to.”

Cartwright left the Los Angeles home she and Taylor share with their 2-year-old son Cruz after numerous “really big” fights brought her to her “breaking point.”

“He didn’t want me to leave in the beginning at all,” she says. “Now, he is more understanding. But in the very beginning, I think he thought I was just going to be gone for a couple of days and I was going to come right back and everything was going to be completely normal. But that’s not been the case.”

The Kentucky native has since been bouncing around between Airbnbs and stopping by the house to see Cruz because he doesn’t want to stay with her at a rental.

“I told him he could stay in the Airbnb that I pay for, but he don’t want to leave the house,” Cartwright shares. “But I still go back to the house whenever [Jax is] not there. If he’s out of town or something, I’ll go back and stay. That is my house. It’s tough.”

The Vanderpump Rules alums spent Easter together with Cruz on Sunday, March 31, and “it was great,” Cartwright says. “He’s still my family, so we just wanted to make the day perfect for Cruz.”

Later this month, Cruz will turn 3, celebrating the occasion with a dinosaur-themed birthday party at Sky Zone trampoline park.

“Cruz just absolutely loves that trampoline park, so it’s going to be cute,” Cartwright says. “He loves dinosaurs, so I want it to be very jungle-like.”

The former SUR server describes her son as “very athletic” these days. “He loves to climb, jump, run and play on swing sets,” she says. “He’s just got energy, nonstop. But he has got the sweetest soul. He got it from me, of course.”

Ultimately, Cartwright finds Cruz to be “a perfect mixture” of her and Taylor. “He’s my baby,” she gushes.

Along with co-parenting Cruz, Cartwright and Taylor have continued working together at Jax’s Studio City restaurant and on their podcast When Reality Hits with Jax and Brittany.

“We’ve got to make money for our future, for our son, for his future. That’s what really matters,” she says. “We’re going to be in each other’s lives no matter what, whether we get back together or we don’t, so I’d rather us be able to be around each other than absolutely hate each other. Let’s just pray it doesn’t get that far.”