Maura Higgins may get another chance to face Rob Rausch after The Traitors, only this time she wants him on a dance floor.
Higgins and her Dancing With the Stars partner Mark Ballas told Entertainment Weekly that Rausch is coming to watch them during Week 1 of Season 35. Ballas is also pushing for their former Traitors costar to appear in one of their routines.
“You owe us, bro. You’re going to be in this dance,” Ballas recalled telling Rausch. Higgins stopped short of confirming a cameo, saying, “We’re cooking up something. We’re trying to make something work.”
Rausch has some history with both of them. He won The Traitors Season 4 after Higgins reached the final two believing he was a Faithful, while Ballas was one of the Faithfuls eliminated shortly before the finale.
Rob Is Coming to Week 1
Ballas was definite about one part of the plan. “He’s coming [to watch] week one,” he told Entertainment Weekly. Whether Rausch leaves his seat and joins Higgins and Ballas during a routine is still being worked out.
The joke that Rausch owes them works on two levels. During The Traitors finale, Higgins trusted Rausch until they were the final two players. She announced that she was a Faithful, only for Rausch to reveal that he had been a Traitor from the beginning and had won the $220,800 prize.
Ballas had already been eliminated from the game. He was one of the remaining Faithfuls when Rausch and fellow Traitor Eric Nam chose to “murder” him before the final round.
There is no public feud between the three now. Rausch promised Higgins a Hermès Birkin as an apology for fooling her and later surprised her with the bag during Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. Lisa Rinna helped him get it.
Maura Says She Can Actually Trust Mark
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Higgins and Ballas knew each other before they were paired for DWTS, but their new partnership asks for a different kind of trust. After the Season 35 cast reveal, Higgins told E! News that she can hand that responsibility over to him because he is the professional teaching her.
“I can trust Mark fully because he’s the professional,” she said. Ballas immediately reminded her that trusting him in the castle might have helped too.
Higgins also confirmed that Rausch is not the only former Traitors player expected in the ballroom. Lisa Rinna is coming for Week 1 as well. Higgins joked that her Birkin will also be in attendance.
She and Ballas are using “Team Tink” as their ballroom name, a reference to Higgins’ pronunciation of “think” that became familiar to viewers during The Traitors.
Ballas Says Higgins Is a True Beginner
Knowing each other before rehearsals has not given Higgins a shortcut through the dancing. Ballas described her as a genuine beginner and said they are building her skills “brick by brick.”
“She’s never danced before, but I’ve been really impressed with how hard [she’s working],” he told Entertainment Weekly. Higgins called Ballas patient and said she appreciates that he can also be strict and repetitive when she needs it.
Their rehearsals have already brought back one running joke from the castle. Ballas remembered Higgins telling him during The Traitors that she wanted to do Dancing With the Stars, despite struggling with some of the show’s physical missions.
He later asked how she expected to survive hours of dance rehearsal when a 45-minute Traitors challenge had been difficult. Higgins had a simple answer: she did not want to carry rocks up a mountain, but she did want to learn how to dance.
Season 35 Starts With Two Nights
Higgins and Ballas are one of 16 celebrity and professional pairings confirmed by ABC for Season 35. The lineup also includes Julia Stiles, Jenna Dewan, Giada De Laurentiis, Tyler Cameron, Taylor Hanson and Ciara Miller.
The season begins with a two-night premiere on September 15 and 16 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+. Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough return as hosts, with Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough back at the judges’ table.
Ballas said he has not yet given Higgins his full rundown on what each judge tends to look for. His immediate focus has been getting a first-time dancer ready for the ballroom.
Rausch will be there to watch when that work reaches the live show. Whether he ends Week 1 in the audience or becomes part of Higgins and Ballas’ routine has not yet been announced.