Before the "Kentucky Muffin" memes and the high-profile drama of West Hollywood, Brittany Cartwright was just a girl from Winchester with a suitcase and a set of orange shorts. Honestly, it’s wild to look back at Brittany Cartwright 2014 because it was the final year of her life that felt, well, normal. No cameras. No Jax Taylor. No "hyuck-hyuck" echoes across the Bravo-verse.
She was twenty-five.
While the cast of Vanderpump Rules was busy filming season three in Los Angeles—throwing drinks at SUR and dealing with the fallout of Kristen Doute and Jax’s infamous couch hookup—Brittany was living a completely different reality. She was back home in Kentucky. Most people forget she didn't just fall out of the sky and onto our TV screens; she had a whole life of pageants, cheerleading, and shift work before the spotlight hit.
The Kentucky Life You Didn’t See on TV
In 2014, Brittany’s daily grind revolved around two very different uniforms. On one hand, she was a Hooters Girl. She worked at the location in Lexington, serving wings and mastering that approachable, "girl next door" energy that eventually made her a fan favorite. It wasn't just a side gig, either; she was deeply embedded in that world, even participating in the Miss Hooters International pageants.
But there was a more academic side too.
She had been a student at Eastern Kentucky University, where she was part of the cheerleading squad. Think about that for a second. The level of discipline it takes to be a college cheerleader in the South is no joke. You’re talking about 6:00 AM practices and constant pressure to be "on."
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The Pageant Circuit and Early Ambition
If you look at photos from the Brittany Cartwright 2014 era, you see the blueprint for a reality star. She was already comfortable in front of a lens.
- She won Miss Clark County Teen.
- She competed in Miss Clark County.
- She was constantly traveling for modeling gigs and promotional work.
Basically, she was a big fish in a small pond. She had that specific kind of Southern ambition where you know you're meant for something bigger than your hometown, but you haven't quite figured out the "how" yet. She was dating a guy back then too—a long-term boyfriend who was definitely not a reality TV villain. By all accounts, her life was on a very traditional trajectory. She could have easily stayed in Kentucky, married a local guy, and opened a boutique.
But then, 2015 happened.
That Fateful Trip to Vegas
Technically, the "meeting" happened in early 2015, but the setup for everything started in late 2014. Brittany was feeling restless. She’s mentioned on various podcasts that she was having some issues with her boyfriend at the time and decided she needed a girls' trip to shake things up.
She headed to Las Vegas with her best friend, Cara.
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There’s been a lot of gossip over the years about whether this meeting was a "setup" by her mom, Sherri, who was a massive fan of the show. Some Reddit detectives claim production helped coordinate the whole thing. Regardless of the conspiracy theories, the reality is that Brittany met Jax Taylor at a bar in Vegas, and her world flipped upside down within forty-eight hours.
Why 2014 Matters for the "Sweetheart" Narrative
People often debate how "authentic" Brittany really is. Was she a calculated fan who hunted down Jax to get on TV, or was she a naive Southern girl who got swept up by a professional manipulator?
To understand that, you have to look at her 2014 vibe.
She was genuinely well-liked in her community. She wasn't some "clout chaser" in the modern sense because "clout" barely existed as a concept in Winchester, Kentucky, in 2014. She was just a girl who worked hard, loved her family, and had a killer smile.
"I just knew it was meant to be," Jax Taylor famously said about meeting her.
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Looking back, the contrast is staggering. In 2014, she was worried about Hooters shifts and cheer routines. A year later, she was moving into a cramped Los Angeles studio apartment with a man she barely knew, under the watchful eye of millions of viewers.
What You Can Learn from Brittany’s Transition
If you're looking to make a massive life change like Brittany did, there are a few takeaways from her 180-degree turn:
- Preparation meets opportunity. Even if she didn't know she'd be on Bravo, her years of pageant training made her "camera-ready" when the moment came.
- The "Jump" is the hardest part. Moving from Kentucky to LA with only what could fit in her car was a massive risk. It worked for her career, even if the relationship became a rollercoaster.
- Hometown roots are a brand. Brittany’s success came from not trying to be an LA girl. She leaned into the Kentucky persona, and it’s what kept her relevant for a decade.
If you're curious about where she is now compared to those 2014 days, she’s currently navigating a very public split from Jax and starring in The Valley. It’s a full-circle moment, really. She’s back to finding herself, just like she was before the cameras ever started rolling.
For anyone trying to track down those old 2014-era photos, your best bet is scrolling deep into her Instagram—past the baby photos and the red carpet shots—to find the girl in the EKU gear. That’s the version of Brittany that started it all.