Tom Sandoval Was Sure He Was Going to Be Killed Off First onThe Traitors(Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Tom Sandoval on ‘The Traitors’ season 3.Photo:Peacock/Youtube

Peacock/Youtube

WhenTom Sandoval’s casting onseason 3 ofThe Traitorswas announced last June, Bravo fans immediately started speculating online that theVanderpump Rulesstar would be killed off the murder mystery reality series first.

“I was worried of that, actually,” he tells PEOPLE. “I felt like people might bring that opinion of me into the castle and get me out right away.”

Tom Sandoval on ‘The Traitors’.Euan Cherry/Peacock

Euan Cherry/Peacock

Of course, that’s not what happened. Sandoval wound up making it until episode 10 on the Peacock series, getting “murdered” after helping banish two Traitors —Survivorstars"Boston" Rob MarianoandCarolyn Wiger.

So how did he last that long? By playing a simple strategy, he says. “I felt like it was really important to just be nice, open-minded, build bonds with everyone and prove my worth and my value, in a sense of working hard to win missions and make money for the collective group,” Sandoval, 42, notes. “And it worked, pretty much.”

It helped that Sandoval was a Faithful. “Oh, I could never have been a Traitor,” he says. “Absolutely not. I had no desire. In fact, I told production, ‘If you make me a Traitor, I think I’m just going to go home. I’ll quit.’ Because there’s no way I would be good at it. I would be so in my head the entire time.”

Sandoval figured he’d save the job for those who wanted it. “There were people out there who wanted to be Traitors, and I knew they’d be much better than I would,” he adds. “It’s like I told [hostAlan Cumming]: ‘If you force somebody to play an instrument versus somebody who wants to play an instrument, the person who wants to play an instrument is going to be a lot better.’ I was never going to play that instrument well.”

Tom Sandoval and Lord Ivar Mountbatten on ‘The Traitors’.Euan Cherry/Peacock

Still, that didn’t stop some of Sandoval’s costars from targeting him early on — specificallySelling Sunset’sChrishell Stause, who made it clear she was Team Ariana from the beginning, especially after he began questioning if she was a Traitor.

Her loyalty didn’t bother Sandoval, he says, but it did confuse him.

“It was really strange to me because we had a long car to the castle and Chrishell told me, ‘By the way, I do follow Ariana on Instagram.’ And I was like, ‘I get it and that’s great, a lot of my good friends follow her. It’s no worries!’ " Sandoval recalls. “But then all of a sudden, she was at roundtable bringing up my personal life and the scandal and telling everyone, ‘Tom’s saying I’m a Traitor because I’m friends with Ariana!’ It was like, ‘Wait, how did you go from following her to being her best friend?’ "

Chrishell Stause and Tom Sandoval on ‘The Traitors’.Euan Cherry/Peacock

Ultimately, the experience left Sandoval thinking that Strause was using his story for clout.

“I really didn’t see it coming at first, but in hindsight it was clear,” Sandoval says. “Chrishell obviously came to gain those Ariana fans and those ‘I hate Tom fans,’ and to really ride those coattails of the Scandoval. And in the end, that’s all she’ll be remembered for onThe Traitors. No one’s going to be like, ‘Wow, Chrishell really played a great game!’ It’ll always be, ‘Wow, she really stuck it to Sandoval!’ Which, how far did that really get her?”

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Alan Cumming, Tom Sandoval and Britney Haynes on ‘The Traitors’.Euan Cherry/Peacock

While Sandoval didn’t get to the end himself, he tells PEOPLE the experience still made him feel like a winner. “I had a blast. I had an absolute blast,” the reality star says. “I feel like I found my calling in these competition reality shows. I really felt like I was in my element. I fully dove in headfirst and loved every minute of it.”

And with six players left — two of whom are Traitors — Sandoval is rooting for one clear winner. “Look, if they’re a Faithful, I want them to win,” he says. “I just want the Faithfuls to beat the Traitors. If that happens, I’ll feel like we all won.”

The Traitorsis streaming now on Peacock, with new episodes dropping Thursdays.

source: people.com