The Traitors' Explosive Finale: Maura Higgins Confronted as Rob Rausch Walks Away with $220,800
maura higgins stood across the round table from Rob Rausch in the season finale, watching hope form as she imagined a possible victory — until Rausch revealed himself a traitor. The confrontation ended with Rausch walking away with the $220, 800 prize.
Maura Higgins at the round table
On Thursday night, two former Love Island contestants locked eyes across the round table. In the face of Maura Higgins, a dangerous hope appeared: she glanced at Rob Rausch and believed they might have done it together. She joked, "I'm sorry, " pausing for emphasis, "I'm a faithful. " Rausch answered, "Oh fuck, " and then told her he had lied to her for weeks. He said, "Maura, I am and I always have been... a traitor. " The moment left her stunned; the light fell from her eyes and her mouth hung open as she waited, hoping he was joking. He was not.
How Rob Rausch won
Rausch, who secured a duplicitous win as the last-standing Traitor, rode a season of strategizing, sneaking around and being cutthroat to the finale. He has described his decision to double-cross Eric Nam — the Traitor he recruited and promised allyship to — as necessary. He told the interviewer: "Can you imagine if I let a Traitor that was there for three days beat me in the game and win the whole thing?" and added, "Hell no, I'm not taking that chance. I'm getting out of here with the money. "
Mixed feelings after victory
Winning did not feel purely celebratory to Rausch. "It was so weird, in that moment, " he admitted. "I did it, I won the game, it's over…but at the same time, it was very bittersweet. It wasn't like, Hooray! It wasn't happy feelings straight away. I was like, Oh, gosh. " He also said he is still "super tight" with both Nam and Maura Higgins.
A day on Rob Rausch's farm
A few days before the finale aired, Rausch spent hours in near-freezing temperatures on his family land in Florence, Alabama, showing an interviewer around 200 acres. He protected the writer from what he playfully described as an army of cows; the herd gathered en masse at the gate, mooing incessantly at him, and Rausch moed back. He pointed out the only spotted cow and said, "That one's my favorite, " adding, "Her name's Darlin', because she's a darlin'. " Darlin' is the only cow who does not tip her horns forward and rush at visitors when Rausch lets them into the gate.
Farm life and personal details
Rausch, identified as a 27-year-old reality star and snake wrangler, carried a hefty bag of feed over one shoulder with a cowboy hat tipped over his brow. His trademark denim overalls from his time on Love Island USA season six were replaced for the day by a sturdy canvas jacket, light-wash jeans and worn-in cowboy boots. "I used to wear overalls in the summer every day, but now I can't even wear them, " he said. "It's like a fuckin' Halloween costume. " He joked with a straight face that the cow field was littered with landmines and briefly fooled the writer, a trick that illustrated the persuasive lying that helped him in the game.
Objects that matter to him
The land has been in his family for generations. On the property there is a wooden table he handcrafted and a vintage red Ford F150 his grandfather bought in 1993. Bullet shells litter the outside of the trailer on his property, where he and his sister run their clothing.
Context on the game and legacy
The Traitors' format gives traitors control over murder decisions and a role at the round table where banishment votes can be influenced; contestants can leave either by banishment at the round table or by murder. One observer noted that traitors win more often than not but still slip up: across 78 seasons that have aired, traitors have won 44 times, while the writer has seen almost 20 seasons. It is rare for a traitor to dominate a season without a slip-up; the 2024 U. K. season's Harry Clark was cited as the only other traitor comparable to Rob Rausch.
A separate item in the collected coverage carried the title "Just a moment... "
Rob Rausch's combination of charm, lying skill and strategic play propelled him through the finale, leaving Maura Higgins stunned at the round table and Rausch the winner of the $220, 800 prize.
