Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive show news, updates, and more!
Wells Adams Regrets His Final Words on The Traitors: "Playing a Smart Game..."
The Bachelor in Paradise bartender admits he was blindsided by some "dumb" gameplay.
This story contains spoilers for The Traitors Season 3, Episode 2.
Former The Bachelorette contestant and current Bachelor in Paradise house bartender Wells Adams hit The Traitors castle running, sporting a dapper style and positive personality. But his fellow Season 3 cast members were thrown by Dorinda Medley's murder and then he found himself sandbagged by Traitor Bob the Drag Queen at the Round Table, making Wells the first to be banished from the game.
Looking back at that fraught table vote, Wells told NBC Insider that after Dorinda's ousting, chaos ensued.
RELATED: The Traitors' Tony Vlachos Explains Why He Called Boston Rob a "Sellout" After Elimination
"No one had an idea of who to vote for, and so everyone was kind of pointing fingers at everybody else and that's why it came down to that weird vote," he explained. "And that's why it looks really confused because the one person that we all were locked in on, they got rid of. I think what happened was everyone said, 'Well, I don't want to be banished, and I see that people are going after Wells. I'll just write down Wells' name.'"
Even though he only made it through two episodes, Wells had big plans. He told us about the foundation he built for a strong alliance with two players, his closest friend on the show, and why his last comment post-vote didn't come out like he intended.
The Wells Adams alliance that almost was
As a reality show veteran with plenty of television hours logged first as a contestant on The Bachelorette Season 12 and on Bachelor in Paradise Season 3, and then as the house mixologist on Paradise since Season 4, Wells has observed a lot of gameplay over the years.
"I've done more reality shows than all of them, if you really want to count hours and like different cast members," Wells said.
"I've dealt with more people than anybody on that show. For the most part, you come across like, vapid, not terrible, but annoying people a lot of the time. But that was not the case with Ayan," he said of his series bestie who became his first ally. "She is one of the brightest lights and one of the most beautiful women I've ever met, inside and out. I loved her to death. Her story is really, really crazy, and she told me a little bit about how she grew up with hardships to get where she is now. It was just mind-blowing. She was just awesome to be around and also just, like, really, really funny. And so, I gravitated toward her."
RELATED: The Traitors Season 3 Adds Surprise Players in Premiere Episodes: Full Cast Details
Since Chanel admittedly didn't understand the machinations of The Traitors game, Wells said he helped explain the twists and turns and even drafted her into his alliance with Wes Bergmann, who entered the game late.
During the coin challenge, Wells said he purposefully filled Wes' container because he knew of his competitive reputation on The Challenge.
"Even if he was a Traitor, I wanted to be his ally," Wells said. "Just because, if you ever watch The Challenge, anyone who latches on to Wes, they get to the end."
Wells said "90 percent of [Wes'] coins" came from Wells and Chanel's labor because he had a plan.
"They don't really show it, but Wes and I talked and he's like, 'I'm gonna give you the shield.' So I'm like, 'Great!' But here's the thing, I was playing a couple moves further than I should have. I pulled Ayan aside, and I said, 'I'm going to get the shield, but I want you to say that you got it, and I'll tell everyone that he gave it to you as well, because I'm pretty sure they're going to try to come kill me.'"
Wells thought all he had to do was get through the first Round Table.
"Then I'm gonna know it was one of those people who were upset that I said that it was a dumb move [to kill Dorinda]. Then, we'll kill Robyn [Dixon], or whoever I thought it was," he said of his original assessment. "But I didn't get that far. I didn't think about the banishment part — and they got me!"
Yes, Bob the Drag Queen hurt Well Adams' feelings
When it came down to the first elimination Round Table, Wells said he knew he was in trouble just before they entered the room.
"I got told by Dylan [Efron], maybe like 10 minutes before we went to the Round Table, that people were saying my name," he explained. "I was running wind sprints up and down that mountain, getting tokens to get a shield. If I was a Traitor, I would not have run that much. So, it made no sense to me and I didn't have time to go and politic for myself."
Once inside, Bob the Drag Queen was the first to speak and immediately put Wells' name up for suspicion, which directly led to his ousting.
"Me getting banished is not what hurt my feelings," Wells said. "It was him saying that I was standoffish because I was like, 'That's not true, actually!'"
RELATED: Alan Cumming Reveals His Dream Guest for The Traitors Round Table
Wells said, "I had had all these connections with Bob, like my wife [Sarah Hyland] was on RuPaul's Drag Race. Then she took over on Broadway for Little Shop of Horror to play Audrey from Jinx Monsoon, who was on RuPaul's Drag Race. She went to high school with Bob's podcast host, so I had all these things to go talk to him about."
But Wells said he was ignored by Bob. "I was like, 'I think he just doesn't like me. But then come to find out that I think that it was all just him being a Traitor, and he needed a reason to throw me under the bus. But I remember being like, 'That's not true. I have tried to be your friend, sir. I realize I might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I have tried! And you haven't talked to me about anything!'"
The missed opportunity: “Playing a smart game isn’t smartest”
When Wells was banished and got the last word to announce he was a Faithful, the moment didn't quite land as he hoped.
"Yeah, at the time, I thought it was such a good line," he said, laughing. "And then, afterward, I'm like, 'This is so stupid.'"
"I slow clap, right," he said, breaking down the moment. "The '90s, rom-com Wells came out and I was like, 'I'm gonna do a slow clap.' Everyone in the cast had been like, 'It would be so cool if we were the first cast ever to get a Traitor out first.' Everyone wanted that and so that was what was in my mind: 'All these dipshits think that they got a Traitor.' Also, I was like, 'Well, I'm not gonna be on this show anymore. Might as well milk this for all I can.' So I started this slow clap, and everyone's like, 'Oh no.' Then I bowed, and was like, 'You idiots, I'm Faithful!'"
His final comment was supposed to be a call-back to him calling out the Traitors's decision to take out Dorinda, who was already on the chopping block in the Faithfuls' minds coming back from the Dragon Boat competition.
"The Traitors' game is playing dumb, like making bad moves," he said of their gameplay to that point, which he stands by in light of them then murdering Chanel.
RELATED: 8 Epic Reality TV Moments That Prove Boston Rob Will Be a Killer Traitors Contestant
"Nobody thinks she was a Traitor!" he said, exasperated. "That's just another player in the game that no one's ever going to suspect of anything. So that's why I said, 'Playing a smart game isn't always the smartest' because they're doing well by playing this dumb game."
Asked if he liked jumping into the competition reality world, Wells said without skipping a beat, "No, I think I'm good. I like being on the other side of it. I'm better at being on the other side when there's no stakes for me and I'm just on the show."
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.
