Scheming and lying is no easy challenge for anyone, but with so much on the line, Kirby Bentley had to control her conflicted feelings and win The Traitors Australia.
Her final day with Keira Maguire, Krissy Marsh, and Rhys Nicholson was full of tears, questioning every decision she made as a Traitor. The former Australian Survivor player was seconds away from destroying her game when Keira tried to overhear her conversation with Rhys.
“It was the biggest day,” Kirby recalled with The Weekly the morning after her grand win aired on Channel 10. “I had cried pretty much all day. Rhys and I had a heated conversation, which was so uncomfortable but so valid on Rhys’ end.”
“I was anxious. I’m just glad it worked out the way it did because I was exhausted. I don’t think I could have gone another day.”
As Traitor fans know, Kirby seduced the comedian mid-season. But just when Rhys thought the “student was becoming the master,” Kirby made a hasty decision to volunteer their name and save herself. The move tore her apart, and later risked her position as she tried to save them from banishment.
But no argument could persuade Keira to vote against Krissy — yet.
Unfortunately for the Faithfuls, Kirby didn’t play any cruel manipulation games, but rather leaned into creating genuine human connections. It was game over for everyone else when Kirby handed Keira the double vote dagger. So, at that fire pit, when Keira was forced to choose between Krissy and Kirby, the choice was obvious — even despite her wild card nature.
But many of us at home were wondering: how did Keira not notice those telltale signs that led back to Kirby?
“It’s so complicated, and she played an incredible game. I love the way she went about it too. She was just so invested,” Kirby admired. “Everything she asked — there were so many questions — they were all valid. She wanted to know the answers to make her own decision. Again, I’m a Traitor, so obviously I’m leaning into all the things.
“I think I was flirting with her at one stage, then I was trying to be really empathetic. The biggest thing is the way I connect with people; that’s my strategy. I want to know genuinely, but I also want to know so that I can understand you and pick up your tells.
“Keira and I didn’t talk early in the game, but I started to build that relationship. So, when Keira was standing there, she felt safe enough with me.”
For Kirby, this defeat was more than a year ago, so rewatching the reality show made her feel as if she were “back in the game.”
She gathered with some of the contestants — Faithful and Traitor — to watch the finale at Rhys’ Comedy Republic, a live comedy theatre in Melbourne. “We’re trauma-bonded,” Kirby laughed. “Someone went against somebody at some stage, we [didn’t] talk and then we talked again; it’s such an insane game that you can’t take it personally.”
Kirby walked away from the manor $206,000 richer. But there was only one thing on her mind.
“I got voted out [of Survivor] the same day my sister was getting married. I was devastated that I missed her wedding,” she confessed, adding that paying for the wedding was “the one thing that I really wanted to do, and I’ve done it.”
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