Marie Claire
  • Celebrity
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Culture
  • Power
  • Nice Talk
  • Style at Large
  • More
    • Politics
    • Career & Money
    • Health & Fitness
    • Power Play
    • Travel
    • Promo Codes
    • Food & Cocktails
    • About Us
    • Subscribe
    • Sex & Love
  • Newsletter SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Marie Claire
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    Want to add more newsletters?

    Marie Claire Daily

    Delivered daily

    Marie Claire Daily

    Get exclusive access to fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more.

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Sent weekly on Saturday

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Exclusive access to expert shopping and styling advice from Nikki Ogunnaike, Marie Claire's editor-in-chief.

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Once a week

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Insider tips and recommendations for skin, hair, makeup, nails and more from Hannah Baxter, Marie Claire's beauty director.

    Livingetc

    Once a week

    Livingetc

    Your shortcut to the now and the next in contemporary home decoration, from designing a fashion-forward kitchen to decoding color schemes, and the latest interiors trends.

    Homes & Gardens

    Delivered Daily

    Homes & Gardens

    The ultimate interior design resource from the world's leading experts - discover inspiring decorating ideas, color scheming know-how, garden inspiration and shopping expertise.


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Statement Jackets
    • Halloween Nails
    • 'You Can See Everything'
    • London-Girl Style
    • Beauty Advent Calendars
    1. Culture

    Porsha Williams on the Personal Strain She Carried Into 'The Traitors'

    The reality TV star chats with editor-in-chief Nikki Ogunnaike on "Nice Talk".

    By Lia Beck
    Published 15 January 2026 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    A photo of Nikki Ogunnaike with an inset photo of Porsha Williams and text reading Money. Power. Style. Nice Talk with Nikki Ogunnaike
    (Image credit: Courtesy of Tyren Redd)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Spoilers from the first three episodes of The Traitors season 4 ahead.

    Fans of The Real Housewives of Atlanta know that Porsha Williams can certainly hold her own in an argument. But on The Traitors, the reality TV star didn't realize just how much of a fight she would have to put up.

    On the latest episode of the Marie Claire podcast "Nice Talk", Williams opens up about her time on the competition show, including how she "underestimated" the intensity of filming the roundtable.

    Latest Videos FromMarie Claire
    Watch full video here:

    If you're up-to-date with The Traitors, you know that Williams was banished by her fellow contestants in episode 2, after comedian Ron Funches presented his "evidence" that she was a Traitor. She wasn't.

    "I underestimated how much fight you have to give at the roundtable," Williams tells editor-in-chief Nikki Ogunnake.

    You may like
    • Host Alan Cumming wears armor and a cape while standing amid cloaked figures with gold masks in a cloud of blue smoke, in NBC's 'The Traitors: New Blood.' Your Guide to the Normies in 'The Traitors: New Blood' Cast—Including How to Follow Them
    • A photo of Nikki Ogunnaike with an inset photo of Jazzy Collins and text reading Money. Power. Style. Nice Talk with Nikki Ogunnaike How Do Problematic Contestants Keep Getting Cast on Reality TV? A Casting Director Explains
    • 'The Traitors UK' host Claudia Winkleman stands in front of a stack on large gold coins. The Star-Studded Season of 'The Celebrity Traitors' Has Begun. Here's How to Watch It

    Funches told the group that Williams had said, “I killed Ian,” referring to the murder of Big Brother winner Ian Terry by the Traitors. To him, her use of “I” was a clear tell that she was a Traitor herself.

    "Once I got there and I realized that [Ron] was flies on shit, like he was not gonna let it go, I was like, Oh, okay, so I'm supposed to go toe-to-toe. I just wasn't prepared for that," Williams says of the roundtable.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    She explains now that she was "talking from the mind frame of a Traitor. My whole sentence was, 'Okay, guys, we got to figure this out. Let's say if I'm a traitor, I already killed Ian. Why?'"

    Williams laid out her case at the roundtable, but it wasn't enough to save her. Beyond the "I killed Ian" moment, Funches shared that Williams had also said there were four Traitors—something that she couldn't technically confirm unless she was a Traitor herself. Williams says she just assumed as much, as past seasons typically featured three Traitors, and this one introduced a new Secret Traitor as well.

    A post shared by Porsha Williams (@porsha4real)

    But the shock of the roundtable wasn’t the only thing weighing on Williams; she was already exhausted by a personal situation outside the show.

    What to read next
    • A photo of Nikki Ogunnaike with an inset photo of Ariana Madix and text reading Money. Power. Style. Nice Talk with Nikki Ogunnaike Ariana Madix Is More Involved in 'Love Island USA' Than Viewers May Realize
    • A promotional graphic for Nice Talk with Nikki Ogunnaike and Issa Rae. Issa Rae Thinks Now Is the Best Time to Be a Creative
    • Lake Rucker, Jasmine Goode, Venita Aspen, and Mia Calabrese staring at the camera What It's Like to Be Black and On Bravo

    "I think the timing was just probably not the best for me," the 44-year-old explains. "I had literally just spent 15 hours a day before in court divorcing, and so I didn't have any more fight. I was like, 'Oh, y'all don't believe me? Okay, got it. Okay. Divorce me, then. Banish me, then. Bye ashies, all of ya'll!' Of course, I wanted to say way more when I stood up there, but I was like, keep it cute."

    Had Williams held out longer on the show, she might have helped take down the Secret Traitor, Donna Kelce. Williams said she knew the mother of NFL players Jason and Travis Kelce was a Traitor right away.

    "Oh, I knew Donna from day one, from the moment she got her card," Williams says. On this season, host Alan Cumming picked a Traitor in front of the entire cast by revealing a secret card to the chosen contestant.

    "I knew it when she turned around," she continues. "At first, I was joking with people. I'd be like, 'What if she's the Traitor?' And then she started kind of just changing. She was really calm, laid back, and then all of a sudden, she'd, like, start talking to you, you know what I mean, and she picked certain people to do it with ... I told everybody, even going into that first roundtable, I was like, 'I think everybody should vote for Donna.'"

    So who does she think should go home next? "Michael [Rapaport]," she says. "Listen, he probably has a kind heart...I think he should go only because he is throwing everything off." She adds: "If he's a Faithful, which I think he probably is, just a horrible Faithful, I think he should probably go."

    For more from Williams, check out this week’s installment of Nice Talk. The episode is available everywhere you listen to podcasts.

    Explore More
    Nice Talk
    Lia Beck

    Lia Beck is a writer living in Brooklyn, NY, who covers entertainment, celebrity, and lifestyle. The former celebrity news editor at Bustle, she has also written for Refinery29, Hello Giggles, Cosmopolitan, PEOPLE, Entertainment Weekly, and more.

    Read more
    'The Traitors UK' host Claudia Winkleman stands in front of a stack on large gold coins.
    TV shows The Star-Studded Season of 'The Celebrity Traitors' Has Begun. Here's How to Watch It Get ready to see HBO stars, pop girlies, and an Oscar nominee face off in the game of deception.
    By Quinci LeGardye
    Lake Rucker, Jasmine Goode, Venita Aspen, and Mia Calabrese staring at the camera
    TV shows What It's Like to Be Black and On Bravo In a candid conversation, cast members discuss navigating the world of reality TV as Black women.
    By Blake Newby
     
     
    A photo of Nikki Ogunnaike with an inset photo of Frances Berwick and text reading Money. Power. Style. Nice Talk with Nikki Ogunnaike
    Culture Frances Berwick Is Bravo's Secret Weapon The Chairman of Bravo and Peacock Unscripted chats about the evolution of reality TV and why the shows are no longer in the "guilty pleasure bucket."
    By Lia Beck
    Prince William sitting at a table with Ross Kemp
    Royals Prince William Attempted to Get a "Spoiler Alert" About His Favorite TV Show
    By Kristin Contino
     
     
    Latest in Culture
    A photo of Nikki Ogunnaike and an inset photo of Robin Berzin and Katerina Schneider, with text reading Money. Power. Style. Nice Talk with Nikki Ogunnaike
    Culture Why These Women's Health Leaders Want Women to Think of Perimenopause as an "Era"
    a split image of food writer tarajia morrell reaching up to a high kitchen shelf and the cover of her memoir desire feeds the feast
    Books My Doctor Told Me to "Find a Man" If I Wanted to Be a Mom. Instead, I Took Up Gardening
     
     
    Elizabeth Holmes and Billy Evans walk together outdoors, with Holmes looking toward the camera.
    Movies Does Elizabeth Holmes’s Fiancé Want to Be Elizabeth Holmes?
    Keri Russell as Kate Wyler and Rufus Sewell as Hal Wyler in 'The Diplomat' season 4.
    TV shows 'The Diplomat' Season 4 Ends With Several Major Twists—Here's Your Breakdown
     
     
    Latest in News
    Princess Charlotte waving in a white dress walking in front of Prince Louis
    Royals Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte Are "Obsessed" With One TV Show
    Infanta Sofia wearing a blue dress and smiling
    Royals Spain's Infanta Sofia Makes a Fashion Swap That "Will Go Down in History"
     
     
    Prince William wearing a light gray suit and blue shirt
    Royals Prince William Admits He Dreamed About One Unexpected Career Growing Up
    collage of the best celebrity coat and jacket trends for winter 2026
    Celebrity Style Celebrities Are Trading Classic Winter Coats for These Bold Jacket Trends
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Marie Claire
    RSS
    • About us
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Advertise Online
    • Newsletter
    • Terms and conditions
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • Careers
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.