Tara Lipinski Was ‘Heartbroken’ By Maura Higgins During ‘Traitors’ Finale

In the season finale, Lipinski, who was cast as one of the competition show’s “Faithful” players, was banished from the show just before the season’s final moments.

In a new interview, Lipinski opened up about what was going through her mind when she realized the writing on the wall, and also revealed how she felt when her friend, Maura Higgins, voted against her.

During the final episode, Lipinski was banished from the game in the final moments, leaving Higgins alone with Traitors Rob Rausch and Eric Nam. Before entering the final roundtable discussion, however, Lipinski attempted to convince Higgins to vote with her against the boys.

Things didn’t turn out that way, though, given that Higgins voted with Raush and Nam—a move that Lipinski felt coming but wasn’t certain about. “Again, maybe a little too naive there,” she told Entertainment Weekly.

“I was for sure because we had a long conversation about it and she was like, ‘I am all in. I’m all in. We are gonna get Eric. He’s gonna be so shocked what is gonna happen,'” Lipinski added. “And I went back to Johnny. I was like, ‘We did it! We just we won!’ And so at the Roundtable, I was just blown away the first time. Because I believed it!”

Continuing, Lipinski said that she was “heartbroken” by Higgins’ final vote, considering they formed a close bond in the Scottish castle. Lipinski was also devastated for Higgins because she knew the “Love Island” alum would soon be betrayed by her closest ally.

“… when I saw [Higgins] vote for me, I knew what was coming, obviously,” Lipinski said. And while she’s not holding a grudge against Higgins, Lipinski said that she felt “bad” for how things would ultimately play out.

“I didn’t know how it was gonna unfold exactly or how Rob would tell her, but I knew it was coming. So it was heartbreaking because at that point, I realized she just blindly trusted him and it was gonna be a huge, huge shock,” she said.

In the finale, Higgins was stunned to learn Raush was playing “The Traitors” as one of the program’s titular characters. “I was so convinced, you’ve embarrassed me,” she told Rausch. “You’re never going to have a girlfriend after this—you’re such a good liar.”

Later, Higgins assured the Alabama native that there were “no hard feelings,” adding, “I’m just in shock. I actually thought I was winning. I really did.”

In her confessional, Higgins was emotional, saying, “I’m a fool. This is why I don’t trust anybody ever, because they stab you in the goddamn back.”

To make it up to Higgins, however, Raush has reportedly promised to buy the reality star a pricey Birkin bag, according to E! News.

One “Traitors” co-star not fond of Rausch, however, is his fellow Traitor, “Real Housewives of Potomac” alum Candiace Dillard Bassett. According to a previous report from The Blast, Rausch turned on Bassett and their third Traitor, Lisa Rinna, during earlier episodes, something Bassett described as “dirty gameplay.”

“For Rob specifically, there were other options. I think that’s just what he wanted to do,” she said. “Rob had lied to his Traitors at breakfast. He told us he didn’t mean to vote for Lisa, he was sorry he voted for Lisa, he didn’t think she was gonna go home. And then he goes to the roundtable that same night and not only votes for her but leads the charge.”

According to another report from Entertainment Weekly, Bassett’s husband, too, had an issue with Rausch’s gameplay, calling the snake wrangler out for turning on the women in the game, but seemingly being willing to protect the men.

“The way #RobRausch is going up for Eric and protecting him while his name is being mentioned….but signed off on and led the charge against Lisa and Candiace….HE DONT LIKE WOMEN!!” Bassett’s husband wrote on X.