“Did not expect to get the blowback,” Colletti tells EW. “I mean, people were accusing me of hating ‘Laguna’ because I didn’t choose that one.”

Stephen Colletti defends using One Tree Hill and not Laguna Beach as his credit on The Traitors

"Did not expect to get the blowback," Colletti tells EW. "I mean, people were accusing me of hating 'Laguna' because I didn't choose that one."

By Sydney Bucksbaum

Sydney Bucksbaum

Sydney Bucksbaum is a staff writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2019 and is a published author. Her work has previously appeared in *TV Guide Magazine*, E! News/E! Online, *The Hollywood Reporter*, Mashable, Bustle, IGN, DCComics.com, Inverse, *The Daily Northwestern*, and more.

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February 13, 2026 3:22 p.m. ET

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Stephen Colletti on 'The Traitors'. Credit:

Euan Cherry/PEACOCK

**This article contains spoilers for *The Traitors* season 4, episode 9, "Think Outside the Box."**

Stephen Colletti has not forgotten his roots.

The former reality star competed on *The Traitors *this season with the description of being an actor from *One Tree Hill*, which is, of course, an accurate label. But before he was known as "Clean Teen" Chase Adams, Colletti was the romantic heartthrob Stee-*phen *(read that in Kristin Cavallari's voice) on MTV's teen reality series *Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County*.

So what's with the *Laguna Beach *erasure on his latest TV appearance?

"I had written down *One Tree Beach,* but they didn't go for it," Stephen tells * *about his label on* The Traitors*. "I thought that that would've really stirred the pot for everyone if they saw that. I wish that it just said 'actor,' but they never gave me that opportunity. I had written down, *Everyone Is Doing Great*, the show I've been working on of late, and they're like, 'That's maybe not necessarily as recognizable as some of your earlier shows.'"

Stephen understood that his 2021 comedic drama with his *One Tree Hill* costar James Lafferty — where they played characters loosely based on their own real-life experiences since leaving the hit WB-turned-CW show — isn't as much of a household name, so he had a big decision to make going into *The Traitors*.

"They're like, 'Pick between *One Tree Hill* and *Laguna Beach*,'" Stephen remembers. "I worked on *One Tree Hill *for a longer time, more episodes, and it was more recent. Figured it cast a wider net, so I went with that one. Did not expect to get the blowback. I mean, people were accusing me of hating *Laguna* because I didn't choose that one. That's not the case at all."

Stephen wants to make it clear that he only has love for where he got his start in the entertainment industry (he's gearing up to participate in the upcoming Roku reunion special with his fellow *Laguna Beach* costars). But it came down to more of a design issue than anything.

"I mean, *Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County*, it's a little word sandwich under there," he says, motioning to where the label would sit onscreen during his confessional interviews on *The Traitors. *"It's very long. I mean, you can't do *LBTROC*, that doesn't really have the kind of the zip to it as the *Housewives* ones. So yeah, *One Tree Hill *was clean and easy, and I stand by that."

Below, Stephen breaks down his exit in this week's episode of *The Traitors* after he got banished as a Faithful, reveals what he could have done differently to make it the end of the game, and more.

Stephen Colletti on 'The Traitors'.

Sam McElwee/Peacock

**: You almost made it to the end. What happened?**

**STEPHEN COLLETTI:** It's hard not to have those "would have, could have, should have" moments, little split-second decisions, what could have been. But ultimately I'm very proud of how far I made it in the game, the way my strategy played out. At the end of the day, there's some things that are just out of your hands, the cards that you're dealt in certain moments. And if you're going to go down to a couple of Olympians, that is not a bad way to go out, so I'm proud of how far we made it.

I just wish Johnny and I, we should have come together a little bit more instead of being convinced the other one's a Traitor and then avoiding each other until the Roundtable. If we were able to sit down and discuss why we thought we were Traitors a little bit more before the Roundtable setting, maybe we could have connected some of the dots on what Candiace was trying to tell us. I was very convinced that Johnny was a Traitor that I was like, "I didn't need to talk to him," and if I could go back and do something differently, I would've spent a little more time with him talking about it.

**Yeah, there's been some real Faithful-on-Faithful violence this whole season.**

Yeah, and Natalie didn't help. Natalie is the kicker there, because when Natalie swung, the Traitors jumped on with her, and once Eric voted for me, I was like, "Oh, well, he's a Traitor." But Rob was still a surprise, to be honest.

Mark Ballas, Stephen Colletti, and Natalie Anderson on 'The Traitors'.

Euan Cherry/PEACOCK

**Did you know in the moment when you and Candiace were talking alone in the last episode, that her telling Dorinda to give you two some privacy would make others suspicious of you?**

Oh, it was trouble the second that Candiace said, "I want to speak to you privately." She had a lot of heat on her in that moment. I was onto her at that moment, and I was really convinced that she was a Traitor, so the fact that she was pulling me into a room, I knew it was just going to be to see if she can get me on her side.

I really had no idea that she was trying to leave me a breadcrumb. I really thought that she was desperate in that moment, and she was just going to try to see who she can get on her side to help turn the table a little bit. So as soon as I got in there, I was like, "Man, I've got to get out of here."

And the funny part is Rob comes in and he wants to speak to her in private. Instead of me clocking what's suspicious about that, I was happy to get out of there, and I ran out of there. But I also thought that Rob was like, "Hey, don't bring my name up at the Roundtable." I thought he was just going to talk to her about the fact that she voted for him "randomly," as she put it out there, "throwaway vote." She also said that she just looked across the table and saw him, so that's why it wasn't so obvious to us. She really put up the case for why it was a throwaway vote as opposed to any sort of evidence.

So when Rob comes in, it was just like: Alright, he's trying to say, "Hey, don't just use a throwaway vote on me again, please. That's messed up." And I couldn't wait to get out of there because I knew it did look suspicious. I wanted to go back in with the gang and stick the case for why she is a Traitor and that she was trying to convince me and I'm not buying it.

Stephen Colletti on 'The Traitors'.

**There were a couple other suspicious moments people used as evidence against you, like getting people to touch the tarot cards at the banquet, or when Lisa gave you her gold in a challenge. Did you realize just how much was piling up against you, or is that something you only realized when you were watching this season onscreen?**

To clear up the Lisa and the gold thing, Dorinda said she saw something that did not happen. It was not Lisa casually walking over and putting it in my box. I had gone up to Lisa as soon as she got to the top of the hill and I was like, "Hey, can I get your gold?" So I put that to bed at the Roundtable. And actually, Eric did the tarot cards, and that's where I get the suspicion, that I take full blame for the fact that I did touch the cards. While there were a few people touching the cards, I wasn't the first and I wasn't the last, it really got spotted on me because I also served food.

It would not make sense at all for a Traitor to draw all that attention by serving food and picking up cards. Look, in this game, everyone's just trying to point the finger at somebody else, and those were a couple of things that people were able to hang on to. And I get it. So I'm a little disappointed with myself in letting my guard down with those cards. That part hurt. And I did feel in that moment that that might've cost me the game.

Candiace Dillard Bassett says biases impact 'The Traitors' exits: 'A reminder to all of us'

Colton Underwood talks 'The Traitors' cyberbullying, shares message for Lisa Rinna

**I loved your exit line: "I am a Faithful, and you blew it." Did you have that prepared or was that off the cuff? **

It came to me in the moment. I'm so happy that it did. That's the only thing I remember from my banishment speech. And I did have something prepared for what I thought was going to be me being murdered and not making it to breakfast. I was thinking about what I was going to say when I sat in that chair, talking about what I've learned through this game. But I was really pissed off, especially at Natalie, in that moment when I got banished.

I have a lot of love for everybody there. It's just a game, so I wasn't pissed off at Natalie, the person, just the player in that moment. And I had to let her know. I was letting her know that I was pissed, and I was staring at her. And really, that "blew it" is to her, because her gut, she needs a gut check on what she's feeling there. She was way off, and it's really her vote that turns the Traitors to then flip on me and have everyone go my way.

[*Laughs*] I am glad that I said "you blew it," I don't even know where that came from. I'm getting a lot of the *Billy Madison* meme — I think it's *Billy Madison*, maybe it's *Happy Gilmore — *of him saying, "You blew it!" I'm glad that that moment got out there and expressed a little of my frustration.

Stephen Colletti on 'The Traitors'.

Euan Cherry/PEACOCK

**Were you surprised when Tara and Johnny revealed that they’re actually best friends at the Roundtable? When they said they were keeping that a secret at the beginning of the season, I thought they’d get found out immediately. I couldn’t believe people didn't automatically know they’re a really close duo.**

Same. I'm with you. I did not think that they were going to be able to keep this lie going, that they didn't really know each other. There's a few of us that did know exactly who they were, and the fact that they were very close and that they've been working together closely at the Olympics for years. I, for one, am a fan of theirs, from the minute that they started commentating when their competition careers were over, I was like, "These two are great together." And as soon as I saw them when I got out of the car, I walked right up to them and I'm like, "Did you guys know you were going to be here?"

I was very scared going into the game about not talking to anybody. You're not supposed to know anyone. You don't want to have any sort of conversation. The fact that those two showed up, I'm like, "Man, what a massive advantage to know your best friend is in the game." The game is about lying and not trusting anybody, so yeah, I knew right away. I was never buying that.

I'm actually surprised to see how many people really didn't know their relationship. I would've spoken up more about it. But it became clear to other folks throughout the game that these two are close. Most people were onto them. And especially in this last episode, it was like, "All right, something's going on between Johnny and Tara." And it's not just that they're new friends here. There's something with their history.

The season 4 cast of 'The Traitors'.

Euan Cherry/Peacock

**Do you want to do more reality competition shows like this after T*he Traitors,* or are you focusing more on acting and producing now?**

Acting has always been the tried and true for me. This was a fun little side quest, but do I want to play the game again? Absolutely. I'm a competitive person, and this challenge, it's awoken something in me. The opportunities to do some competition shows have come my way for the last 20 years. And to be honest, I was just a wuss. I didn't want to do it, and I was focused on the scripted side of things. But this opportunity, I'm so glad I took the leap, just because I really, really would've regretted it if I didn't.

I'm a competitive person and the fact that we came up a little bit short in this one, but we learned a lot about ourselves and in these type of environments? I mean, I want another crack at it. I hope that at some point I can play the game *Traitors* again, because I would do it in a heartbeat.

**Maybe in a *Traitors* All-Stars season?**

That'd be cool. I think based off the gameplay that they're showing for me, I don't know if fans would quite chalk me up as an All-Star, but maybe behind the scenes we can convince them that there's more to me than they're seeing.

*This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.*

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