"You make me uncomfortable," Stause told Sandoval during the first banishment ceremony -- accusing him of having a "bias" against her because of her friendship with his ex, Ariana Madix.
The volatile drama between Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix carried over to the new season of The Traitors, despite only Sandoval appearing as a contestant on the show.
During this week's three-part premiere on Peacock, Sandoval was quick to accuse Selling Sunset's Chrishell Stause of being one of the titular Traitors -- who "murder" other cast members each episode under the cloak of darkness.
The fact her name was being mentioned almost immediately after host Alan Cumming secretly selected the killers got back to Stause, thanks to Dylan Efron.
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View Story"Right when we first walked out, Tom mentioned you. It was, like, five steps out of there," he revealed -- before she speculated why he was out to get her.
"Do you think it’s because I'm friends with Ariana and he knows that?" she asked, before adding, "That's sabotage!"
Nikki Bella thought that was "probably" the case, agreeing that, "That's so not cool ... that is sabotage!"
In a confessional, Stause elaborated a bit more, saying, "I know Tom has a bias against me because I am friends with his ex. Knowing what he did to Ariana, I have an opinion of him already. If the ship's burning, he's coming down with me."
During the first banishment ceremony, where the cast has to vote on who on they believe is one of the Traitors, eliminating them from the game, Sandoval was again quick to throw Stause under the bus.
Chrishell vs. Sandoval at the roundtable 👀#TheTraitorsUS pic.twitter.com/mtAG57Jh8J
— Mike Bloom (@AMikeBloomType) January 10, 2025 @AMikeBloomType
"Chrishell, you were acting very strange to me," he said, while also adding Survivor's Jeremy Collins' name into the mix.
"Can I respond to that? Are you finished?" Stause interjected. "I told you before we ever hit the roundtable, a personal connection to you, that I am friends with your ex. We had a cool conversation."
"Like, let's not make it awkward. I was like, 'Okay, good, I feel relieved,' I was so nervous about that," she continued, as Tom interrupted to say "everybody" is friends with his ex and he thought that was "awesome."
"It's my turn now. I let you speak," Stause hit back. "To be honest with you, Tom, we take our [blindfolds off[, you were giving me the Spock eyebrow with the spotlight on your face. I was uncomfortable. You make me uncomfortable. The second your foot hit outside those doors, you started throwing my name around so recklessly."
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View StoryThough Tom tried defending himself by saying, "I'm just trying to do the best I can. I'm asking questions," Stause accused him of creating "chaos" in the house -- a trait she felt showed he was a Traitor, not her.
When it came time to vote, Tom ultimately went with Jeremy, while Chrishell voted for Tom.
"The Traitors have to be able to lie and cheat and deceive easily. And since I know that you possess all of those skills, I voted for you," Stause said as she voted for Sandoval to go.
In the end, Wells Adams was the one who wound up being banished, before revealing he was indeed a Faithful.
While none of them know it, Stause or Sandoval are faithfuls as well -- with Bob the Drag Queen, Carolyn Wiger and Big Brother's Danielle Reyes all selected as the first Traitors. Survivor's "Boston Rob" Mariano also joined the trio by the end of the 3-episode premiere.
New episodes of The Traitors drop Thursdays on Peacock.