Ron Funches Predicts Some Cast Mates Will 'Fake Apologize' at 'The Traitors' Reunion: 'It Is High School' (Exclusive)
Ron Funches didn’t just leave the Scottish Highlands with some fun new material for his stand-up set, he left with a new understanding of himself. While his banishment from The Traitors was certainly one of the more emotional, the 42-year-old comedian found the experience held even more weight after the game was over.
In the weeks since, the California native has resonated wtih fans who saw themselves in his neurodivergent, introverted approach to a castle often overrun by "high school" dynamics. Now, as he prepares to see the cast again at the upcoming reunion, he's bracing for some fake apologies and looking forward to doing what he does best: roasting everyone.
In this candid exit interview, Ron opens up more about his "bromance" with Rob Rausch (and his own surprising history with theLove Island franchise), how the stress of the game served as the unexpected catalyst for his recent autism diagnosis, and and why he's ready for his next project. And it involves shirtless overalls.
Scroll down to read the full interview with Ron.
Men's Journal: I'm excited to chat with you, especially because you've had a week or two since your banishment. How are you feeling about everything, and have you felt the love outside the castle?
Ron Funches: I absolutely have felt the love. It's been a bit of a journey. You start watching some of the episodes and seeing some of the way that I remember being treated, and hearing some of the things that people said, even behind my back, and you get a little bit of PTSD from it. But then since my banishment and the just kind of the outpouring of love that I've gotten, and a lot of people saying that they see themselves in me, whether they're neurodivergent or just introverted, and have to work with a lot of extroverts. It's been really beautiful, actually, in my shows as well, when I go out on the road and do stand-up, getting just a ton of great feedback, and people who seem to just really like me as a human.
Men's Journal: Has it also given you some great material for your comedy?
Ron Funches: Oh, most definitely material for my comedy, because it's given me a new fanbase. So a lot of people are seeing me for the first time who know me just from The Traitors. So I like to give them a little bit of recognition. The first 10 minutes I talk about The Traitors, I talk about my time in Scotland, and then I transition back to my family and back to my regular life. So it's just been nice to be able to talk about it and joke about it and make fun of people, which is fun.
Men's Journal: Your banishment was emotional. Had you planned on giving a bit of a eulogy to everyone?
Ron Funches: Sharon, you know, I'd been defending myself since the first night, so I had a little bit of time to workshop what I might say if I get banished. And things changed throughout my time there. A couple of nights, I felt like it was going to be more angry and more just like, "you guys suck and you guys are the worst." But the more I spent time there, and the more I enjoyed meeting Alan [Cumming], I enjoyed doing the challenges—I did not fully—you know, there were people like Rob who I really feel great that I got to meet. And so at the end of it, I was like, you know what, my kids might see this, I want to represent who I am, and I always teach them to show gratitude and be grateful, even when times are rough or times are hard, and that our morals and the way that we live isn't based off of how other people treat us.
Men's Journal: By the way, I stand by the fact that you had more "evidence" on Porsha [Williams] than Colton [Underwood] ever did on Tiffany [Mitchell]. So did it all come back just to that Porsha vote? Was that the thing that was following you around?
Ron Funches: Yeah, I think pretty much. You know, sometimes it depends on who you choose. They, most of them weren't really aware of me, but they had a strong background and friendship with her from the past. So the basic school terms I can put it, was that, like, I sent the most popular kid home, and then they were like, "We don't want to play with you anymore."
Men's Journal: That's a good analogy. Yes, I've heard Porsha was very popular in there, so I get it. But you talked about Rob, and I think that was something that a lot of people loved to see, was your friendship blossoming. Talk to me about Rob. I saw the video of you reacting to him being a Traitor. Did you feel betrayed at all?
Ron Funches: Oh no, not at all. You know, we're playing the game. And it really made a lot of sense after. I was like, oh, I play chess with him every night. There are other games he would always like, kind of lead the cast in these different social games or word games or just these brain teasers. And he was always like, "let's try this, let's do this." And so when you go back and think about him, like, oh, he is so smart. He is always, he loves games. He likes a little bit of deception. So it seems like, okay, yeah, he would be a great Traitor, and he's so charming. So I was shocked, but at the same time, I feel like the people I was closest to, like Donna [Kelce] and Rob on the show, and they both turned out to be Traitors, but I think in the real world, they're the two kindest, sweetest, realest people in that castle. So I think I have a good picker.
Men's Journal: Talk to me about Candiace [Dillard-Bassett] and finding out she was a Traitor too. Were you surprised?
Ron Funches: I was a little surprised, just because of how strong my belief was that people who were truly upset about Porsha probably weren't Traitors, because they were really mad at me. But when you go back, I go like, oh, it makes sense that she could use this. She could use her real feelings, you know, that she was mad that I got rid of her friend, and then use them to play the game. And I think it's very smart in a way, that she did it. But you go back like, of course, she's leading a conga line. She dresses like a different supervillain from every cartoon every day. Yeah, clearly she is a Traitor. And then I think seeing, we've seen recently with her sticking up for Lisa [Rinna] that, you know, sometimes her game plan is a little bit out there and different. So I hope it doesn't bite her in the butt. But if it's down to TV between her and Rob, I think she's got her work cut out for her.
Men's Journal: How do you think you would have done as a Traitor? Did you want to be a Traitor at all?
Ron Funches: I was open to both. My natural leanings are more Faithful. It's easier for me to be honest. It's easier for me to just be myself. I think when you're a Traitor, you kind of have to live in these two different worlds, you know, but I also feel like if I was a Traitor, it would have forced me to be more social, to mask more, to be more of the person that they probably expected me to be seeing as how I'm a comedian. So I might have actually done better as a Traitor, but I think for my own life and emotions, I'd much rather be Faithful.
Men's Journal: How do you feel going into the reunion and seeing everyone again? It's a little like high school–well maybe not high school–but you don't to be friends and keep in touch with everyone.
Ron Funches: I think it is high school, Sharon. That's what it was like. I'm going to go in, and there's going to be some castmates that I loved. I'm excited to see Rob, we're going to go do some mini-golfing before the reunion. I'm excited to see Kristen [Kish] and Tara [Lapinski] and a few other people. And then there's just some people who I'm not excited to see, and that's just normal life, and that's high school—like a regular high school reunion—and it'll be great. And I'm sure some people will genuinely apologize. I'm sure some people will fake apologize in front of cameras, and all I can do is just try to be me and roast if I can, if I get a good chance to roast some people. I'm excited about it.
Men's Journal: Love that. So has this deterred you from doing any other reality TV or competition shows? Are you open to that?
Ron Funches: I'm open to it. I like trying new things. And I don't believe it was The Traitors format or itself that made me have such a difficult time. I think it was just some of the castmates and the dynamics that they had, how much they loved this other person and how much they were unaware of me. I perfectly think the best reality show would be like a reboot of The Simple Life, where me and Rob go around doing his Alabama stuff, and then he comes and does some comedy, and then we both go on double dates, because we are trying to find love.
Men's Journal: Can we make this happen, Ron?
Ron Funches: I'll pitch it. We'll see if they'll do it.
Men's Journal: Are you going to wear the overalls?
Ron Funches: Yes, I am. I'm actually coming up with a couple sketches where I'm going to wear some most-shirtless overalls myself, which was really fun. That was one of my favorite parts. And what I liked about him as well, was that he doesn't take himself seriously. Like, he would come out and dress like that every day, and I would just mock him to his face and just be like, "Oh, you just don't own a shirt. Can you find a shirt anywhere?" But he knew what he was doing. America didn't want him in a shirt.
Men's Journal: Exactly. Thanks for chatting today, Ron. I know it probably wasn't always the most fun for you, but I think a lot of people related to you.
Ron Funches: That's been the best thing. Yeah, you know, sometimes those best stories aren't always the ones that the most—you know, it wasn't just like, "Oh, I found every Traitor and kicked everybody out," and that would have been beautiful. But I think this is a story that kind of is a cycle of my own life. It's led me to go find out more about myself and start an autism diagnosis. And so I think that at the end of the day is one of the most positive things I've gone through, even though it was a bit tough sometimes.