EXCLUSIVE: Why 2 Real Estate Agents Kept Their Real Jobs Secret on ‘The Traitors: New Blood’

When real estate agents Kriste Lewis and Logan Smith first stepped foot in Ardross Castle, they immediately got to wheeling and dealing.

But as cast members of “The Traitors: New Blood,” their mission was not to close a deal—it was to enter an intense psychological game of deceit for a chance to win $250,000.

This season, the hit series is nixing its typically celebrity-stacked cast in favor of a lineup of 22 regular people who will compete against one another in the emotionally charged game.

Lewis, 52, a longtime fan who usually tunes in to the series from home with her family over a pizza and a bottle of wine, says signing up for the competition was “a no-brainer.”

She entered the sprawling Scottish Highlands estate with a checklist of experiences she hoped to walk away with, from petting host Alan Cumming’s trusty companion—a dog named Lala—to enjoying an iconic breakfast spread the morning after a banishment.

The Mississippi-based real estate pro hopes to be among the contestants assigned the role of “Traitor,” giving her the opportunity to symbolically “murder” fellow players each night, as opposed to the “Faithfuls” who have to sniff the Traitors out and “banish” them in order to win.

“The name of the game is ‘Traitors,’ so who doesn’t want to put on a beautiful green cloak and run around a Scottish castle in the middle of the night?” she tells Realtor.com®. “That is on my top 10 list of things to do.”

Similarly, Smith, 26, from Gatlinburg TN, hopes to be tapped in as a Traitor.

“I just really wanted to play the game to my advantage, and who has more advantage than the Traitors?” he asks.

Both agents agree their career experience has set them up for success in the game.

“Real estate is a very emotional field. As real estate agents, we play mom, we play nurse, we play a lot of different roles and wear a lot of different hats when we’re working with clients and trying to get them to the finish line of buying that home,” says Lewis. “When you’re in the castle, you’ve got to put on a bunch of different hats.”

Lewis notes she was able to use her ability to “read” clients to her advantage.

Smith credits his work as a commercial agent for equipping him with a “specific tool kit” that was invaluable throughout the competition, touting his ability to “make everybody happy to move forward with what benefits me.”

"The Traitors" is famously a tournament of trickery, but the civilian twist has added a new level.
While celebrity cast members in the past have had a level of recognition that gives their opponents at least some idea of who they are, the “New Blood” crew is mostly anonymous, affording the unique opportunity to craft an intentional identity in the game.

“I definitely wasn’t coming into the game saying I was a real estate agent,” Smith admits. Instead, he took careful note of what his fellow competitors were up to.

“You’ve got to ask real specific questions, because not everybody is telling the truth about what they do for work in there,” he explains. “I’m just going to be honest. A lawyer’s probably going to have a little bit more of an advantage than somebody in a non-argumentative occupation.”

Smith is also optimistic that putting his killer bargaining skills on display on TV will have a positive impact on his postcastle career.

“At the end of the day, I’m supposed to be representing the best interests of whoever my client is. So if you think that I’m doing a great job on ‘The Traitors,’ then you'd better just hire me to be on your side when it comes time to buy a house,” he says with a laugh.

Although Smith has confidence in his soft skills, he was shocked to learn just how grueling the game’s physical challenges can be.

When watching past seasons, he often thought, “Man, that looks so easy!” and recalls being quickly humbled.

“Believe me, they make it hard,” he says. “I definitely struggled on one or two of the challenges, a lot more than I thought I would have. It’s just exciting, and they definitely made the show to where it’s fair but impactful for everybody to be included in the challenges.”

Lewis was similarly stunned by the grandeur of the filming location.

“Gosh, I was just so in awe. Just walking in the castle, I felt like the biggest dork. I was just touching everything,” she reveals. “You just imagine, it’s your favorite TV show, and you get to walk into that. I’m still pinching myself and asking, ‘Was that real life? Did that really happen?' and I do recognize that it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’m just so grateful for it.”

Having each spent time acquainting themselves with Adross Castle, Lewis and Smith are both at the ready should they ever receive the opportunity to work with the listing in a real estate transaction.

“It was an absolutely stunning property,” Lewis gushes. “One of the things I loved about the castle is that beautiful stained glass ... and, of course, the peacocks that roam the grounds are amazing as well.”

“It was just so full of history, and so to be able to step into a place like that and become part of its history ... that just absolutely makes my heart sing.”

Smith would have his sights set on the property’s seemingly endless streams of revenue.

“Coming from my more commercial background, I would say obviously, it’s an income-producing property,” he says, throwing in a comment about how he hopes the owners are “getting some good rent out of the 'Traitors' people.”

As there are no indicators that Ardross Castle will be up for grabs anytime soon, Smith has another idea for a potential reason to return.

“It’s been used as a wedding venue before. ... I guess I’ll be going back to get married there pretty soon,” he jokes, adding that he’s recently engaged and his fiance, Makenzie, is a major fan of the show.

Time will soon tell how well Lewis and Smith fare in the game. But even if they’re both sent home toward the beginning, they’ve walked away with more than they started with.

Lewis hopes viewers have “as much fun watching it as we did making it,” noting that she really enjoyed “getting to know Logan” through the experience.

“I now have a Tennessee referral if I ever need to send any commercial business to Tennessee,” she says. “And I hope he knows he’s got a residential agent in Mississippi just awaitin’.”

'The Traitors: New Blood' premieres on Sept. 17 on NBC.