When reviewing the most recent crop of actuality stars, it’s turning into more and more troublesome to disregard Rob Rausch of “Love Island USA” fame. Not solely is he one of many few snake wranglers to realize reality-TV fame, he made so many waves whereas collaborating within the racy relationship present that he was tapped for a complete different present: “The Traitors,” during which Scottish actor Alan Cumming presides over a crew of devious, backstabbing actuality stars out to betray one another whereas shacking up collectively in a fort located within the Highlands of Scotland.
For viewers of “The Traitors,” Rausch has turn out to be an intriguing determine — to not point out one thing of a heartthrob — and his journey from rural America to tv stardom has been an interesting one. Learn on and it will likely be clear why the transformation of “Traitors” star Rob Rausch is popping heads.
Rising up in rural Alabama led him to snake wrangling
Rob Rausch was born in September 1998 and grew up within the small city of Florence, Alabama. Certainly one of 4 youngsters, his father is photographer and designer Robert Rausch, founding father of the GAS Design Heart in Tuscumbia, Alabama.
Coming of age in a rural space led him to turn out to be fascinated by snakes, a fascination he’s had since he was a younger child. “It’s at all times been a ardour of mine,” Rausch defined when interviewed for the native information broadcast on WAFF 48. “I caught my first snake after I was 4 years previous. I’ve simply been doing it ever since.” It’s an curiosity that Rausch by no means actually outgrew, and he’s continued to be fascinated with snakes ever since. “Yeah, I be catching snakes right here and there,” he mentioned. “I’ve been doing it my entire life. I hope to do it for the remainder of it to be trustworthy with you.”
In actual fact, Rausch has admitted that the presence of snakes has tended to affect his itinerary when he travels. “I get pleasure from going to different international locations for snakes,” he advised E! Information. That keenness, nonetheless, has not come with out its hazards; Rausch has confirmed he’s been bitten by quite a few snakes through the years.
He joined the solid of Love Island in 2023
Looking back, the prospect of Rob Rausch turning into a actuality TV star would appear to be a distant one.
“I’ve by no means watched any actuality [TV] aside from ‘Survivor,’” Rausch advised E! Information. But regardless of his unfamiliarity with actuality tv typically, and relationship reveals particularly, he wound up becoming a member of Peacock’s “Love Island USA” throughout its fifth season in 2023. Certainly one of six males and 7 ladies competing for a spot in Casa Amor — a significant twist for the present — he entered the fray on the sixteenth day of the season.
Whether or not he realized it or not, Rausch possessed the form of persona tailored for actuality TV. Unabashedly goofy, cracking jokes, and often shirtless, the buff-bodied Alabaman shortly grew to become a standout on the present. He shortly cast a reference to fellow “Love Island USA” castaway Leah Kateb and shortly captured the eye of viewers.
Nevertheless, it’s additionally truthful to say that his inaugural expertise throughout the style was neither auspicious nor prolonged. 5 days after he arrived, he was eradicated. And whereas that won’t have been among the many most controversial moments on “Love Island USA,” he’d however managed to carve out an area within the hearts and minds of viewers.
He grew to become a Love Island fan favourite earlier than his elimination
Whereas some viewers could debate whether or not “Love Island USA” is pretend, that was not a query to perturb Rausch. Despite the fact that he wasn’t there for lengthy, he loved the transient time he spent on the present in 2023. “It was an amazing expertise,” he mentioned whereas showing on WAFF 48, “I’m glad I did it. Uh, met some nice folks, met some good pals, and it’ll at all times be a enjoyable reminiscence for positive.”
He additionally made a significant impression on the present’s followers, as evidenced in Decider’s recap of the fifth season’s twentieth episode. Along with his endearing encounter with a wild toad, Rausch charmed viewers when he engaged in a dialog with fellow contestant Kassy Castillo. As they chatted, his candor proved disarming to her. “You’re form of awkward and I prefer it,” she advised him, crystallizing a thought that was doubtless on the minds of many viewers who watched their dialogue and had come to the identical conclusion.
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Rausch’s “Love Island USA” journey in Season 5 could have been transient, nevertheless it was additionally memorable. That was as true with the present’s producers because it was with viewers; when casting commenced for the subsequent season, whether or not Rausch knew it or not, his expertise with “Love Island USA” was solely the start.
He returned for a second season of Love Island in 2024 — however grew to become a villain
After turning into a fan favourite throughout his few days on the fifth season of “Love Island USA,” Rob Rausch was introduced again as a member of the Season 6 solid in 2024. He shortly reunited with Leah Kateb, with that specific coupling incomes the approval of viewers. Nevertheless, opinion about Rausch shifted dramatically when he shared a clandestine kiss with one other feminine contestant, Andrea Carmona. When Kateb found his betrayal, she rained down fury on him — which led Rausch to an obvious breakdown (which Kateb insisted was bogus, an affordable ploy to achieve sympathy from viewers).
Because the drama between Kateb and Rausch intensified, viewers had been turning into fed up with their antics; some even took to social media demanding that each of them be turfed from the present. “Rob & Leah are indisputably probably the most poisonous folks within the villa,” wrote one fan, as reported by Meaww.
When Carmona was eradicated, Rausch raised the ire of viewers even additional when he tearfully confessed his love for her, vowing to accompany her on her exit — solely to alter his thoughts on the final minute and resolve to stay round. “I used to be CRINGING. He was soooo bluffing with asking her if he ought to go away,” wrote one viewer through Reddit.
He joined the fourth season of Traitors
Whereas it’s true that some actuality reveals have gone too far, it’s truthful to say that followers of “The Traitors” really feel that the acclaimed actuality hit can solely go additional. That has to do with its premise, based mostly on an Agatha Christie-style homicide thriller, with the solid divided into two teams: the Devoted and the Traitors, with the latter dedicated to secretly derailing the previous. When the collection returned with its fourth season in 2026, the solid included some acquainted actuality TV stars, together with former Bachelor Colton Underwood, Natalie Anderson (a veteran of each “Survivor” and “The Wonderful Race”), “Dancing with the Stars” professional Mark Ballas, “Actual Housewives of Beverly Hills” alum Lisa Rinna, and Rob Rausch.
In hindsight, bringing Rausch onto “The Traitors” would appear to be a no brainer. Nevertheless, he needed to be bought on it, telling E! Information that he felt he was by with actuality tv after his second season of “Love Island USA.” “I mentioned no twice,” Rausch admitted. “
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In the end, although, it was the character of “The Traitors” that modified his thoughts. “I didn’t actually need to be on TV once more,” he defined, “however I like video games and I like competing.” It was coming to grasp the collection’ “Survivor”-like vibe, he added, which finally led him to say sure to “The Traitors.” “I used to be like, ‘You realize what? This might be actually enjoyable,’” he recalled.
Rob Rausch grew to become Traitors’ breakout star
Removed from probably the most well-known contestant on the fourth season of “The Traitors” — which additionally included three Actual Housewives, two Olympic athletes, comic Ron Funches, and bombastic actor Michael Rapaport — Rob Rausch however established himself as a fan favourite virtually instantly.
As viewers shortly discovered, Rausch was one of many season’s Traitors, alongside Candice Dillard Bassett and Lisa Rinna. Because it turned out, it was Rausch’s low-key affability that allowed him to fly underneath the radar, using intelligent methods and forming alliances. In the end, it was his likability that served as his most potent weapon, and he proved to be devious sufficient to emerge as arguably the season’s strongest participant. “I’m laborious to learn — I’ve been advised that by each woman I’ve ever dated — and I’m extraordinarily aggressive. I wish to win,” he mentioned throughout a “Traitors” confessional, as reported by Bustle.
As a characteristic in Vulture identified, provocatively titled “Rob Rausch Has Already Gained The Traitors,” his innate charisma tends to attract folks in, which then makes them weak to his crafty machinations. That was the opinion of Michael Rapaport when he appeared on “Watch What Occurs with Andy Cohen.” “I don’t know who wins, who loses, however yeah, blinded by the allure, the overalls, the unbelievable tattoos, all of it,” Rapaport noticed of Rausch.
He’s maintained an energetic (and wild) presence on social media
When he’s not stealing the highlight on actuality reveals, Rob Rausch has been fairly busy posting on social media. His Instagram account boasts a over one million followers, who appear to have an insatiable thirst for his images and video (during which he usually seems sans-shirt).
Not surprisingly, a lot of these posts characteristic Rausch posing with snakes, and even the occasional lizard. “Gotta love an enormous copperhead on da highway,” Rausch wrote in a Could 2024 Instagram submit, during which he encountered one of many venomous vipers on the aspect of a freeway. Demonstrating his love of the animals, he picks it up expertly after which brings it to the opposite aspect of the highway, the place it vanishes into the tall grass.
In the meantime, Rausch has additionally been savvy sufficient to monetize his appreciable Instagram following. These have included posts shilling designer underwear, a soda model, cowboy boots, a hen restaurant, and the Sonic fast-food chain. As he advised E! Information, the latter collaboration was a pure for him. “Sonic and me even have a variety of historical past. My brother used to work at Sonic,” he mentioned, insisting he stays a fan of the chain’s burgers. “I can’t actually consider a foul time for a Smasher burger,” he added. “It’s very appetizing.”
He runs a clothes firm along with his sister
Along with his burgeoning and parallel careers as a actuality TV sensation and social media influencer, Rob Rausch can also be one thing of a style maven. That’s as a result of he’s teamed up along with his sister, Lily Rausch, to launch their very own clothes model, Creek Rat Clothes. They discover objects in thrift retailers, which Lily then screen-prints. Among the many model’s hottest objects is the Shotgun Shirt, so known as as a result of Robert provides every shirt a distressed look by blasting it with a shotgun.
Showing collectively in a video for The Shoals Now, the siblings revealed how their firm bought its title. “‘Trigger we grew up on a creek,” Lily defined. “And we like rats,” quipped Rob.
Persevering with, Rob defined that stepping into this discipline is one thing he’d wished to do for a while. “I at all times wished to do clothes, however I simply by no means did it,” he mentioned. It wasn’t till he’d made just a little cash from his actuality TV ventures that he was capable of fund his sister’s imaginative and prescient. “I used to be like, ‘You realize what, Lily, let’s make a enterprise,’” he recalled.
He revealed he turned down one other actuality present for Traitors
As Rob Rausch identified, he turned down “The Traitors” twice earlier than lastly agreeing to seem within the fourth season. Apparently, at round that very same time he’d additionally turned down an invite to star in one other actuality present.
As Rausch revealed through Instagram Tales (as immortalized by Actuality Shrine), he was supplied a spot in a by-product of “Love Island USA,” titled “Love Island: Past the Villa.” Based on Rausch, there was one large purpose why he selected to cross on the chance: the truth that it was filmed in Los Angeles, when he continued to reside in a cellular dwelling in rural Alabama.
“Like, what would you like me to do? Simply present up and say, ‘Hey, that is my life. I dwell right here for eight weeks.’ It simply didn’t make sense; it was inauthentic to me,” Rausch mentioned. “So I used to be like, ‘Yeah, I don’t assume I can do it.’” FYI, “Love Island: Past the Villa” premiered in July 2025 with out Rausch within the solid.
He made his film debut in Upkeep Required
Actuality tv can generally function a pathway to an performing profession. Kim Kardashian (who has acted earlier than) for instance, spent greater than a decade as actuality star earlier than getting again into an actor for the 2023-’24 season of “American Horror Story.” Extra lately, she portrayed a lawyer within the Hulu collection “All’s Truthful.”
Might Rob Rausch pull off an identical shift from actuality to bona fide actor? That continues to be to be seen, though he did dip his toe into Hollywood when he made a quick cameo within the 2025 movie “Upkeep Required,” starring former “Riverdale” star Madelaine Petsch. His look is transient, comprising a few minute of display screen time, during which he accepts a problem to see if he can change the tire on a automotive sooner than Petsch’s character.
Rausch’s performing ambitions haven’t been confined to motion pictures. He’s additionally appeared in three music movies: “Let Me” by Ellie Laufer, “Passenger Princess” by Nessa Barrett, and “Like It Like That” by Dasha. On condition that monitor report thus far, don’t be shocked to see Rausch proceed to delve into performing after the deviously good efficiency he delivered on “The Traitors.”
He shared his ideas on turning into a Traitors thirst lure
The excessive profile and viewer reward that Rob Rausch has skilled from “Traitors” has propelled him into sex-symbol territory. Discussing that new position when interviewed by E! Information, Rausch shared his ideas about turning into actuality TV’s new heartthrob. As he defined, it wasn’t one thing that he essentially validated. “There was a variety of joking occurring about my beauty,” he shared. “I actually didn’t take it that critically.”
In the meantime, viewers have been selecting up on an obvious “Traitors” connection between Rausch and his fellow “Love Island USA” alum Maura Higgins. When Higgins appeared on “Watch What Occurs Reside,” host Andy Cohen confronted the rumors that she and Rausch could probably be relationship. “Maura, the web desires you and Rob to get collectively. And?” he requested.
“Yeah, I noticed. There’s a variety of movies on TikTok in the meanwhile,” Higgins responded. As for whether or not or not she and Rausch truly had attached whereas filming their season of “The Traitors,” she would neither affirm nor deny. “I imply, you’ll have to look at the present to see if that occurred,” she teased.
