Traitors Australia Winner Kirby Bentley Says It Was the Most Stressful Thing She's Ever Done — But She'd Do It Again

Kirby Bentley has been crowned the winner of the rebooted The Traitors Australia, walking away with a prize pool of $200,600 after 12 days of high-stakes deception filmed at Castle Claremont, a historic estate on New Zealand's South Island. The former Australian Survivor contestant and AFLW player was an Original Traitor from the very first night — and never once let the mask slip.

Bentley outlasted fellow Traitors including former Bachelor contestant Alex Nation, former MasterChef Australia contestant Alvin Quah and comedian Rhys Nicholson, all of whom were eliminated along the way. In the final episode, she managed to convince the two remaining Faithfuls — The Real Housewives of Sydney's Krissy Marsh and former Bachelor contestant Keira Maguire — that she was playing on the right side of the game. She was not.

Twelve Days of Deception

Bentley has described the experience as the most stressful of her life, but says she would not change a thing. "It's been an incredible experience," she said following her win. "The show is just so complex — when you're watching it, you think it's so simple and obvious, but it genuinely isn't."

She revealed that 12 days was likely her absolute limit. "The moral dilemma of the human in you starts to play a part," she explained, noting that maintaining a Traitor's deception while surrounded by people being their authentic selves as Faithfuls is a uniquely strange and uncomfortable experience.

The show is hosted by Gretel Killeen and drew together a cast made up entirely of former Australian reality television personalities.

The Moment Gretel Tapped Her Shoulder

Bentley admitted she genuinely did not see it coming when Killeen selected her as a Traitor on the very first night. Her immediate reaction, however, was excitement rather than nerves. She reasoned that a Survivor background would have made her an early target among the Faithfuls regardless, and that being a Traitor gave her the best possible chance to control the game.

There was, however, an early scare. Fellow contestant Kween Kong reportedly heard the rustle of Bentley's jacket when Killeen tapped her on the shoulder during the Traitor selection — a detail that quickly spread suspicion. Rather than downplay it, Bentley went on the offensive. "When Kween heard it and told people, I was like, 'Let's just bite the bullet and get Kween gone, and we'll deal with the repercussions the next day,'" she said.

A Survivor Mentality in a Different Game

Bentley acknowledged that her time on Australian Survivor shaped her approach throughout the competition. She had hoped to play a quieter, lower-profile game initially, but quickly adapted when circumstances demanded otherwise. Her strategy leant heavily on aggression and pre-emption — if anyone raised her name, the response was swift.

"I play a really aggressive game in Survivor — it's really cutthroat," she said. "If anyone ever says my name, it's 'Let's just get them gone' and create that fear. And I did the same in this, and it worked."

When asked what makes her so effective at manipulation and social strategy, Bentley pointed to her upbringing. She described growing up as an Aboriginal girl in a country town, navigating the dynamics of white and black Australia from a young age — an experience she credited as the foundation of her social intelligence and ability to read people.

Would She Do It Again?

Despite describing the experience as extraordinarily stressful, Bentley's answer is an emphatic yes. The complexity of the game, the quality of the production and the intensity of the psychological challenge are, in her view, what make The Traitors Australia unlike anything else on television — and worth every sleepless night at Castle Claremont.

She was also full of praise for the production team, saying they had done "an incredible job" with the edit of what was, behind the scenes, a genuinely chaotic and emotionally demanding shoot.