Chrishell Stause Drops Bombshell: Tom Sandoval Accused of Sabotaging Her on 'The Traitors' Due to Friendship with Ariana Madix - lulu

'The Traitors season 3 contestants Chrishell Stause and Tom Sandoval. Photo: 

Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock; River Callaway/Variety via Getty

Warning: This story contains spoilers from the three-episode season 3 premiere of The Traitors.

Scandoval drama has made it to Scotland.

On the Jan. 9 premiere of The Traitors season 3, Chrishell Stause grew suspicious of Tom Sandoval and felt that he was coming after her due to her friendship with his ex-girlfriend Ariana Madix.

“Right when we first walked out, Tom mentioned you,” Dylan Efron told Chrishell, 43. “It was like, five steps out of there.” 

Chrishell thought she knew why he might've said that. “Do you think it’s because I’m friends with Ariana and he knows that?” the Selling Sunset star asked Dylan, 32, in front of a group that also included Nikki Garcia and Traitor Danielle Reyes, referring to his ex-girlfriend Ariana Madix. “That’s sabotage!”

Nikki, 41, suspected that to be the case. “Probably,” she said to Chrishell. “That’s so not cool. That is sabotage.” 

Unsurprisingly, that did not sit well with Chrishell. “Tom is already throwing my name out. First of all, who plays like that?” she asked in a confessional interview. “Second of all, I know Tom has a bias against me because I am friends with his ex. Knowing what he did to Ariana, I have an opinion of him already. If the ship’s burning, he’s coming down with me.”

'Vanderpump Rules' star Tom Sandoval on 'The Traitors' season 3. 

Peacock/Youtube

After that, the cast headed out on their first mission, which required them to paddle a rowboat around the loch and capture a maximum of $40,000 while leaving two contestants at each of the five pontoons along the way, which also left them vulnerable to be the first one murdered. The contestants who made it back to land received a shield and added the amount of money they picked up during the mission into the final prize pot.

Real Housewives Chanel Ayan, Robyn Dixon, Dorinda Medley, and Dolores Catania volunteered to stay behind, as did Sam Asghari, The Biggest Loser's Bop Harper, Traitors Danielle, 52, and Bob the Drag Queen. The group decided that, with the time they had left, they’d be better served turning around and heading back to land with the $20,000 they retrieved rather than timing out in pursuit of the last $20,000, so they made it back with half of the potential prize money, and with eight contestants eligible for murder.

In episode 2, the cast learned that the Traitors trio, rounded out by Survivor’s Carolyn Wiger, decided to murder Dorinda, 60, first. Episode 2 also saw Bachelor in Paradise’s Wells Adams be the first one banished, and Boston Rob Mariano join the game as a Traitor after the cast didn’t choose to welcome him into the competition at the start of the premiere.

Tom called Chrishell out at the roundtable for "acting very strange to me," In return, Chrishell suspected Tom at the first banishment, saying that he "threw out the most names and caused the most chaos" and made her "uncomfortable."

Chrishell Stause on 'The Traitors' season 3. 

Peacock

"I told you, before we ever hit the roundtable, a personal connection to you, that I am friends with your ex," the Netflix star said. "We had a cool conversation. You were like, 'Let's not make that awkward.' I was like, 'Okay, good, I feel relived.' I was so nervous about that."

When Chrishell cast her vote for Tom, she justified it by saying, "The Traitors have to be able to lie and cheat and deceive easily. And since I know that you possess all of those skills, I voted for you."

Host Alan Cumming added The Challenge’s Wes Bergmann and Big Brother’s Derrick Levasseur into the game as Faithfuls, too, and he declared all three newbies couldn't vote in their first banishment, but were also immune from being the second person murdered.

'Real Housewives of New York City' alum and 'The Traitors' season 3 star Dorinda Medley. 

PEACOCK

That honor went to Ayan, 46, in episode 3, which ended with Survivor’s Tony Vlachos being the second person banished.

Nikki, Chrishell and former Bachelorette Gabby Windey formed an alliance called the Bambis because of their big eyes, and they all deemed Tony, 51, a Traitor.

When Nikki talked to Tom, 42, about how they had to keep their eyes peeled for Traitors, she also told him he does “creepy watching.”

“That’s just my face,” the Vanderpump Rules star responded.

'The Traitors' season 3 contestants (from left) Bob Harper, Ciara Miller, Gabby Windey, Bob the Drag Queen, Nikki Garcia and Chanel Ayan. 

Euan Cherry/Peacock

Tom did tell the three new players that Chrishell might be a Traitor and that “other people clocked Chrishell as well.”

Chrishell’s dislike of Tom seems to have continued after filming ended. When she posted the cast’s official photos on Instagram in November, she blocked out the image of the Bravo star. Fans speculated in her comments section about why she left Tom out, assuming she did it intentionally due to some bad blood between the reality stars.

New episodes of The Traitors stream Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on Peacock.