Tom Sandoval was intentional when he joined the cast of The Traitors… and being one himself was definitely not part of the plan.
“One thing that I was very adamant about is that I just did not want to be a traitor,” Sandoval, 42, exclusively told Us Weekly. “If Alan [Cumming] would’ve picked me to be a traitor, I would’ve left the castle myself. I just, I had no desire.”
The Vanderpump Rules alum went on to equate his aversion to being a traitor on the show to a kid forced to play an instrument “versus them wanting to play an instrument.”
“The person who wants to play an instrument is going to be a lot better at it,” he explained. “I knew there were people there that really, really wanted to be traitors. So I was like, ‘I’m just not gonna be good at it.’”
Knowing that he was coming on the show with a target on his back (“I definitely felt it,” Sandoval said) didn’t stop the reality TV star from simply enjoying the experience — one that he says offered a new, fresh environment that was vastly different from the Vanderpump Rules set.
“It’s a more positive, fun gaming environment that would get people to see me in a different light,” he said, adding that the point of the show was not to “start up drama” but was instead “just about playing the game and having fun.”
“The funny antics that come with it and the campiness of it all,” he added, laughing. “I just knew that people would see a different side.”
Sandoval, who also appeared on season 2 of the hit show Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, has learned to be in the moment and appreciate an experience for exactly what it is — whether it’s good or bad.
Tom Sandoval may not be a Traitor but his fellow contestants still had their suspicions about his behavior on season 3 of The Traitors. The season started with Sandoval asking to be a Faithful — to the surprise of Us and fellow viewers. Sandoval was still hit with digs about his controversial past when host […]
The good, for example, was filming The Traitors on location in Scotland.
“First of all, walking into this castle in Scotland was just such an amazing experience altogether,” he said.
The bad, so-to-speak, was the surprises production threw at this year’s Traitors contestants.
“What was crazy too is, like, right before we walked into the cast they stopped us and they did something,” he explained. “They did a lot of things on this season that they’ve never done in previous seasons, and one of them being, you know, somebody in a cloak with a mask reveal themselves to be [Survivor‘s] Boston Rob. And that you could choose to partner with him and banish somebody right off the bat.”
He continued, “That was a little nerve wracking.”
At that moment, Sandoval says fellow contestant Carolyn Wiger was tempted to join the Survivor alum.
“She was standing right by me and she was like, ‘Oh, that’s Boston Rob. Should I do it?’ I was like, ‘Don’t! Don’t do that!’” he explained with a laugh.
Sandoval was ultimately murdered on episode 10, the penultimate episode of the show, and says he’s not only proud of his time on the program but is grateful for what the experience ultimately provided him — a campy challenge and a ton of fun.
Reporting by Amanda Williams
