So far on the first season of The Valley, Michelle and Jesse Lally’s marriage has been the one on the rocks. The pair saw a couples counselor in the latest episode and separated after filming ended.

But stars Brittany Cartwright and Jax Taylor’s marriage will start to show its cracks, too, as the couple announced their separation in February.

“Whenever we were filming over the summer, we definitely had some blowups,” Cartwright, 35, tells PEOPLE. “But I feel like we got worse after the cameras went down.”

While The Valley was filmed last summer, Cartwright reveals that cameras picked back up to capture the latest between her and Taylor, 44. “So you will see some of what’s going on,” she teases. “I think people will understand what I’m going through.”

The Vanderpump Rules alum says that a couple of “really big” fights led to her leaving the pair’s shared home. She is currently staying in an Airbnb.

“It was super important for me to get out of a toxic situation,” Cartwright adds. “He just needs to calm down. He’s got a lot of different things that he always puts on me. I’m always feeling the pressure of having to deal with things that are going on with him, and that can be really hard.”

Cartwright feels she needs more respect from Taylor, with whom she shares 2-year-old son Cruz.

“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,” the Kentucky native says. “I just want to feel appreciated and want to feel wanted by the person that I’m married to.”

The duo, who tied the knot in June 2019, continue to co-parent Cruz, work together at Jax’s Studio City restaurant and host their podcast When Reality Hits with Jax and Brittany.

“It definitely can be challenging,” Cartwright says. “I still love Jax very much, but he is a hard person to deal with, and I think everybody in the world knows that.”

Though Cartwright doesn’t know how she wants things with Taylor to end up, she says the situation has been “better” for their son “because we aren’t fighting in front of him.”

“That’s what is most important right now,” she continues. “Because that’s why I had to get him out of that situation in the first place.”

Cartwright names Cruz as the reason why she’s tried to amiably work alongside Taylor.

“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.”