Chrishell Stause reacted to Tom Sandoval naming her a traitor after he targeted her in the early episodes of The Traitors season three, potentially due to her friendship with his ex-girlfriend, Ariana Madix.
While also sharing what led her to “freeze” amid the many wildfires burning through Los Angeles and revealing how her partner, singer G Flip, snapped her out of it, the 43-year-old Selling Sunset star weighed in on Sandoval’s antics against her as she also shaded the 42-year-old Vanderpump Rules alum for playing the game terribly.
“I thought it was ridiculous,” Chrishell told Us Weekly on January 16 of Sandoval naming her a traitor. “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.”
Looking back, Chrishell noted that Sandoval labeling her a “traitor” was actually to her benefit.
“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,” she explained, suspecting his behavior toward her was because she’s a friend of Ariana, 39.
“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, who confirmed she “definitely” didn’t go to Ariana for advice before filming began, previously spoke out against Sandoval after their split, which was prompted by his months-long affair with Rachel “Raquel” Leviss, 30.
She also failed to include him in the promotional photos she shared of The Traitors ahead of its premiere.
Still, she said her strategy going into filming 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. 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.”
“This season is crazy,” she continued. “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.”
During another interview on the January 15 episode of Sherri, via Us Weekly, Chrishell admitted to being triggered by the evacuation orders in Los Angeles, explaining that she’d watched her own home burn down when she was young.
“When we did need to evacuate, there was a fire kind of like right in our backyard. It was just immediately like, ‘You gotta go,’” she shared. “I think I kind of got frozen in fear. I kind of had forgotten, when I was 12, I did watch my house burn down.”
Luckily, Chrishell’s partner was able to guide her through.
“You don’t know how you’re gonna react. I think I would’ve liked to have thought I’m good in an emergency case,” Chrishell said. “But this kinda showed me, I really needed a little kick in the butt, and G was there to keep me focused and so it was just nice to have them.”
Thankfully, Chrishell and G Flip did not lose their home.
The Traitors season three is currently streaming on Peacock, with new episodes dropping on Thursdays.
