Rob Rausch was once just a guy looking for his perfect match on “Love Island USA.” Now, the 27-year-old reality TV star has traded the romantic villa out in Fiji for the cutthroat Scottish digs of “The Traitors”— and he’s playing the game as one of the villains.
Peacock’s addictive psychological game show is back for Season 4, during which contestants live together in a castle in Scotland while secretly plotting each other’s demise. (Peacock and TODAY share a parent company, NBCUniversal.)
The premise is devilishly simple: A group of players must work together to complete challenges and build a prize fund, but hidden among them are “traitors” whose job is to secretly eliminate their fellow contestants one by one. Meanwhile, the “faithful” must figure out who the traitors are and vote them off before they’re picked off themselves.
Rob Rausch is a Traitor on Season 4
At the ever so dramatic opening roundtable ceremony, host Alan Cumming tapped Rausch to be one of the season's secret traitors and the reality star couldn't have been more thrilled with the assignment.
“I’m happy as can be. I honestly think I’ll make a really good traitor,” Rausch said after being chosen. “I’m hard to read, I’ve been told that by every girl I’ve ever dated, and I’m extremely competitive. I like to win.”
The country boy sees his underestimated personality as a major advantage in the game. "I've been underestimated my entire life. I’m just a guy from Alabama. I catch snakes, post videos on the internet. I’m kinda quiet, but I think that’s one of my biggest strengths,” he explained. “When people underestimate you that’s when you catch them by surprise.”
Who is Rob Rausch?
Rob Rausch, now 27, is a snake wrangler from Florence, Alabama, according to his “Love Island USA” Season 5 bio, and he grew up on a farm with three siblings.
“Love Island USA” viewers know just how much Rausch loves wildlife. His expertise with snakes and other creatures became his calling card when he began posting snake-wrangling content in 2021 and amassed a devoted following. A quick scroll of his socials will show that he’s still passionate.
His Southern charm, good looks and fearless handling of dangerous reptiles kept an interest even post-“Love Island USA”; when he left the show, the wildlife enthusiast became a bonafide social media influencer. To date, Rausch has 2.2 million followers on TikTok and 1.4 million on Instagram.
What Is Rob Rausch Known For?
While his snake-wrangling videos made him an internet sensation, it was reality TV that truly put Rausch on the map.
He made his “Love Island USA” debut in Season 5 during the Casa Amor episodes — if you know, you know — but was dumped from the island just a few days later.
The villa didn’t bring Rausch love that first summer, but viewers were elated to see him return as an original cast member for “Love Island USA” Season 6 the following year.
This time, he lasted significantly longer in the show, coupling up with cast members like Leah Kateb, Andrea Carmona and Kassy Castillo as he searched for a meaningful connection.
He was ultimately eliminated toward the end of Season 6. His fellow cast members later reunited for spinoff called “Love Island: Beyond the Villa” that followed their lives together in Los Angeles in 2025. Rausch, however, did not appear.
