Hard and fast is one way to describe North St. Paul native Carolyn Wiger’s surprise departure from “The Traitors.”
The daughter of former state Sen. Chuck Wiger flew through the first eight episodes of the Peacock hit. The show’s host Alan Cumming secretly selects several Traitors, who attempt to survive the nightly votes from the Faithfuls to banish a contestant from the proceedings, which take place in a grand Scottish castle. And up until last week’s episode, it looked like Wiger had a good shot at winning, as almost no one suspected she was a Traitor.
Still, the 37-year-old Wiger was upbeat and chatty during an interview with the Pioneer Press Monday. The “Survivor” star who made it to third place in the 44th season in 2023 talked about her time on “The Traitors,” her possible future in television and how another local “Survivor” vet with an elected official for a father — St. Paul native Reed Kelly, whose dad is former St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly — helped her prepare for the show. The interview was edited for length and clarity, while still attempting to reflect Wiger’s boisterous personality that has made her a fan favorite.
Q: How did you end up on the show?
A: I got an email, and I really didn’t think it was real. I reached out to (my contact at “Survivor”) and I was like, go and check your emails and just tell me if this one matches the casting person who contacted you. Literally, that’s how I found out. Like, OK, this is real. I get a lot of emails and I don’t even see them all, to be honest. So I didn’t think it was real because I get so much crap.
But also, the previous people who’ve played this game are, like, two time winners, “Survivor” legends. There’s been no one from the new era (the post-pandemic seasons of “Survivor”), so I didn’t expect to get asked to do this show. I just didn’t.
Q: Were you familiar with it?
A: Yes. As I say in one of the episodes, I own a cloak. I sleep in a cloak. Yeah, I’m a fan and I watch with my Parvati (Shallow) headbands on. I love Alan. I remember my dad coming over, and he’s like, what is this show? I’m like, Dad, you gotta watch this. It’s amazing. I’m not kidding you. Like, a week later, while season two was was airing, they reached out to me. So it was awesome. It was like a dream.
Q: How did you feel when Alan chose you to be a Traitor?
A: Oh my, so emotional. Because, again, I wanted to be a Traitor. I was so excited. I thought if anyone’s going to be picked to be a Traitor it would be (one of the “Survivor” winners), people like Tony (Vlachos), Jeremy (Collins), obviously Boston Rob (Mariano) was picked later. I haven’t won before. I didn’t feel like they would book me in that position. I really didn’t.
Q: Especially during those first few episodes, it was so clear no one was even considering you as a possible Traitor.
A: I know. It’s like (they) thought I’m not capable. I can’t lie and say that stuff doesn’t hurt my feelings. It’s such a balance of, like, I go out there, I play as myself. But then playing as myself hurts my feelings sometimes. So it’s kind of sucks, but it works to my benefit.
Q: You are a lot of fun to watch. I get the sense that you on television is just like you in real life.
A: Of course. Do I have a serious side, too? Sure I do. Survivor did such a good job of showing that, the many layers of me. Not just showing my facial expressions, or the way that I act, or that I’m louder, that I’m a little goofy or whatever the heck people call me. But there’s so much more to me, and so I’m always grateful for how I’m edited on “Survivor” and even with this, because I’m not just some cartoon character, you know?
Q: A big part of the show is breakfast. I’m curious, how was the catering?
A: To be honest, I was always so nervous about everything that I … I don’t eat pickles for breakfast. So it was not like let me go in there and actually eat, because I’m so focused on watching everybody and trying to read the room and listening to the conversations. I was not about to be chomping on some pickle.
Q: Tell me about your outfits. Were they your own, or did the show provide you clothing?
A: I had Reed Kelly — who is also from Minnesota — help me with all of my clothes. I actually wore one of Reed’s mother’s blue jumpsuits from the ’90s. It was awesome because I don’t know how to dress. I really don’t. I’m never in a castle, first and foremost. I’m a huge dork. I don’t go out to all these fancy places. I certainly wouldn’t know how to dress in a castle. So having Reed come — he was truly at my house for two weeks helping me — we had so much fun. I love incorporating pieces that are vintage. But also, I made a bunch of my necklaces. I used old clip on earrings from my great aunt who had passed away.
I knew I was going to be at the round table, so I had my son write “I love you” (on my hand and then I got it tattooed). So when I was at the round table, I was leaving my little message to my son.
Thinking about it all, it was fun. They do such a good job with the production of this show. And, I tell you, it’s like a movie set, it is gorgeous. The amount of work and detail that goes into it … I felt, like, where am I? I’d never been to Scotland. I cried as soon as we landed. I was bawling my eyes out because it was so beautiful and I’d never seen anything like that before. It was just incredible. I felt so grateful to just be there. Truly.
Q: Who did you bond with the most?
A: Gabby (Windey, from “The Bachelor”) for sure. I loved her and Dylan (Efron, brother of Zac) and Tom (Sandoval, from “Vanderpump Rules”) and Britney (Haynes, from “Big Brother”). Gabby for me, was so fun and I didn’t want to go out there and be super serious. I wanted to have fun.
Dylan was someone from day one who had watched my season of “Survivor.” He’s a huge “Survivor” fan. So early on I’m thinking I have this ally in Dylan. It sucked at the end when he was like “I’ve been underestimating you and falling into the trap that everyone else was.” But I loved him, he was great.
And then Tom. So many people would just discount him because he has this past or whatever, but I had no idea who he was. Me just getting to know him as him, it’s like OK, I genuinely enjoy this person. Not only that, I could see myself in him because he wasn’t listened to. People didn’t really respect him. People would laugh at him, blah, blah, blah. I just can’t be like that to people.
And then, obviously, with Britney, she’s a mom from the Midwest. There’s so many people (on the show) who live completely different lives. I’m not, like, going to Paris on the weekends. I live a completely different life than a lot of these people. So with Britney, it was like she understood that we both come from normal backgrounds.
Q: Do you have a future on other reality shows? Perhaps you’re up for “Survivor 50”?
A: Well, I will see. It’s too overwhelming to even think about. Sorry I don’t even have an answer for you. Of course, I would love as many opportunities that could come my way. I mean, honestly, I want to be (the co-host) on “The Jason Show.” I love that show, they do such a good job. Jason is incredible and I’m like, you seriously get paid to do this? This is fun!
