Rob Cesternino 'Didn’t Appreciate' Fellow 'Survivor' Yam Yam Raising His Threat Level on 'The Traitors' (Exclusive)

For a player long considered one of the best Survivor players to never win, Rob Cesternino knew walking into The Traitors Season 4 that his reputation alone could make him a target. And just days into his venture at the Scottish castle, the podcaster, 47, became the second player murdered – and it happened in plain sight.

In an exclusive exit interview with Men’s Journal, Cesternino opens up about the emotional whiplash of his early departure, including the moment he realized he’d been taken out after correctly clocking what the Traitors were up to. He reflects on feeling unusually locked in during his short run and addresses his interactions with fellow Survivor alum Yam Yam Arocho, explaining why he "didn't appreciate" the attention on his strategic reputation. Cesternino also speaks candidly about whether he'd ever return to The Traitors.

Scroll down to read my full interview with Rob.

Men’s Journal: How are you doing, Rob?

Rob Cesternino: I’m really doing fantastic, Sharon. Thank you so much. Of course, a long time no chat. Great to catch up. I wish it was not as recent as our last conversation, but I’ll never get tired of talking to you.

Men’s Journal: Likewise, Rob! Well done on calling the murder in plain sight. Of course, it sucks it had to be you. Talk to me about that because it seemed to me you got a little emotional when you walked into the room and realized you were murdered.

Rob Cesternino: Yeah, I was very emotional. There were so many things going through my head. One, I knew that there was a murder in plain sight, so the letter said that you’ve been murdered in plain sight. And I was like, how did I not do anything? They don’t tell you after you get up from the seat. They say, “One day you’ll find out.” So there was a lot of time where I was left to wrestle with, I’m supposed to be smart and good at this, and did I do something dumb? Did I walk into a trap where I’m going to look really stupid and there’s going to be forever like, “Oh, can you believe he did blah blah blah?”

That was hard. But it was also the way I was feeling at the castle. I really felt so locked in. I felt like I was the best version of myself. I felt like I had been talking in my room to my dad, who’s passed for 14 years. I just thought that everything was going to work out. So it was really such a surprise. After Ian [Terry] had been murdered, I felt like, okay, they got Ian, they had a chance to get me, they didn’t get me. I think I’m going to be good for a while. I felt like I could breathe. Then to get the letter and be out, it just didn’t make sense.

Men’s Journal: Talk to me about when Candiace [Dillard Bassett] admitted she started the conga line. What were you thinking in that moment?

Rob Cesternino: When I figured out there was a murder in plain sight, Candiace had been talking about the conga line for a bit. That wasn’t the first time she mentioned it when you see it in the episode. She was trying to drum up support for the conga line. So I went into the kitchen to warn Mark [Ballas] and Candiace. I said, “Hey, I gotta save you guys. The Traitors are going to do a murder in plain sight tonight.” I think she might have even brought up that she’d been talking about the conga line for a while, and I said, “Yeah, you started it, but that’s fine.” I didn’t put two and two together until later that night when I was going to bed, that I might have put my foot in my mouth by bringing up the conga line with Candiace. I felt like Candiace would have been a really good person to murder for the Traitors. If Candiace was still in the castle the next day, I thought I was really going to need to look at her as a Traitor. We were very close.

Men’s Journal: Do you think you could have lasted longer if you weren't on that short list? Do you think you were on the Traitors' immediate radar?

Rob Cesternino: I’m not sure. With this particular group of Traitors, I think Rob Rausch has been pretty locked in on wanting to get out the gamer people and the smarter people. Had I not flown too close to the sun with talking about the conga line, maybe Candiace would have wanted to keep me around. I felt like I was a big supporter of hers in the castle. If there’s a Traitor who likes you, that’s what you need as a Faithful. I thought Candiace was a Faithful. I thought she was going to be one of the key players of the season, and I feel good about that assessment. It just turns out she was playing for the other team.

Men’s Journal: Any regrets from the roundtable? You voted for Michael Rapaport even though you didn’t think he was a Traitor.

Rob Cesternino: I thought it was a win-win to vote out Michael Rapaport. Either he’s this amazing Traitor that we’ve never seen before, or he’s a horrible Faithful who’s holding us back. The way he melted down at the roundtable, I knew people were going to vote for him. I knew Yam Yam wanted to vote for Michael. It felt like Michael was quitting at the roundtable. He was like, “Write my name down. I don’t care.” I knew Porsha [Williams] wasn’t a Traitor. I felt very confident about that. I adored Porsha in the castle. I didn’t see it as much with Donna Kelce. I thought people were just jumping on her. I really thought Michael was going to get voted out, and I put my vote on him. It’s one of the things I beat myself up about afterward, because I’m supposed to be the votes guy. I still don’t know how Porsha got 10 votes. That still doesn’t make sense to me.

Men’s Journal: Yam Yam called you out at breakfast, which could have been to make you seem more faithful but also could have made you look guilty. How did you interpret that in the moment and how do you interpret it today?

Rob Cesternino: From the moment I got to the castle, Yam Yam was constantly telling people, “Oh my god, did you hear about Rob? He’s such a mastermind. His Survivor season—people talk about his game.” It felt very transparent to build up my threat level, and I didn’t appreciate it. I didn’t confront him about it, but I felt like it seeped into people’s minds. At breakfast, when he said, “They didn’t kill you. Why would they not kill you?” I didn’t appreciate it. I understand what he was trying to do, but I really thought the Survivor and Big Brother people would have each other’s backs. Tiffany [Mitchell] got it. Natalie. [Anderson] got it. Ian got it. Yam Yam was much more me-first. To his credit, he’s still in the game and I’m not.

Men’s Journal: Did you think Yam Yam was a Traitor?

Rob Cesternino: I did. I thought he was a Traitor, and I was happy about it because I thought he’d keep me safe. I thought I was his meat shield. I was fine with that. Just don’t murder me. To know that we were all Faithful and he was acting that way was more of a head-scratcher.

Men’s Journal: Would you do The Traitors again?

Rob Cesternino: Sharon, what’s the worst that could happen? I got out early and I’m doing great. Who cares? I’d do it again.

Related: Ian Terry Thought He’d Be an Early Target on 'The Traitors' — Then It Happened (Exclusive)