The Traitors' Jeremy Collins Suspected Bob the Drag Queen, But Let It Go: "It's My Brother's Fault!"
The former Survivor player admits that he has a few regrets about his gameplay on The Traitors.
Spoilers for Episode 4 of The Traitors, Season 3!
Three-time Survivor competitor (and one-time season winner) Jeremy Collins hit The Traitors castle in Season 3 with a keen eye focused on his fellow players and an adjusted game approach, but it wasn't enough to go long in this game. By Episode 4, when Jeremy floated his assertion to his circle that fellow gamer Danielle Reyes might be a Traitor, it got back to her ... and resulted in his immediate murder.
RELATED: All The Traitors Who Have Been Successfully Banished at the Round Table
Looking back on that group-share, Jeremy told NBC Insider that was his big mistake.
"I went into this game trying to gain trust from everybody," he said. "I think I did a pretty good job at that. I just talked too much, that's all. I shouldn't have opened my mouth. I should have went in more as a Survivor and not just trying to gain trust."
Outside of pointing a finger at Danielle, Jeremy shared with us that he was also onto Bob the Drag Queen but he second-guessed himself, and he also wishes that he'd addressed his coffin comment to the Faithful instead of the Traitors who did him dirty.
Jeremy on almost declining Wes' Shield
In Episode 2, when reality competition legends "Boston Rob" Mariano, Wes Bergmann, and Derrick Levasseur were added to the game, Jeremy said that at first, he didn't think any of them could be Traitors due to game rules, so they weren't on his immediate radar. Second, he was surprised when Wes offered up his shield for protection.
RELATED: 8 Epic Reality TV Moments That Prove Boston Rob Will Be a Killer Traitors Contestant
"Actually, I almost said to Wes, 'I don't need it,'" he admitted. "I felt good. Tom [Sandoval] and Britney [Haynes] were the only people that ever said my name, so I thought I was good. Britney was like, 'OK, I get it now,' because I talked to her afterward.
"With Tom, I'm like, 'Nobody's listening to Tom. I'm not worried about that,'" he added with a chuckle. "So I thought I was good with being a Faithful. But I'm not going to say no to protection. It's weird because I really didn't have a relationship with Wes. I thought that I had [a better] relationship with the other two."
Danielle and Bob the Drag Queen's Traitor tells
After Chanel Ayan's murder in Episode 3, it was Jeremy who called out Danielle's behavior as less than honest.
"There were a couple times she was crying and it wasn't believable," he assessed. "I even said to Derrick when we talked about the shields, I said, 'If she asks for a shield, she's a Traitor because nobody's bringing up her name. She doesn't need a shield.' And he said, 'Oh yeah, she asked me for a shield. She's crying that she wants a shield.' I'm like, 'Yo, she's a Traitor.'"
What wasn't revealed on camera is that Jeremy was also onto Bob the Drag Queen's behavior — going back to Dorinda Medley's murder!
"When he comes in after Dorinda's murder, I looked at him, and he didn't look up at the board [of contestant photos] once," he said. "Not once! He was just like, 'I can't believe this!' But I'm like, 'He didn't look. How does he know? He didn't even look?' I said, 'He is a Traitor.'
"So then, I talked to him for five minutes," he continued. "Now, my twin brother is gay. They kind of resemble each other. They act alike. They're both flamboyant. So, I said, 'That's my brother. That's just who he is. He's not a Traitor.'
"I should have just stuck to it. It's my brother's fault!" he said, laughing.
RELATED: Who Are The Traitors in Season 3 of Peacock's Murder Mystery Series? [DETAILS]
Jeremy said his other "Sliding Doors" moment in the game was when he rode back in the Land Rover with Bob the Drag Queen, Nikki Garcia, Gabby Windey, and Tony Vlachos after a Challenge.
"I'm running through things in my mind. They're all talking, and I'm not going to say anything because I don't talk. I just listen," he shared. "But Bob said, 'Can we just all get on the same page and vote for one person today?' And that's Survivor, to me. 'Let's get an alliance going so we can vote somebody out.' And I said, 'I'm gonna say it. I'm gonna tell you guys who I think.' And I think that was my downfall.
"Before that, we [got to] all pick what Landy we can go in and I should have gone in the Landy with Derrick," he added. "Because he comes to me and asks, 'Hey, you have a car?" And I'm like, 'Yeah, I'm already in there with them.' That was it. If I just went with Derrick..."
Jeremy's final words in the coffin
With Danielle wise to Jeremy's suspicion, he was put in one of three coffins by the Traitors and given one final chance to convince his enemies to let him stay in the game.
At the time, Jeremy made the strategic comment: "Keep me and I'll work with you."
"It was really a Hail Mary," Jeremy explained. "I just wanted to stay in the game. I was pretty sure that Danielle was a Traitor. I just threw it out there to be like, 'You know what, just keep me in the game. I'll work with you guys.' I thought that they all looked at me as a Faithful coming after [them], so I thought I'd chill it out a little bit."
Right after he said it, Jeremy had instant regrets: "I said to myself, 'I should have said I'm not a Traitor. I'm not talking to you, Traitors. I'm talking to everybody else. I don't say much, but I said one name. If I'm gone, you will know who it is.' I should have done that."
A tearful goodbye: "Carolyn, don't let anybody block your shine"
The next thing he knew (after about seven minutes), Jeremy was released from his coffin as the murdered player and got a final chance to face the camera one last time.
"I was just disappointed in myself," he said of his tearful goodbye. "I don't do these [shows] that much. A lot of these people are on shows a lot. I don't do this, so when I'm on it, I'm trying to go to the end. I felt like I was set up to go to the end, and I just had a couple of missteps. I was just disappointed in myself. I was just bummed."
RELATED: Wells Adams Regrets His Final Words on The Traitors: "Playing a Smart Game..."
But he holds no ill will toward the Traitors, including fellow Survivor Carolyn Wiger, who was visibly upset with herself for casting Jeremy out.
"Carolyn's fine. We're good," he assured. "I'm glad she felt like that. We had a really good sit down, and I said, 'Carolyn, don't let anybody block your shine. You be you. You have a beautiful soul. I know people don't know who you are, but this is who you are, and let that shine through.' But people don't listen to her out there. In the turret, they're not listening to her. So, I get her frustration."
Power to the "Bambi" alliance?
Now Jeremy is gunning for Nikki and the "Bambi" alliance to take down Danielle for him.
"Nikki's voice isn't heard throughout the castle through everybody," he explained. "But in her clique, she is the boss. I feel like, if she can get Gabby and Chrishell on board. I think that they can make some noise in there."
New episodes of The Traitors Season 3 premiere on Peacock on Thursdays at 9/8c, with the season finale and reunion premiering on March 6.
All episodes of Seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream right now on Peacock.
