Maura Higgins Stunned as Rob Rausch Walks Away With $220,800 in The Traitors Season 4 Finale

Maura Higgins was among the final three when the fourth season concluded, only to learn in the live reveal that her closest ally had been working against her — a turn that helped Rob Rausch claim the entire $220, 800 prize. The finale, held on Thursday, February 26, closed with a sequence of eliminations, a dramatic helicopter mission and a reunion that revisited betrayals and on‑set accusations.

Rob Rausch’s victory and Traitor history

Rob Rausch, a former Love Island contestant and a day‑one Traitor, emerged as the season’s lone winner. Rausch played a long strategic game, having previously voted to banish fellow original Traitors Lisa Rinna and Candiace Dillard Bassett earlier in the season. He also recruited K‑pop veteran Eric Nam late in the game and ultimately backstabbed him before the finale.

Final group: Eric Nam, Johnny Weir, Mark Ballas, Maura Higgins, Rob Rausch and Tara Lipinski

Going into the finale, six players remained: Eric Nam, Johnny Weir, Mark Ballas, Maura Higgins, Rob Rausch and Tara Lipinski. The Traitors’ last murder of the season was set to be revealed at the start of the finale in front of the full cast; Mark Ballas was identified as the Traitors’ last victim. A final mission that included a helicopter jump into the water preceded the closing roundtables.

Roundtables, red bags and the banishing of Tara Lipinski

After the mission, Nam, Weir, Higgins, Rausch and Lipinski entered the last true roundtable, where Johnny Weir was ultimately voted off, splitting up the Olympic duo he formed with Tara Lipinski. The competition then moved to a flaming roundtable in which each remaining player tossed either a red or green bag into the fire to indicate whether they believed Traitors remained. All four tossed red.

Higgins, who maintained throughout the season that Rausch could not be a Traitor, cast the decisive vote to banish Lipinski, who said she was "so devastated" after Higgins voted her out.

Maura Higgins confronts the reveal with Rob Rausch

With Eric Nam, Maura Higgins and Rob Rausch left, Nam was the lone vote to move forward while Higgins and Rausch pushed for another elimination. Nam voted for Rausch; Higgins and Rausch voted for Nam. Host Alan Cumming told the final two that if both were Faithful they would split the prize, but if a Traitor remained the Traitor would take the full pot.

When the reveal unfolded, Maura Higgins smiled initially at being declared a Traitor and then grew tearful when Rausch disclosed he had been a Traitor for the entire game. Higgins said, "Oh my god, I’m so stupid, " and later, "I was so fooled by you, you absolute asshole. You pinky promised. " She told Rausch to stop talking when he tried to explain, adding, "You’re never going to have a girlfriend after this. You’re such a good liar. " She concluded the exchange with, "Rob, you’re a fucking snake. But well done. " Rausch left with $220, 800, expressing remorse for betraying Higgins.

Reunion: accusations, Birkin promises and Colton Underwood’s defense

The season‑end reunion brought all contestants together and surfaced several lingering conflicts. Candiace Dillard Bassett and Lisa Rinna confronted Rausch over accusations that he did not collaborate with them as Traitors. Rob said he could not have shared Traitor status with others because there are "very strict rules" and "cameras everywhere. "

Rob confirmed he has set the $220, 800 aside "for the future" and promised Maura Higgins he would buy her a Birkin bag; he also joked that she "will probably not trust" him again and confirmed he is not single. Maura Higgins, meanwhile, was described as being more focused on the Birkin than on any postgame romance.

Colton Underwood faced scrutiny at the reunion about his casting, his on‑set friendship with Rausch and allegations that the two may have shared information. Both Colton and Rob denied any secret sharing. Colton said, "It's no secret that Rob and I were working together. I thought I was working with another Faithful. Rob and I bounced names off each other and I trusted him a lot, " and added, "At no point did I ever think I was truly working with a Traitor. I would never cheat in this game. " He also explained that an offer he made to Lisa Rinna to work together came from a desire to be recruited, not to collude.

Colton further addressed controversial language used on the show, saying, "I think the whole premise when you found out that you have a Traitor is you are supposed to murder them and get you out. " He clarified that, rather than banish Lisa, he would have rather kept her to see if she would flip on another player. He said viewer backlash and references to his past relationship with Cassie Randolph were unexpected, calling that period "one of the darkest and most horrible moments" and saying, "I was not in a great place. " Shortly before the reunion, Colton participated in a tell‑all interview.

Donna Kelce on the secret Traitor role and family reactions

Donna Kelce, the season’s secret Traitor, described how her sons reacted to her brief stint: they told her she "gave it my best shot" and that she was "probably more treacherous than we thought you could be. " Donna said that Travis Kelce’s fiancée, Taylor Swift, "is a watcher" and that Swift’s family watches as well.

What makes this notable is how the combination of late‑game recruitments, vote splits and public confrontations at the reunion converted social bonds into the decisive mechanics that handed a single player the entire prize pot.