Ciara Miller & Dylan Efron Are Faithful To The Game

Ciara Miller has no hard feelings toward her fellow Faithful, Dylan Efron, for being part of a unanimous vote that sent her home from The Traitors Season 3. And besides... where would she find the time?

The nurse and fan-favorite Summer House star’s headline-making year has expanded to new opportunities, like hosting Love Island USA: Aftersun this summer and, now, taking the floor on Dancing With the Stars Season 35. Fortunately, her former castlemate is no stranger to the ballroom. And Dylan was more than happy to share some tips when the pair reunited for Samsung’s Switchers campaign, which encourages smartphone loyalists to expand their horizons — like with the new Galaxy Z Fold8 and Flip8.

“I’ve gotten so much behind-the-scenes advice from him that I’m like: ‘Write this down,’” Ciara tells Bustle over Zoom. Indeed, Dylan (who came in fourth place in Season 34) learned plenty of things the hard way, like how to avoid blisters in rehearsals. “I can actually spend two of the hours in my tennis shoes and then just put on my dance shoes when it counts,” he says.

Dylan was already a Galaxy guy when he competed on Dancing with the Stars last year and notes that the foldable tech made it easy to capture his moves during rehearsals. “I would put my phone on the floor, so it kind of props up, and I would just record everything that way,” he says. “It actually makes it easier, [because] you don’t need a stand.” The pair also appreciate Samsung’s camera quality — a must for sharing candid rehearsal clips with viewers (and voters) at home.

For the campaign, the pair worked with Couples Therapy star Dr. Orna Guralnik and her equally iconic dog, Nico, to discuss switching smartphones — all through the lens of a therapy session.

“I love Couple’s Therapy so much,” Ciara says. “And I love watching it on TikTok ... and [Orna] has that same effect in person, where she’s just listening. And then the dog! I wanted to be like, Are you accepting clients? Virtual?”

Below, Ciara and Dylan open up about their phone habits, Dancing with the Stars, and their pitches for a Traitors twist.

This campaign is all about not sticking with the familiar, and how when you branch out, you can maybe find something better. Is there a time you learned that in real life?

Ciara: Yeah, a sh*tty ex. [We were a] sinking ship — should have broken it off sooner.

Dylan: I used to be really stubborn and not want to change. And then once I started opening myself up, I’m on Dancing with the Stars, I’m on Traitors. Once I started saying, OK, maybe I will do something new, that’s when all the best things in my life have happened.

As a viewer, is there a twist that you would like to see in a future Traitors season?

Dylan: I really want there to be a season where it’s completely random who the Traitors are. Like it’s done in person, Alan [Cumming] draws it out of a hat. There’s too much that you can take from someone’s character — that they’d be a good villain or something like that. That gets rid of all speculation.

Ciara: I have absolutely no strategy. Dylan is the strategist, and I’m the vibes. Maybe we switch up the scenery so we can switch up the outfits? So it’s not so tartan-heavy.

Are we thinking a new location?

Ciara: What if it’s in Hawaii and it’s a paradise version of Traitors? Imagine how distracting it would be if you’re in a bathing suit and you’re like, “She’s a Traitor, but I don’t want her to go home.”

Ciara, congratulations on Dancing with the Stars! One of the conversations that’s happening right now is about some of your castmates having professional dance experience. What is your perspective on that?

Ciara: Yeah, it could be an advantage to some extent. But ballroom and Latin dancing are a whole different genre of dance that they don’t have experience in. I can imagine that even though they are trained dancers and have danced for a while, they’ll have to unlearn a bit to really conquer ballroom and Latin dancing. It doesn’t really bother me because I’m so focused on my own steps that I don’t have time to be worried about someone else.

Dylan: I think it’s the beauty of the audience vote. If people care about that, then vote for someone with zero dance experience. If they just want to vote for the best dancer, vote for that. It’s not like there has to be a rule. We just want to be entertained.

You both are very booked and busy. When it’s time to stop scrolling or just get off the phone, what’s your go-to hack for that?

Ciara: I don’t think unplugging is in my future. I’ve got to make the TikToks, I’ve got to make the Instagrams. Like, it’s ramping up for me. My phone shuts off when I close my eyes and go to bed, and I pick it back up first thing in the morning.

Dylan: Sometimes I’ll move the icons around. My thumbs know where Instagram is, and I need to hide it somewhere else.

What’s a pet peeve about how other people use their phones?

Ciara: I hate when guys try to hide their phone screen. I’m looking! You couldn’t be more obvious. That is so annoying. Get a screen protector. Or just don’t text back at this exact moment.

Dylan: Sometimes Snapchat gets crazy. When people open Snapchat and take a selfie with hearts on my eyes and stuff — sometimes I don’t really like that.

What’s a notification that lights you up every time you see it?

Ciara: My bank when it says a new deposit has been deposited.

Dylan: When Ciara sends me a message — because it’s rare.

Ciara: [Laughs] Yeah, it’s me asking for advice.

Dylan: It means I earned it.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.