A Housewife, a Survivor, a reality TV heartthrob, an Olympic gold medalist and a drag queen walk onto the set of a People photo shoot…No, this isn’t the start of a joke. This unlikely crew are all breakout stars of the latest reality TV obsession, The Traitors, and nothing’s holding them back on spilling the tea on new missions, murders and mayhem this season.
When The Real Housewives of Potomac’s Candiace Dillard Bassett, 39, Survivor’s Rob Cesternino, 47, Laguna Beach’s Stephen Colletti, 39, figure skater Tara Lipinski, 43, and RuPaul’s Drag Race’s Monét X Change, 35, sit down to talk about their experiences filming season 4 of the Peacock reality-competition series, it’s clear just how close they’ve become — or “trauma bonded,” as Candiace puts it. “We were all buds,” Tara says. “What’s cool for me is I’m not a huge reality television watcher, so coming in, I didn’t know many of the people that were in the castle. I got to know them just as the human in front of me.”
Each season of the series — which originated from the Dutch show De Verraders and was adapted in the U.K. before the U.S. version premiered in 2023 — sees players split into two categories: Faithfuls and Traitors. All 23 of the players start as Faithfuls until host Alan Cumming decides which few players will be Traitors. In the game, Traitors have the power to “murder” (or eliminate) other players from the competition, while Faithfuls have no idea which of their castmates are Traitors.
During the premiere episode on Jan. 8, Candiace was chosen to be a Traitor, as was her fellow Housewives alum Lisa Rinna and Love Island’s Rob Rausch. When Alan gave Candiace the Traitor tap on the shoulder at the roundtable, “it was like a five-alarm fire went off,” she remembers. “I lost it internally. I knew from the jump I wanted to be a Traitor, so inside I was like, ‘Yes! We’re doing this.’ But then it got really hard because you have to murder people who you love. I really loved almost everyone — ‘almost’ being the operative word.” Monét, a Faithful, adds that when Alan was choosing his Traitors at the roundtable, he was “doing laps,” she says. “I was, like, ‘Is Alan trying to close a ring?’ Every time he goes around, you’re like, ‘He’s going to choose me.’ Then, he doesn’t. I would have sold my firstborn to be a Traitor.”
Complicating the game even further this season is a new twist. When the contestants arrived at their home base at Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands, Alan told them that the game would begin faster “than ever before.” He then made each contestant come up to him one by one to show them a card revealing whether they’d remain a Faithful or become the show’s first-ever secret Traitor. While the Traitors typically all work together to eliminate the Faithfuls, the identity of the secret Traitor will remain a mystery both to the known Traitors and to viewers — at least until episode 3. The secret Traitor is also tasked with giving a short list of Faithfuls to Candiace, Lisa and Rob R. to select from every time they have to commit a murder. If one Traitor can make it to the end of the game without being eliminated, they win the prize money, up to $250,000; if all the Traitors are eliminated, the remaining Faithfuls split the money. “I’ve done a lot of reality TV, but what makes Traitors different and so special is that the production cares about the integrity of the game so much,” says Monét. “It sounds so crazy y’all, but you genuinely feel like this s— is really happening.”
Throughout the competition, the players also compete in physically strenuous missions — their first saw them rowing across a frigid loch, or Scottish lake — as they build and break alliances with the rest of the cast. Season 4’s lineup also includes Natalie Anderson (The Amazing Race), Yamil “Yam Yam” Arocho (Survivor), Mark Ballas (Dancing With the Stars), Ron Funches (comedian), Maura Higgins (Love Island), Donna Kelce (Jason and Travis Kelce’s mom), Kristen Kish (Top Chef), Dorinda Medley (The Real Housewives of New York City), Tiffany Mitchell (Big Brother), Eric Nam (singer), Michael Rapaport (actor), Rob R. (Love Island USA), Lisa (The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills), Caroline Stanbury (The Real Housewives of Dubai), Ian Terry (Big Brother), Colton Underwood (The Bachelor), Johnny Weir (Olympic figure skater) and Porsha Williams (The Real Housewives of Atlanta).
Alex G. Harper
If this year is anything like seasons past, fans can expect plenty of meme-worthy one-liners (see Phaedra Parks’s “Oh, Lord. Sweet baby Jesus, not Ekin-Su” from season 2) and heated watercooler discussions along the way. While some members of the group at People’s photoshoot were longtime fans of the show — namely Rob and Monét — the others got on board with it later. Still, they were all ready to put on their best game faces and take on any challenge that came their way. “I think people think that with celebs going in, they’re like, ‘Oh, they’re going to give them the princess treatment,’” says Monét. “No, we’re doing this s— for real.”
Here, Candiace, Rob, Stephen, Tara and Monét talk about redefining the reality TV villain, gaming against “America’s Mom” Donna and why they think they’re the “best” cast the show’s ever seen.
PEOPLE: Let’s talk about that twist in the premiere with the secret Traitor.
Candiace: We got out of the car and immediately were doing something completely different than what’s been done on any season prior. I was like, “Oh my God, I’m going to pee. This is too different.” It was a blur and a whirlwind.
Stephen: Those were your two nemeses: pees and bees.
Rob: It’s one thing to get tapped by Alan, but then to have that moment be in front of 20 people, that was nerve-racking.
Monét: I did not want to get the secret Traitor card because it would be in front of everyone. I think I could play it cool, but I don’t know. It would be a lot of pressure.
PEOPLE: What surprised you most about the experience?
Monét: The missions were hardcore. I feel like Alan amped it up for us.
Candiace: I was sweating. I needed to wash everything after night one because I was like, “All of my places are moist.” I promise you my ministry is not outside. It was an out-of-body experience.
Tara: I was sore by day three.
Stephen: During the first mission, I felt like we were rowing for hours. I had so much snot coming out of my nose.
Tara: I’m not an adventurous person. Being an athlete, I was never allowed to ski or do anything, so I just skated. I’m terrified of things. But the Olympian came out of me with every challenge.
Alex G. Harper
PEOPLE: Now, did any friendships surprise you?
Candiace: Before this, I didn’t know Lisa Rinna well. I met her in passing at BravoCon. People hate her like they hate me. She has the same villain moniker as me, cracking that wine glass on the table [in season 5 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in 2015]. That was iconic. I would have done the same thing for my husband [Chris Bassett]. She has this villain cloud over her, but Lisa is literally a flower child. She was always sitting on the floor, stretching. Her energy is so chill.
Monét: Every time I looked at Lisa, she was in the corner on the floor in child’s pose and doing her lips. She has an uncanny ability to pile so many pounds of lip gloss. It is amazing.
Candiace: We are not all we’ve been cracked up to be.
PEOPLE: What was it like competing alongside Taylor Swift’s soon-to-be mother-in-law Donna Kelce?
Candiace: Aw, America’s mom. We talked about how she liked to bake cookies and how she’s, like, a mom.
Tara: We talked a lot about children. I love her.
Monét: We quickly understood Donna knows reality TV. At first, she was like, “What’s a TV?” I’m like, “Girl, you know what a TV is.”
Rob: She’s incredibly smart. She’s a businesswoman. People just think of her as Travis and Jason’s mom, but she’s actually really sharp.
Stephen: She also had the strongest armor going into the show. As soon as people started throwing her name around, everyone was like, “I don’t want to throw Donna’s name out there. The Swifties are going to come for me!” Everyone was afraid of the Swifties right off the jump.
Candiace: Miss Donna, I’m waiting on my Chiefs tickets and my cookies.
Rob: That’s why she’s wearing red today.
Candiace: This is me vying for my tickets.
PEOPLE: Stephen, did you get to tell Donna you starred in Taylor’s “White Horse” music video in 2008?
Monét: Wait, what?!
Stephen: That’s right. I did a Taylor Swift music video back in the day.
Candiace: Shut up!
Stephen: I should have bonded with Donna about that. It didn’t come up.
Candiace: Okay, video vixen. We need to Google that later.
PEOPLE: Tara, in the first episode, we find out that you and your fellow figure skater Johnny Weir decided to downplay your friendship.
Tara: Yeah, I mean, we are so close that it was really hard. When I saw him outside the castle, he came towards me and gave me a hug. I was like, “No, this is way too friendly.” So I was like, “Hi, how are you?”
Monét: It went over my head because I’m like, “I know some of these Drag Race bitches, and I don’t like half of them. So, maybe they don’t know each other or have a competitive rivalry.” I don’t know!
Alex G. Harper
PEOPLE: Well, a lot of you seemed to really bond right away. What was that first roundtable vote like?
Candiace: I think I cried. I was so sad.
Tara: So did I.
Rob: What I think is really appealing about the show is the confrontational nature of the roundtable. On a lot of other reality shows, it’s a secret vote. You have to come to that roundtable, and if you’re going to make your move, you have to look that person in the eye and say, “I think it’s you, and here’s the reason why.”
PEOPLE: You, of course, don’t know how long you are going to be in the competition. How do you pack for an experience like this?
Stephen: I thought I packed a lot. The only thing I was worried about getting there was my golf clubs for afterward. I had two full bags.
Candiace: I’m screaming. I had five.
Monét: I had four. I was like, “I’m going to have options.” Traitors is becoming like a fashion show. People come to showcase their fashions. I was like, I want to come with some f—— beautiful clothes. I want to come in some fierce Scottish garb.
Candiace: You looked amazing. You were one of the best-dressed.
Monét: Thank you.
Tara: What’s insane, though, is we would go do these challenges in the rain, on a loch and then come back to the castle and [producers] would say, “Okay, you have three minutes, put your dress back on.”
PEOPLE: Do you have to do glam yourselves?
Candiace: She, me and her was the glam, so you’re getting up super early to do everything. It was brutal.
Monét: I was so intrigued by that. It takes me about 2.5 hours to do glam. It takes the Housewives longer, and I’m putting 3 lbs. of Sherwin Williams shellac on my face. I was like, “This is crazy.”
Candiace: We are a special breed.
Rob: I have to give them credit. I learned about beat face. I came home, and I told my wife [Nicole Palmeri], “I have so many makeup tips for you.” I learned so much.
Tara: Candiace was like my makeup artist.
Candiace: I was like at breakfast, contouring Tara while having an egg in one hand. We made it work.
Alex G. Harper
PEOPLE: So, you do eat the breakfast.
Candiace: I was eating the salmon and the eggs, the chocolate croissants.
Monét: The salmon was so good but here’s the thing: everybody liked the salmon. It was a struggle to get the salmon.
Candiace: It was only like two pieces for all 20 of us. If you were last at breakfast, you got no salmon.
Monét: Yeah, you got some orange juice and a coffee and called it a day.
PEOPLE: What was it like having to step away from your everyday lives to film over the summer?
Candiace: My son [Jett] was 8 months old when I left. I was like, “How am I going to do this?” The show was so supportive of the mothers in the group and allowed us to check in at home and speak to our kids. I had like 20 pictures of Jett on the wall. You get so into the game, though, that it makes it easier to not miss them as much.
Tara: It was a hard decision to say yes to the show because of that. That was really the only reason I would have said no. After a while we made the setup work where I felt like I was going to be able to check in and FaceTime [my daughter] Georgie [with husband Todd Kapostasy]. But it was difficult to be away. She was only a year and a half at that point.
PEOPLE: Tara, you also had a difficult year after after your home was damaged in the Pacific Palisades fire in January 2025. What was it like to leave during the rebuilding process?
Tara: So much happened in the past year. Reflecting back, it was really nice for me to have — not that it was a mental break or vacation because it was like psychological torture in the castle — but a little bit of an escape, getting away for a minute, giving myself a little bit of a break and then coming home to figure out what we’re doing with our living situation and all of that.
PEOPLE: Rob, you and your wife’s sons Dominic, 12, and Anthony, 10, are a bit older.
Rob: My boys are older, so it wasn’t as big of a challenge to leave them because they understand. The hardest thing for them is to tell them, like, “Hey, don’t tell any kids at school that daddy is going on The Traitors, okay?”
Monét: For me, my fiancé [Andy Short] is 36. I’m like, “Who is going to change him? Who is going to feed him?” I was nervous about that. When I came back, he was still alive, and it all worked out.
PEOPLE: And he proposed! Have you started wedding planning?
Monét: We’re not going to be doing it until fall ’27 because he’s in grad school, so we have a little time. Wedding planning sounds so stressful. A wedding sounds like a lot.
Tara: You’d better invite me. It could be like a Traitors reunion.
Monét: A Traitors-themed wedding would be great.
Candiace: Ask Alan if we can use his castle in Scotland.
Monét: Destination wedding? Alan, call me.
Alex G. Harper
PEOPLE: Stephen, was your now-wife Alex Weaver nervous about you being away right before your wedding in October?
Stephen: She was excited for me. She was coaching me and telling me about the Housewives who were potentially going to be on the show since there were some rumors. She called that Lisa was going to be there and that she was going to be a Traitor. She was like, “Maybe cozy up to Lisa a little bit.”
PEOPLE: Do you have any wedding advice for Monét?
Stephen: You got to think about what you both want to do and run with that. At the end of the day, it should be about what you want.
Candiace: That’s the best advice. Don’t let anybody infiltrate your system. Moms, dads, cousins — everybody wants to have an opinion. It’s your day.
Monét: That makes sense.
PEOPLE: What do you all hope people learn about you through the show?
Stephen: I think for me it was a lot about wanting to make my family proud. The last time I did reality TV [on Laguna Beach], I was 18 years old. You’re thinking a lot about yourself at that time and no one else, really. Also, on my show, they were putting a version of me out there and taking my life and sensationalizing it and saying, “This is who he is.” I really felt betrayed in that sense. This is an opportunity for me to show people who I am a little bit more — who I really am.
Candiace: I was a villain on the show [as a Traitor], but I really did love almost everyone. A lot of people are dedicated to misunderstanding me from the Housewives space, and my hope is that in expanding my reach and being exposed to people from all different microcosms, that people see, “Oh, she’s not a bitch.” And maybe just understand that Black women as a whole are not monoliths. We are layered.
Tara: Candiace, I’m going to have to go back and watch your seasons.
Candiace: You don’t have to, no. Turn it off, it’s fine.
Alex G. Harper
Rob: You know, I think a lot of people know me for the knowledge I have about the games. [Rob’s Rob Has a Podcast is dedicated to analyzing reality TV shows like Survivor, Big Brother and The Amazing Race, and his book The Tribe and I Have Spoken comes out May 2026.] What I hope people take away is that the body is tea.
Monét: I agree Rob. The body is tea. I think people see a lot of the Drag Race girls as just caring about wigs and whatever. But we are game players. We’re from a competition show. It’s different from Survivor or Big Brother, but we are gamers and formidable opponents. I hope people see and understand that — and, also, the fashion.
Tara: I feel like this will be the most vulnerable I’ve ever been just because I’ve never done reality before. I approached it with my athletic mindset, and I just wanted to do my best while not hurting anyone’s feelings. You know what I will say? Maybe I’m biased, but we have the best Traitors cast ever.
