The Traitors US winner: ‘Winning was an awful feeling’
- Published
The winner of The Traitors US on apologising to fellow contestants, what winning means to them – and their advice to any future contestants on the ý Three show.
Winning $250,000 (£200,000) would usually be a cause for celebration. But for The Traitors US winner, the prize came with a huge downside – lying to their friends to get it.
The following contains SPOILERS for The Traitors US.
The Traitors US (hosted by Alan Cumming) sees contestants head to a remote Scottish castle. Three contestants (Cirie Fields, Christian De La Torre and Cody Calafiore) became ‘Traitors’, whose job is to ‘murder’ fellow contestants nightly. The remaining cast are ‘Faithfuls’, whose job is to deduce who the Traitors are and banish them. If the Faithfuls win, they split the money. If Cirie, Christian or Cody win, they get to keep the cash themselves.
Unlike the UK version of the reality show, which aired on the ý in late 2022, The Traitors US final (airing now on ý Three and on Peacock in the US) saw a Traitor win the game. For winner Cirie Fields, that meant leaving her two closest allies Quentin Jiles and Andie Vanacore with nothing.
‘I was given a role to play, and I was going to give it my everything’
Cirie Fields is the first winner of The Traitors US
“When it came down to the final reveal I was just sick,” the 52-year-old New Jersey resident tells ý Three. “I knew Andie [who uses they/them pronouns] would be devastated, because we had a genuine friendship, and I knew they would question that.”
Cirie is known in the US for appearing on Survivor, a reality show which sees contestants forming alliances in exotic locations to avoid elimination. While she has experience playing games about manipulating your fellow contestants, she felt the need to apologise to her fellow Traitors finalists.
■ Meet the cast of The Traitors US
“I spoke to Andie first,” she says, “because I love Andie. But I knew Quentin was hurt as well, so I told him everything that occurred during the game was genuine. I didn’t make up anything about how I felt for them. I was given a role to play, and it was opposite them. But I was assigned this role, and I was going to give it my everything.”
‘I didn’t feel in jeopardy at all’
Going in, Cirie hoped she would be a Traitor. “People tend to trust me. All I had to do was act like I’m a Faithful, and being that I am a Faithful at heart, it was an easy role to play!”
Watching the show, it surprised Cirie how few people suspected her. “In the beginning, Kyle [Cooke] was on me like white on rice. I tried to stay away from him – I could feel this energy from him like, ‘I know you are a Traitor’. But he simmered down and I didn’t feel in jeopardy at all.”
Cirie knew she would have to get her fellow Traitors banished if she wanted the entire $250,000. Luckily for her, they slipped up in the game. “I never had to throw them under the bus because they brought that attention on themselves. After that, I had a sigh of relief.”
Midway through The Traitors US, Cirie recruited contestant Arie Luyendyk Jr. to the Traitors. After telling Arie she was happy splitting the money with him, Cirie decided in the final to try and get him banished. This caused Arie to leave the reality show.
Cirie and Arie were the final two Traitors – until Cire tried to get Arie banished
Why does Cirie think Arie revealed himself as a Traitor rather than get banished? “Once Arie saw I wanted to banish again", she says, "I think he took a look at us. He knew we had been together for the entire day. It clicked to him, ‘they're [Andie and Quentin] gonna agree with her in the banishment, so I might as well bow out gracefully.’”
Did Arie try to throw suspicion on Cirie when he left? “It could have been a little bit of that”, she says, “but Arie's such a kind guy.”
“I’ve seen people in the comments saying once Arie told them he was recruited, why didn't they automatically know there's another Traitor? But it was so emotionally driven and we didn’t think of that. So he tried to throw them a little bone and stabbed me a little bit. But it just didn't work out!”
How to win The Traitors US? ‘Mind your business’
Alan Cumming was on hand to give Traitors US champion Cirie Fields her $250,000
Cirie says what kept her going was what the prize money could do for her family.
“My mother is nearly 83 years old,” she says. “She lives in this apartment I hate going to because of the stairs. There's no elevator.
“I wanted to win to get this money and get a little place for her. Somewhere she can go right in the backyard, not have to do stairs and be more comfortable. My family has always supported me and I want to give them something back.”
What is her advice for future players in the upcoming The Traitors US Season 2 (which was recently announced by Peacock)? “Mind your business, and only speak when it's necessary.
“I learned this on Survivor. You don't know these people, so anything is a reason for you to get voted out. Say as little as possible.
“Also, align yourself with the most trusted person in the game. Andie's trust in me made other people's suspicions wane. They probably thought if Andie trusts me, she must be okay.”