Aaron's Traitors UK Run Foreshadowed His Love Island Drama
Tears have always been his first line of defense.
Aaron Evans’ deceptive turn in Casa Amor may have surprised Love Island USA Season 6 viewers, but the signs have been there even before he got cast on this reality show. ICYMI, Aaron was actually on the first season of Traitors UK in 2022. He wasn’t just on it — he won the whole thing! Along with the prize, he walked away with fan-favorite status. Despite that, many of his behaviors on The Traitors that made him a standout now look like serious red flags.
Playing The Traitors as a Faithful, Aaron became one of the most widely-beloved contestants in the show’s first season, praised for always being open with his emotions and forming sweet bonds with his fellow players. When he won the whole thing with two other Faithfuls, fans were happy for him.
But the celebration is decidedly over now. Traitors fans were probably most surprised by Aaron’s villainous twist on Love Island. When the British deckhand turned his back on his ever-loyal match Kaylor Martin at Casa Amor to explore things with new bombshell Daniela Ortiz-Rivera, he seemed to have become the polar opposite of his persona on Traitors. But looking back, there was some serious foreshadowing of how he’d struggle on a show like Love Island.
Aaron won over Traitors fans with his trusting, childlike enthusiasm ... But on Love Island, that same simple wonder translates instead to immaturity.
As Love Island viewers have been discovering Aaron’s reality show past, the most common reaction has been... it all adds up. “I need people to remember Aaron won his season of Traitors. That man is a master manipulator,” one viewer noted. “I think he still thinks he’s on Traitors not Love Island,” another added.
But people who actually watched Aaron’s Traitors run know deception actually wasn’t a part of his game at all. “People seem to think he was this strategic mastermind on the Traitors. I’m fighting for my life trying to correct the narrative,” a Traitors fan wrote on Reddit. True enough, Aaron was viewed as a sensitive puppy on the cutthroat competition... but now that perception feels so off.
Perhaps the most glaring red flag looking back is the intense way Aaron communicates his emotions. Part of the reason Traitors fans loved him was because he wasn’t afraid to cry, but those breakdowns also ended up working in his favor. When other Traitors contestants like Maddy Smedley attempted to vote him out, Aaron would become incredibly emotional. His tears didn’t just cause fans to feel for him but also advanced his game by getting other players to sympathize with his position.
Even if it isn’t an intentional tactic, it’s something Aaron has also used to influence his castmates on Love Island. His distressed reaction after Andrea Carmona’s elimination was a big part of why his bestie Rob Rauch stayed in the villa, and he also used tears to guilt-trip Kaylor. When he got called out for being unfaithful to her in Casa Amor, he responded by going nonverbal and moping around the villa misty-eyed. Sure, he admitted to messing up, but fans couldn’t help but notice his “victim complex” theatrics throughout the ordeal.
“Aaron crying just like he cried on Traitors,” one fan pointed out. “Go home then!”
Another hallmark of Aaron’s personality that’s been on display since his Traitors days is his dedication to his strong male friendships. The first season of Traitors UK was largely considered a welcome break from toxic masculinity in game shows, with Aaron leading the charge by cuddling up with Ivan Brett and never failing to gas up his bros in challenges.
It was sweet then, but Aaron’s bromances aren’t so cool on a dating show, where romances are meant to reign supreme. As several fans have pointed out, Aaron seems much more invested in his friendship with Rob than his relationship with Kaylor. Forming platonic bonds is a key to success on Traitors, but it’s a confusing distraction on Love Island.
Aaron won over Traitors fans with his trusting, childlike enthusiasm — when he wasn’t crying, he was excitedly running around and screaming with glee about the experience. The attitude endeared him to his fellow contestants and played a major role in him making it to the end. But on Love Island, that same simple wonder translates instead to immaturity. He was so easily persuaded by the bright, shiny new twist of Casa Amor that he ran off with his buddies rather than staying in the strong relationship he’d established in the villa.
It feels super ironic that it took Love Island for Aaron to truly embrace his inner traitor.
