Colton Underwood Is Ready To Play Hard On The Traitors

For most people playing or just watching The Traitors, each day is filled with physical and mental stress and anxiety. For Colton Underwood, it’s just another day at work.

“Everybody’s like, ‘That show had to be so hard and so intense,’” he tells Bustle over the phone. “I was like, ‘Compared to the other shows I’ve done, Traitors was a cakewalk.’”

Underwood, 33, got his start as a contestant on The Bachelorette before becoming the Bachelor himself in 2018, with his virginity being a major storyline. Three years later, he became the first Bachelor lead to come out as gay and documented his journey in a Netflix docuseries, Coming Out Colton.

While Season 4 of The Traitors didn’t require that same candor about his life and his biggest struggles, Underwood still took the game seriously. He was the first Faithful to suspect Donna Kelce (who was indeed a Traitor) before leading the charge against Big Brother alum Tiffany Mitchell, only to be wrong and turn some of his fellow contestants — and viewers — against him.

“I felt on an island where people would come up to me like, ‘Hey, who are we going for tonight?’” he says. “They’d treat me like the leader, but when it came time to deliver, that’s a lot of pressure on me. And if I miss, I’m the one taking the fall for it.”

That’s why Underwood knew the tables would turn on him, as seen in the latest episode when Michael Rapaport accused him of being a Traitor — and made a dig that the cast perceived to be about Underwood’s sexuality. While Rapaport was banished for his behavior, suspicions still remain.

“I don’t know if it plays in these episodes or later on, but eventually I say something along the lines of, ‘Everybody needs to be pressure-tested in this game,’” Underwood says. “I have to step up and defend myself to an adequate standard so people don’t vote for me.”

Below, Underwood reveals who he consulted to prepare for The Traitors, roundtable moments that didn’t make the final cut, and who he may confront at the reunion.

Did you get any advice from any former players before you entered?

When I got the offer, I called Chrishell [Stause] immediately. What I’ve come to realize is you can’t really strategize until you know who you’re in that castle with, so any advice goes out the window. But I spoke with her about how she handled it, a lot of fashion questions about how many looks she put together.

Once you got to the castle, who did you think you’d feel most comfortable with right away?

I obviously recognized Lisa Rinna, Dorinda [Medley], and Mark [Ballas]. Very familiar with Donna Kelce. Ron Funches, I’m a big fan of Loot. I was familiar-ish with Michael [Rapaport], but I really didn’t know the gamers. And to be honest, I’d rather play the game with the devil I know than the devil I don’t. I know how to handle hanging with the Housewives. I don’t know how to play Survivor or Big Brother.

How did you handle being partially responsible for Caroline Stanbury’s murder?

Oh my gosh. Look, I had been protected by shields in every mission at this point. The only way the Traitors can get to me is to murder somebody I’m responsible for. So I had a feeling they were going for her. Obviously, I wish that I didn’t have that extra cup of coffee and have my hands be so incredibly shaky. Who knew stacking skulls was going to be a skill I needed to learn?

Initially, you had a good first instinct by suspecting Donna Kelce. What made your guard go up?

At the time of filming, we just knew she was a Traitor — we didn’t know that she was a Secret Traitor. That’s a very hard position to play, and it’s very isolating, so I now get why she played how she did. But the one thing that really tipped me off was when she looked around the room, and she was like, “I’m just so starstruck by all of you guys.” I’m like, I see you in boxes with Taylor Swift and a new celebrity every other week during NFL season — I don’t think you’re starstruck by a Bachelor from seven years ago and some Housewives.

Your instinct then was way off with Tiffany. How do you look back on that situation now?

Oof. At the end of the day, it’s a game, and people have to be banished and murdered. I don’t know how the banishment table plays yet, but Tiffany didn’t have a great defense. She sort of rolled over and gave up at some point — at least that’s what it felt like when we were filming it, and I know a lot of people agreed. That was the moment when I was like, “OK, maybe we got her. She has nothing else to say.” Of course, I was wrong, and I’ll always admit that I was wrong about it.

Have you been able to get in touch with her since the show ended?

No, I haven’t. That will probably be one for the reunion. I know the gamers as a whole, especially Big Brother, have an incredible fan base. So I’m sure people are going to be very opinionated about me having a hand in her banishment.

Then you helped lead the charge against Michael Rapaport.

Yeah, that had to be done.

Was he ever truly on your radar as a Traitor?

I’ve been doing television long enough to understand that, ideally, [the show] probably didn’t want Michael on for as long as he was on. I think they thought he would piss people off in Episode 1, which he did, but he was just so bold that the Faithfuls were like, “This can’t be a Traitor. He would never play like this.” We don’t want to waste a vote, but we are also getting really annoyed and distracted by this dude. It finally got to a point where I’m like, “Screw it. I don’t care who you like [or] what you are, you got to get out of here.”

Tell me what went through your head when he made that dig about you being able to keep a secret, which some cast members thought referred to your sexuality.

I think any closeted or queer person who has to hide a part of themselves is always going to be a little sensitive to comments and digs. I don’t know if [it’s shown], but Yam Yam got really emotional when that happened. He said, “Michael, I never had to live in the closet because I could be out at a young age, but I have friends who have, and I would never wish that upon people.” It rattled me. It got to me. And it was really emotional.

The Bachelor players have ended up becoming very competitive gamers on The Traitors. What’s up with that?

I’ll speak for Love Island, too. People underestimate relationship-based shows. Yes, we’re not a traditional competition show, but I was navigating 30 relationships while trying to deal with production manipulation while I was the Bachelor, and sort of playing chess. You see that with Peter, and Gabby’s another good example, although she was brilliant in how she approached everything.

Especially since Rob Rausch is a Traitor and doing very well so far. Did you ever suspect him?

No. Rob was playing a fantastic game, and our relationship was somewhat of a slow burn. I had seen his Call Her Daddy episode. I knew his little shtick with the overalls and being a snake wrangler, but I didn’t know his persona. He’s somebody who grew on me. I was like, “Oh, I can’t really get on board with this. I don’t get his personality. He’s a little quiet.” And then all of a sudden I’m like, “Oh, I love Rob.”

Who do you have to address at the reunion?

I’m going to have some additional questions for Lisa and Candiace, and I think a lot of people are going to be interested in what my conversation with Michael looks like.

Who do you think will be in the hot seat?

I think Rob will be in the hot seat a little bit. Maybe Candiace. She's playing a brilliant game right now. But as far as Faithfuls go, I’m going to have some questions and pressure thrown on me as well.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.