Larsa Pippen and Marcus Jordan.Photo:River Callaway/Variety via Getty
River Callaway/Variety via Getty
Larsa Pippenand boyfriendMarcus Jordan’srelationshipwill be put to the ultimate test as they go up against one another onThe Traitors.
TheReal Housewives of Miamistar, 49, and the former basketball player, 32, will compete for the $250,000 grand prize onseason 2 of the Peacock reality showwhen it premieres Friday.
“I kind of wanted to push myself,” Pippen tells PEOPLE of why she signed on forThe Traitors. “I feel like all the stuff that I’ve done on Bravo has basically been safe and this was a place that was far unsafe, didn’t know what the outcome was going to be, if I was going to be good or evil or what.”
Jordan joinedThe Traitorsbecause he considers himself “a big murder mystery fan.”
“Watching season 1, I kind of got hooked,” he says. “And then also I felt like all of the content around the game is strictly focused on the game and it doesn’t dwell too much into your personal life. And so that was a big draw for me.”
The cast of ‘The Traitors’ season 2.Euan Cherry/PEACOCK
Euan Cherry/PEACOCK
“My strategy is to be a sponge,” he says. “I think watching season 1, if you come in too hot, it might work against you. And so, I felt like the first couple of days getting to understand everybody and learn everybody’s personality really helped me help develop my strategy moving forward.”
Pippen says her strategy changed throughout the course of the competition. “I started off thinking I was going to be super quiet and just kind of taking in all the information,” the Bravo star says. “And I feel like now, I am just friends with everyone.”
Pippen also hoped she wouldn’t have to “pick sides or have to throw anyone under the bus or me get murdered.” But she felt prepared for the physical aspect ofThe Traitors, despite not coming from a competition background.
“For Marcus and I, we work out every day, so I feel like once we knew we were going to doThe Traitors, we were like, ‘Hey, we got to step up our cardio,’” she says. “We got to get used to not having our phones, which is a whole other aspect of this challenge. But I think when you’re doing the challenges, your adrenaline really does pick up and kind of propel you to the next level.”
Larsa Pippen (center) on ‘The Traitors’ with (from left) Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, Maks Chmerkovskiy and Trishelle Cannatella.Euan Cherry/PEACOCK
Jordan admits playing alongside his girlfriend made navigating the game a bit more complicated. “I definitely feel like it’s a target on our back,” he says. “But I do feel like I’m super lucky and happy to have my girlfriend here because it made the adjustment so much easier.”
Pippen believes “our relationship has changed” thanks toThe Traitors.
“We had to have this conversation and we’re basically like, ‘Hey, once we get to the castle, I’m Larsa and you’re Marcus and we’re not necessarily a duo anymore. You’re on your own. I’m on my own,’” Pippen continues. “I feel like we’re both growing individually and this is our path. And I think it’s super fun to be able to experience this with someone that you care about and at the same time be challenged in your relationship.”
Marcus Jordan on ‘The Traitors’ season 2.Euan Cherry/PEACOCK
After filming at theTraitorscastle wrapped each day, Pippen and Jordan stayed the night in separate rooms where they couldn’t communicate with one another.
“They give us these headshots of everybody in our room just to understand everybody’s name,” Jordan explains. “And so I find myself picking up the headshot, looking up Larsa. Soon as the morning comes, I’m racing downstairs because we travel in the same car. So that’s kind of how I pick my mind out of the game trying to get back to her."
Pippen did find a covert way to communicate with Jordan while they filmed,though.
“Marcus asked me for a nail file, and I put it in a paper bag — and they go through everything, you’re not supposed to send anything back and forth — but he wanted a nail file and I was like, I’m just going to send him a nail file,” she sares. “And then I was like, oh, there’s a banana. He said he wanted a banana. So I [write] ‘I love you’ on the banana and send it to him with the nail file.”
Jordan thought, “That was cute.”
Ultimately, being apart at night while shooting didn’t take a toll on Pippen and Jordan.
“Thank God we’ve got a solid relationship,” she says, “because we hadn’t hung out at all.”
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The Traitorsseason 2 premieres Friday on Peacock.
source: people.com
