Arie Luyendyk Jr. Breaks Down ‘The Traitors’: Filming With Kate Chastain, What Was ‘Cut’ From Roundtables and Cirie Fields’ Risky Move (Exclusive)

Credit: Gregory Pace/Shutterstock

Arie Luyendyk Jr. Breaks Down 'The Traitors': Filming With Kate Chastain, What Was 'Cut' From Roundtables and Cirie Fields’ Risky Move

Still not over Peacock’s The Traitors? Us either — and Arie Luyendyk Jr. is breaking down his relationships with his costars and the game’s twists and turns exclusively with Us Weekly. “It’s so authentic — how the game is played and that is what I think makes it so amazing because even when you're doing the interviews and you're talking about, let's say other castmates or the missions, you're never led by the producers doing the interviews,” the former Bachelor, 41, explained on Us Weekly’s “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast on Thursday, February 2. “It's completely organic and I feel like that makes it so cool because it really is all about the gameplay.” Arie, for his part, was a faithful — part of the group trying to figure out who the traitors were — for the majority of the game. After traitor Cody Calafiore was banished, the former ABC star was recruited to join the traitors. “I was so far through the game [at that point],” he told Us, adding that he had already “done all the legwork” getting the cast to trust him so he wasn’t sure what to do. “I did waiver a little bit because I was like, ‘If I say no, then I’m more than likely [to be murdered next], but I had the shield, so I was like I’ll probably will make it through one more murder/banishment, but I’m not going to make it to the end.’ So then I was like, ‘OK I just have to join.’” Arie thought he was going to see Quentin Jiles and Kate Chastain when he accepted the invitation and was “shocked” when he learned Cirie Fields and Christian De La Torre were the traitors all along. “I was like, ‘OK, this is crazy.’ I had never even suspected Christian or Cirie so I was like, ‘We’re definitely making it to the end.’ Because if I didn't suspect them, then the people closest to me haven't either,” he continued. “So I'm like, ‘Dang, this is gonna be great.’ And then, you know, Christian I feel like made a huge error the next day and then it was just kind of like, ‘Shoot, should we banish Christian?’ … If he would've just kept it cool, I feel like Christian and I probably could have made it to the end and figured out how to either win with Cirie or at least get Cirie out or something. I think that would've been the way to go. But that's how the cards fell.” [sendtonews type="float" key="1P797Vwy24-2829523-14453"] After Christian was banished, Arie believes Cirie wanted to secure alone time with Quentin and Andie Vanacore during the final mission. “For me when it all kind of went sideways was the last mission. We flew in the helicopter and just speaking with Cirie, we had to do a swim test to see if we were capable of completing the last mission. On our down day, we all did a swim test and Cirie was like, ‘Yeah, I can't really swim. You know, I can swim, but I'm not gonna be the best at swimming.’ And she knew that Quentin couldn't swim, so I feel like her gameplay was to make sure that she was with Quentin and Andie in the end,” he explained. “So when we split up on that last mission, that was kind of a pivotal moment. I was with Kate all day and then we went to banishment and Kate got banished. So I lost whatever leverage I had because she was gone. And then I also hadn't spent the whole day with the other two contestants. Essentially [Cirie] had been in their ear all day. So I was like, ‘Oh, this is bad.’” When it was down to the final four, Cirie exposed Arie as a traitor. “She made it not about who was a faithful or who was a traitor, she made it about who needed the money more and that changed the game,” Arie told Us. “It changed it from a game to like, ‘OK, we're talking about money.’ That's what it became about. Which, honestly, I didn't like. It was very risky of her to do what she did because I could have blew up the entire game at the end and just threw her under the bus. But I just felt like, ‘OK, I want to respect the game.’” Before he walked away, Arie told Us that he dropped three clues for Quentin and Andie to question Cirie — but they didn’t take the bait. “At heart, [I felt like] I was still a faithful because I'd been a faithful for so long that I was like, ‘Dang, I've trusted you. I've never double-crossed you. I've never double-crossed anyone in the entire game.’ And then she did that to me and I was like, ‘Yes, you do need the money more than me, but you know what, I bet you Andie could use the money and Quentin could use the money too,’” he said. “[My first clue was] I didn't say congratulations, I said ‘good luck’ on my goodbye. [My second clue was] I only hugged Quentin and Andie and I did not hug Cirie. And then I also said that I was recruited very late, which kind of tipped [them off], like, ‘Hey, there could be somebody left.’” In the end, Cirie took home the $250,000 prize all to herself. For more from Arie, listen to Us’ “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast and/or keep scrolling:

Credit: Gregory Pace/Shutterstock

Arie Luyendyk Jr. Breaks Down 'The Traitors': Filming With Kate Chastain, What Was 'Cut' From Roundtables and Cirie Fields’ Risky Move

Still not over Peacock’s The Traitors? Us either — and Arie Luyendyk Jr. is breaking down his relationships with his costars and the game’s twists and turns exclusively with Us Weekly. “It’s so authentic — how the game is played and that is what I think makes it so amazing because even when you're doing the interviews and you're talking about, let's say other castmates or the missions, you're never led by the producers doing the interviews,” the former Bachelor, 41, explained on Us Weekly’s “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast on Thursday, February 2. “It's completely organic and I feel like that makes it so cool because it really is all about the gameplay.” Arie, for his part, was a faithful — part of the group trying to figure out who the traitors were — for the majority of the game. After traitor Cody Calafiore was banished, the former ABC star was recruited to join the traitors. “I was so far through the game [at that point],” he told Us, adding that he had already “done all the legwork” getting the cast to trust him so he wasn’t sure what to do. “I did waiver a little bit because I was like, ‘If I say no, then I’m more than likely [to be murdered next], but I had the shield, so I was like I’ll probably will make it through one more murder/banishment, but I’m not going to make it to the end.’ So then I was like, ‘OK I just have to join.’” Arie thought he was going to see Quentin Jiles and Kate Chastain when he accepted the invitation and was “shocked” when he learned Cirie Fields and Christian De La Torre were the traitors all along. “I was like, ‘OK, this is crazy.’ I had never even suspected Christian or Cirie so I was like, ‘We’re definitely making it to the end.’ Because if I didn't suspect them, then the people closest to me haven't either,” he continued. “So I'm like, ‘Dang, this is gonna be great.’ And then, you know, Christian I feel like made a huge error the next day and then it was just kind of like, ‘Shoot, should we banish Christian?’ … If he would've just kept it cool, I feel like Christian and I probably could have made it to the end and figured out how to either win with Cirie or at least get Cirie out or something. I think that would've been the way to go. But that's how the cards fell.” [sendtonews type="float" key="1P797Vwy24-2829523-14453"] After Christian was banished, Arie believes Cirie wanted to secure alone time with Quentin and Andie Vanacore during the final mission. “For me when it all kind of went sideways was the last mission. We flew in the helicopter and just speaking with Cirie, we had to do a swim test to see if we were capable of completing the last mission. On our down day, we all did a swim test and Cirie was like, ‘Yeah, I can't really swim. You know, I can swim, but I'm not gonna be the best at swimming.’ And she knew that Quentin couldn't swim, so I feel like her gameplay was to make sure that she was with Quentin and Andie in the end,” he explained. “So when we split up on that last mission, that was kind of a pivotal moment. I was with Kate all day and then we went to banishment and Kate got banished. So I lost whatever leverage I had because she was gone. And then I also hadn't spent the whole day with the other two contestants. Essentially [Cirie] had been in their ear all day. So I was like, ‘Oh, this is bad.’” When it was down to the final four, Cirie exposed Arie as a traitor. “She made it not about who was a faithful or who was a traitor, she made it about who needed the money more and that changed the game,” Arie told Us. “It changed it from a game to like, ‘OK, we're talking about money.’ That's what it became about. Which, honestly, I didn't like. It was very risky of her to do what she did because I could have blew up the entire game at the end and just threw her under the bus. But I just felt like, ‘OK, I want to respect the game.’” Before he walked away, Arie told Us that he dropped three clues for Quentin and Andie to question Cirie — but they didn’t take the bait. “At heart, [I felt like] I was still a faithful because I'd been a faithful for so long that I was like, ‘Dang, I've trusted you. I've never double-crossed you. I've never double-crossed anyone in the entire game.’ And then she did that to me and I was like, ‘Yes, you do need the money more than me, but you know what, I bet you Andie could use the money and Quentin could use the money too,’” he said. “[My first clue was] I didn't say congratulations, I said ‘good luck’ on my goodbye. [My second clue was] I only hugged Quentin and Andie and I did not hug Cirie. And then I also said that I was recruited very late, which kind of tipped [them off], like, ‘Hey, there could be somebody left.’” In the end, Cirie took home the $250,000 prize all to herself. For more from Arie, listen to Us’ “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast and/or keep scrolling:

Credit: Euan Cherry/Peacock

Arie and Kate’s Relationship

On the show, Arie referred to the Below Deck alum as the “cancer” of the house — a remark she told Page Six that upset her when she watched the series back.

“She really kind of was, I feel like, sabotaging everything because she wanted to go home. She really, really wanted to go home, which was hilarious to watch back. But then I feel like when Kate realized like, ‘Hey, I'm kind of toward the end of this thing,’ she shifted into a whole different mode and became a good player again,” Arie told Us. “So I think in that moment when I said that, she was kind of in full sabotage mode and wanted to go home [and then] she kind of turned the corner. I feel like we kind of repaired that in the house.”

He added that it will be “fun” to “air this out” when the group reunites with Andy Cohen for a reunion later this month.

Credit: PEACOCK

The Tense Roundtables

Arie told Us that the banishment meetings took up to an hour.

“It got really intense, you know, a lot of crying, a lot of pointing fingers, a lot of below-the-belt stuff that they didn't show on TV,” he said. “I feel like they kind of kept it pretty chill on TV, but I felt like it was in real life a lot more intense. …  I think if it got a little too raw or a little too mean, they just omitted it, you know? They kept it more about the game.”

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The Celebs vs. the Non-Celebs

In addition to the 10 celebrities, which also included Brandi Glanville, Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Rachel Reilly, Kyle Cooke, Reza Farahan and Ryan Lochte, there were 10 people who had never been on TV before in the game.

“There was a bit of an interesting dynamic, especially the first few days. And then I feel like after the first few days, it was just business as usual and kind of normal for everyone. Everyone was kind of in the same category because with Reza going home right away, that kind of showed everybody that was a celebrity castmate that, ‘Hey, look, no one's safe. It doesn't really matter if you make good TV or not, this is a game and the decisions are not of the producers,’” Arie told Us.

Credit: Euan Cherry/Peacock

Sleeping in the Castle

“It takes probably an hour for your brain to kind of shut off. You’re there for so long and it's one of those things where we probably started at 8 or earlier and we probably were up till about 12 to 2 in the morning depending on if you the traitor or not. Because the traitors had to do their thing after the whole day was finished,” he explained about working on six hours of sleep. “As a faithful, you're just like, ‘I hope I make it to breakfast in the morning.’ And I think that's what's so funny. All my friends were cracking up because in every breakfast scene, I'm just eating pastries. I'm just constantly eating, but that was kinda the only time I wasn't stressed out because I was like, ‘Hey, if I made it down to breakfast, I can actually relax and have breakfast and not worry about something.’”

Credit: Euan Cherry/Peacock

Christian’s Downfall

“His biggest tell was that he was such a goofy, like, you know, bro, but then when somebody really accused him [of being a traitor], he was very well spoken and he was very pointed and everyone was like, ‘Whoa, wait a second, where's Christian?’” Arie said. “He knows what he did wrong. He overplayed for sure.”

Credit: Euan Cherry/Peacock

Surprised by Brandi and Kyle

“[Watching it back], I think Brandi and Kyle surprised me. Brandi definitely surprised me,” Arie told Us of the two Bravo personalities being on the right track about the traitors before they were banished. “And then also Christian kind of throwing me under the bus the day that he was banished. I was like, ‘Dang, I didn't know he was spreading my name around.’ [It was like a] Hail Mary, kind of do anything he could to stay in the game. Those three things surprised me. I had to text Christian. I was like, ‘What?’ He's like, ‘Whatever man!’”

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What’s Next for Arie

While he didn’t win the $250,000, Arie and wife Lauren Luyendyk (née Burnham) — who share three kids — are gearing up to launch a new app called Duo.

“It is an app for couples for date inspiration and planning,” he explained. “What's really cool is it kind of gives that Bachelor experience for everyday couples because once you sign up on the app, a date planner plans a surprise date for you. Your partner wants to go on a date on Saturday, you submit it to the app, you fill out a questionnaire and then basically one of our date planners — who actually is a date planner for the Bachelor — curates a date for you set at your budget.”

Arie noted that even former host Chris Harrison and fiancée Lauren Zima will be trying out the app, which is free to download on datesonduo.com before the March 1 launch, soon.

“For two people to walk up and not know what they're doing and then be thrown into an activity, I think is what creates that romantic moment,” he added.