Boston Rob Admits He Didn't SeeSurvivor: All-Stars'Through the Jury's Eyes': 'I Killed Friendships' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Boston Rob Mariano appears on ‘Deal or No Deal Island’ season 1.Photo:Patrick Ecclesine/NBC/Getty

Rob Mariano appears on Deal or No Deal Island Season 1

Patrick Ecclesine/NBC/Getty

BostonRob Marianoknows he can be a cutthroat gamer.

“There’s something for playing hard,” theSurvivoralum, 49, tells PEOPLE. “Like, inSurvivor: All-Starsback in 2003 in Panama, I legitimately did everything that I needed to do to get to the end. I cut throats, I killed friendships and I expected them to give it to me at the end.”

Instead, the jury gave the win toAmber Brkich, who Mariano proposed to in theAll-Starslive reunion show and married in April 2005.

Mariano says his takeaways from his aggressiveAll-Starsseason helped him come back and winRedemption Islandin 2011. “I had to learn you can’t just treat all these other people just like game pieces,” he explains. “You have to understand they’re people, they have feelings, and act accordingly.”

Thefather of fourcalls it “a balancing act” to figure out how to navigate preserving relationships with his castmates while also keeping his eyes on the prize. “And I think finding that balance really is the key to doing well in these reality competition games,” Mariano says.

Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich on ‘Survivor: All Stars’.Monty Brinton/CBS

Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich

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Mariano ultimately feels proud of his run onSurvivor, which began withMarquesasin 2004.

“I thought I did good my first time out in Marquesas,” he says. “I didn’t ultimately win, but I understood the strategy better than the people did at the time. I feel like I understood the theory of it beyond what was even considered what should be done. Even taking Hunter [Ellis] out in the very first loss onMarquesas, people were like, ‘What are they doing? We shouldn’t get rid of Captain America.’ In the back of my mind, I’m thinking, ‘While this guy’s here, how am I supposed to win?’”

Boston Rob Mariano ‘Deal or No Deal Island’ Season 1.Monty Brinton/NBC/Getty Images

Rob Mariano Deal or No Deal Island Season 1

Monty Brinton/NBC/Getty Images

Now, Mariano will use his reality competition expertise, which also includes stints onThe Amazing Race,Deal or No Deal Islandand the upcoming season ofThe Traitors, to analyze the gameplay onDeal or No Deal Islandseason 2 as the host of the NBC competition program’s after show.

“There is a right and a wrong way to play the temple from a math-based point of view,” Mariano says of facing the Banker in a game ofDeal or No Deal. “And that is you don’t ever put yourself in a position to take less than true odds, which at worse would be 50/50.”

When Mariano playedDeal or No Deal Islandin season 1, he knew this strategy, but he found himself with a target on his back due to his stacked resume of competition experience. “These games have all evolved,” Mariano acknowledges. “It’s great where everything is, and I’m really happy with my place in the history of all of it.”

As for how he fares onTraitors season 3, Mariano teases, “It’s going to be frigging awesome.”

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Deal or No Deal Islandseason 2 premieres with a two-hour episode on Tuesday, Jan. 7, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

source: people.com