Naming Chrishell Stause as a potential Traitor was just one of many mistakes Tom Sandoval made while filming season 3.
“I thought it was ridiculous,” Chrishell, 43, exclusively told Us Weekly about Sandoval’s initial approach. “I just felt like of all the people and all the minds at this table, do we really think Sandoval solved the puzzle in 0.5 seconds of leaving the room? No.”
Chrishell noted that Sandoval’s decision to name her right off the bat “worked” in her favor, adding, “I felt like he was so loud and so wrong. It really felt like whoever he says [the Traitor] is, we probably know it isn’t. So I think it helped in my case, to be honest.”
During the three-episode premiere, Sandoval, 42, got off to a rocky start when he accused Chrishell of not being a Faithful despite no evidence to support his theory. The pair faced off at the first roundtable banishment meeting where Chrishell accused Sandoval of naming her just because she’s close with his ex-girlfriend Ariana Madix.
“He’s terrible [at playing the game]. To be honest with you, there was no other reason for him saying my name,” she said. “He just said it so blatantly that he knew I was a Traitor. Of course he’s going to act like, ‘Oh, I really was just playing the game.’ To me, it felt personal and you probably can’t change your mind at this point.”
Chrishell told Us she “definitely” didn’t ask Ariana, 39, for advice about dealing with Sandoval before joining the hit Peacock series. Before he was cast as a season 3 contestant, Sandoval received major backlash after his March 2023 split from Ariana due to an affair with their Vanderpump Rules costar Rachel “Raquel” Leviss.
After Sandoval and Ariana’s breakup made headlines, Chrishell weighed in, writing via X alongside a red carpet photo of her and Ariana, “I love when we can all agree on something.”
Rumors of a feud between Sandoval and Chrishell began in November 2024 when she shared a series of promotional photos of all her fellow contestants — except Sandoval. The Selling Sunset star didn’t address the omission at the time but is now opening up about her strategy going into the show.
“It was to make friends and lay low. You don’t want to really even make the edit that much in the beginning. My name was being brought up at the very first round table. I went in with the best of intentions and had to throw that game plan away,” she recalled. “I had to go with what I could, which was to really defend myself and make sure people felt like I was a Faithful.”
Chrishell continued: “But then if you do too good of a job, you’ll be up for murder. So I knew I had to get a shield and then I had to defend myself at the roundtable. At that point in time [after Sandoval named me], my game plan was shot.”
The reality star was able to avoid getting banished — or murdered — in the first two rounds but it remains to be seen how long she lasted as a Faithful on The Traitors.
“This season is crazy. Every single episode is going to leave you on the edge of your seat because in the middle of filming I was just thinking, ‘Wow, how are they going to edit this?’ Because even the round tables had you on the edge of your seat the whole time,” she teased. “I thought the first three episodes were so entertaining. Even if I take myself out of it, I’m such a fan of the show. It’s one of the situations where I’ll just say buckle up because you are going to be a very bumpy and very entertaining ride.”
New episodes of The Traitors will be released on Peacock Thursdays until March 6.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
