Trigger warning: This article discusses suicide and abuse.
If there’s one thing no one expected to do while watching The Traitors’ Grand Finale on Sunday night it was bawling their eyes out.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the house after Craig, a contestant on Network Ten’s The Traitors and a firm fan-favourite, was left duped.
At the final Banishment Ceremony, the business coach was thrilled after he outed contestant Kate as a Traitor, but what he didn’t realise was that Alex was also deceiving him.
His hopes of taking home $250,000 for his daughter, who has special needs, were shattered along with the hearts of everyone at home watching.
“It was very emotional to go through, but to watch it back, it’s like you’re relieving those emotions all over again. So it was hard to watch, to be honest,” Craig told POPSUGAR Australia.
“I wasn’t playing the game for me. I was playing the game for my wife and my daughter — we have a special needs adult daughter who is 21, but her mental age is about three or four.
“So my sole purpose was to support her. At that moment, it was just bitter disappointment, and I had an overwhelming feeling that I let them down,” he admitted.
“I was absolutely thrilled for Alex that she won, but it was impossible to hide the disappointment that I was letting my family down.”
It was Craig’s trusting nature that helped him win the hearts of fans; however, it was also the reason for his downfall.
Alex, who started off as a Faithful and was later recruited by the Traitors, led Craig to believe that Faithful Lewis was the one he should be suspicious of.
The deceit resulted in Craig banishing Lewis before Kate and eliminating any chances of him taking home the prize.
“In my real life, I have a problem of trusting the wrong people, and I get taken advantage of. And that’s not a dig at Alex, I’m actually in awe of how she played the game,” said Craig.
“She did what it took, and I couldn’t. There’s something I can learn from that. Like, what do I need to keep working on in my life?
“I get that it was a game, but why does that keep showing up in my life? And how do I improve so I can have better and more meaningful relationships?”
Craig’s trusting nature is a result of his deeply traumatic childhood, one where he faced domestic abuse and lost his sister to suicide.
His past haunts him every day, and sadly, the trauma followed him to the show.
“I’m a survivor of horrific abuse, and the first 21 years of my life was surviving abuse in every sense of the word, and my primary motivation was to keep my two sisters alive,” he said candidly.
“I’m aware that I carry a fair bit of damage that comes along with that, and my youngest sister did, in fact, end up taking her life as a result of the damage that was done to us.”
And a survivor he is. Throughout his time on The Traitors, Craig was compassionate and kind, even though the show pushed him to his mental capacity.
“A lot of what I had to do in that game was to survive and get to the end, and I did that. So I’m really proud of myself for doing that with all of my integrity, authenticity and honour at stake, which is unbelievable in a game like that.”
Despite the loss, Craig has remained as gracious as ever, commending Alex for her win and her gameplay, saying he could “never have done what she did”.
“My hats are off to her because she did what it took to win.”
If you or anyone you know is struggling and needs support, call Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 or Lifeline on 13 11 14, both of which provide trained counsellors you can talk with 24/7. You can also speak with someone confidentially at Headspace by calling 1800 650 890 or chat online here.
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Basmah Qazi
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