Spoilers ahead for Episode 7 of The Traitors Season 4.
The Traitors is an Emmy-winning sensation and arguably one of the best reality shows on the air right now. Those with a Peacock subscription are in the midst of Season 4, and it's been a juicy viewing experience. At the most recent Round Table, Lisa Rinna got voted out and cried about her post-Housewives return to TV, while Candiace claimed she was doing a "throw away" vote, and threw one on fellow Traitor Rob Rausch. When watching the episode, I thought this was a bad move, but now I lowkey think she's a genius.
Candiace is one of my favorite Housewives of all time, and was on the list of Housewives I wanted to see on The Traitors before joining the cast of Season 4. I was worried that putting a vote on Rob would make her seem sketchy, but the more time I have to think about it, I'm changing my mind. Let's break it all down.
Candiace's Vote Against Rob Makes More Sense Than I Originally Thought
Candiace has been doing super well as a Traitor this season, and there hasn't been much suspicion cast on her... even after she started that iconic conga line. That's why I was originally bummed that she threw a vote on Rob during the most recent Round Table, rather than going for the other popular candidates like Natalie Anderson or Lisa Rinna. But in retrospect, I think it was a solid move.
To start, she won over Natalie's trust while also not behaving uncharacteristically by suddenly flipping on Rinna. Voting for the right person might have actually worked against her, since so much of The Traitors is trying to portray yourself as someone who is consistent.
Additionally, her vote on Rob has helped to tie their fates together. The Love Island alum has already proven his ability to betray his fellow Traitors, as he voted for Lisa twice and helped to lead the charge against her banishment. But if Candiace is voted out at the Round Table and revealed as a Traitor, the rest of the cast would look to her voting history. And her warning shot at Rob has the potential to put suspicion on him. As such, he might think twice before stabbing the Real Housewives of Potomac star in the back.
Candiace Dillard Bassett also recently appeared on Watch What Happens Live!, where she offered some more context about throwing a vote for Rob. She said that, if she were actually a Faithful, that Rob suddenly being super vocal at the Round Table would be suspicious. In her words:
Rob was a mute at this table, at every other roundtable before this one. So, for him to come out and give a State of the Union address, I was looking at him like, ‘Are you high? Are you OK?' There was a twinkle in his eye, he came out of his shell. That is suspicious to me. If I were a Faithful and I’m looking at behavior at this table and all of a sudden you’re switching up? You were too passionate about somebody that you had no passion for prior to.
Aside from defending Lisa Rinna until the end, this reasoning is a pretty solid one for Candiace to lean on if her castmates ask her about the vote. But she might not even have to; it probably would have been even more suspicious for her to do an about-face and betray her fellow Housewife... even if Rinna's fate was already sealed.
We'll just have to wait and see how far Candiace makes it in the game, and it he keeps staying undetected by the Faithful. Fingers crossed. Although I am eager to see her finally throw the deadly shade she was known for on RHOP. Seriously, this cast hasn't seen her all the way activated yet.
New episodes of The Traitors air Thursdays on Peacock as part of the 2026 TV schedule.
