‘The Traitors’: Cirie Fields Reveals Finale Speech, ‘for Arie, It Might Just Mean Another Porsche’
The Traitors started with a cast included 10 reality TV stars either working as a traitor or a faithful. Cirie Fields talked to Showbiz Cheat Sheet on Jan. 27 over Zoom about the finale and the unseen finale speech she gave to banish Arie Luyendyk Jr. of The Bachelor.
Cirie Fields put Arie Luyendyk Jr. on the spot in ‘The Traitors’ finale
Q: You talked about how you didn’t want to split the money with him because you had to work harder staying undercover the whole game. That is true. But was there any part of you that was like, yeah, part for me? Because I did watch his season of The Bachelor. I was familiar with him, so he walked in his father’s footsteps, becoming a race car driver. He got money for The Bachelor. He’s still an influencer and a real estate agent. Did that come into play? You said you had a speech, but I don’t think the speech actually mentioned.
Cirie: They didn’t show that. I don’t think. Yeah, because, like, when they got to me, and I decided not to, I mean, to banish again, everybody looked at me, and Quentin [Jiles] looked at me like, ‘What are you doing?’ Because they felt like, OK, we have to end this over, Let’s be over.
And part of my speech was like, ‘This money could make a huge difference in Quentin’s life and Andie [Vanacore’s] life and in my life. For Arie, it might just mean another Porsche. So I kinda use it a little bit, but I never saw Arie’s season of The Bachelor. But in talking to him, I found out, like, about the race car thing and all of that screams money to me. So you don’t really need this like we need this was my speech.
Q: OK. It’s interesting how they edited that because all of a sudden, I mean, he was going to take the money if you would have ended it.
Cirie: No, no, no. You’re the first person that says this because we had the first fire of truth. Arie was the first person, right? And he voted to end the game. They all voted to end the game.
Had I voted to end the game, Arie and I would’ve just split the money. So it’s not like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna throw myself on the sword. You throw yourself on the sword after you realize that I wasn’t going to let it end like that.’ Nobody else really picks up on it. But no, no, no. You were going to end the game.
Q: It’s such an interesting moment, right? Because it’s something that people who do really focus on what the inequalities are, hope that a rich white ally would do that. And you kinda get it, but it’s like you can’t forget he wasn’t going to do it.
Cirie: Exactly right! I’m like, wait a minute, ya’ll now. OK. He did end up doing that. But that wasn’t his first, first decision. Ya’ll skipping over the first decision. Mhm, glad you brought that up!
Cirie was nervous to talk to Arie after she won
Q: What was the vibe between you and Arie like after you were done filming?
Cirie: I was so scared. Honestly, I was not scared but nervous to talk to Arie. I didn’t really talk to Arie until we did the photos for the premiere. And when I saw Arie, he was so kind and forgiving.
He was like, ‘Awww.’ I guess people had told him like, I’m nervous to talk to Arie, But he was like, ‘It was a game.’ He was like, once he said, ‘Once you said banish again. That’s when I knew.’ And he said ‘I was like, Oh, sh*t.’ But he afterwards, he was like, ‘It’s a game, and we’re still cool.’ So he was very gracious, very, very gracious.
Cirie reveals which reality stars were down-to-earth on ‘The Traitors’
Q: What are you going to do with the $250,000?
Cirie: I’m going to trade these little earrings in here right here. [Shows a small diamond earring.] And get a nice little bit of bling just for all my troubles [laughs].
Q: You didn’t mention you made some great connections with these people who weren’t famous. But you also mentioned to Vulture that some reality stars didn’t go out of their way to speak to the non-famous cast members. Were there any other reality stars, though, you saw actually did go out of their way to know them?
Cirie: Honestly, Arie, Arie was one of those. And that’s why, Arie, they would have never suspected Arie as a traitor either. Because Arie’s whole demeanor is open and welcoming. And, you know, he had–if they hadn’t told me, and I don’t mean there’s no shade in any kind of way, I would not have known that Arie was a celebrity because he was so down-to-earth. He just acted like, you know, one of the non-celebrity people. So Arie was one of them.
Who else? Rachel [Reilly] is regular. Rachel’s regular and crazy. So Rachel was the same crazy that she is celebrity or non-celebrity. So Rachel’s really down to earth. Stephenie [LaGrossa Kendrick] too. For the most part, you know, I guess you stick to who you know, right?
This is far. We’re in Scotland. We all know none of these people or the ones that we do we kind of cling to. So it did seem like there was a Bravo clique. There might have been a Survivor/Big Brother-type clique. But for the most part, everybody was welcoming.
Correction 2/3/2023: This article previously used the wrong name for Andie Vanacore.
This interview was condensed for this article.
Other ‘The Traitors’ exit interviews:
‘The Traitors’: Cirie Fields on Cast Inequalities and Reza Called out for Designer Shoes
