Rachel Duffy Opens Up About Winning The Traitors, Losing Her Mum — and What Comes Next
For months, Rachel Duffy carried one of television’s biggest secrets. When the finale of The Traitors aired, nearly 10 million viewers watched her outwit the competition and share victory with fellow contestant Stephen Libby.
It was a life-changing moment — the culmination of strategy, deception and nerve.
But just three days after that public triumph, Rachel’s world shifted dramatically.
She learned her mother was dying.
From National Victory to Personal Loss
Rachel had been in Manchester amid the media whirlwind that follows a primetime TV win when she received the devastating news. She rushed home to Newry to say goodbye.
Her mother, Anne, had been living with Parkinson’s disease and dementia for years. Although her health had been fragile, Rachel says the end came suddenly.
“It all happened really quickly,” she said, reflecting on the emotional whiplash of celebrating on national television while privately bracing for heartbreak.
Throughout her time on The Traitors, Rachel frequently spoke about her mother and her desire to create lasting memories with her if she won prize money. That promise, she says, still guides her — even if circumstances have changed.
Turning Prize Money Into Purpose
Rachel and Stephen each walked away with approximately £48,000. For Rachel, the money now carries deeper meaning.
“I can’t make memories with mummy anymore,” she said, “but I can make them with my family.”
She shares three children with her husband, Seán, and says 2026 will be about focusing on them — traveling, celebrating small joys and embracing time together.
After 18 years working as a communications director for a community organisation, Rachel made the difficult decision to step away from her career.
“I’ve worked for an amazing organisation helping people in the community,” she said. “But right now, I want to focus on me and my wee family.”
The choice marks a significant new chapter — one shaped by both achievement and grief.
Have the “Faithful” Forgiven Her?
Winning The Traitors requires deception — and Rachel embraced the role fully. But what about her fellow contestants, known on the show as the “faithful”?
She insists there’s no bad blood.
“There’s none of them I wouldn’t go for a coffee with,” she said.
Several contestants have already visited her in County Down, including her co-winner Stephen Libby. Fellow players Amanda Collier, Judy, and Roxy Wilson made the trip for what Rachel described as an action-packed reunion — sea swimming, mountain hikes and coastal walks in Newcastle.
“It was beautiful,” she said.
Former criminal barrister-turned-author Harriet Tyce also spent a weekend visiting, while Rachel recently caught up with fellow Northern Ireland contestant Matthew Hyndman.
Despite the tension viewers saw on screen, Rachel says the bonds formed during filming last summer remain genuine.
“You Big Traitor!”
Back home in Newry, Rachel’s rise to reality TV fame brought plenty of local humour.
During the show’s broadcast, watch parties sprang up across the town. Before the finale, locals would shout “You big traitor!” in playful accusation. After her win, the tone shifted.
“‘Lend us a fiver!’ they’d shout,” she laughed.
She describes the reaction as supportive but full of Northern Irish banter.
The FBI Training Claim
One of Rachel’s most talked-about moments on the show involved her claim of having undergone extensive FBI-style training — something she later admitted had been exaggerated from a one-day course into a four-month programme.
She has since contacted the agent who ran the course.
“I thanked him,” she said, joking that the training — however brief — contributed to her strategic edge.
Filming wrapped last summer, months before the series aired in January. Rachel was contractually bound to keep the outcome secret, a task she says became increasingly difficult as the premiere approached.
“I’m very good with secrets,” she said. “If you tell me something, I won’t repeat it.”
Then, with a mischievous smile: “I’m a great liar — but I can also keep a secret.”
What’s Next?
While Rachel admits she is intrigued by opportunities in television, her immediate creative focus lies elsewhere. For nearly a decade, she has been working on a young adult contemporary fantasy novel titled The Echo of the Embers — the first in a planned trilogy.
“Just watch this space,” she said.
Between family life, writing ambitions and the lingering emotional impact of her mother’s passing, Rachel says she is taking time to process everything.
Winning a hit TV series brought national attention and financial reward. Losing her mother brought perspective.
Now, she says, the goal is simple: build joy where she can — and stay true to the promises she made when the cameras were rolling.