Burt Reynolds’s 1972 centerfold in Cosmopolitan was, simply put, a major moment in pop culture. It was our magazine’s—any magazine’s—first time featuring a man in that kind of spread, and it cemented Burt’s status as one of America’s sexiest men. In homage, we’re continuing the Cosmo Centerfold series, in which we showcase the hottest celebs of our time. You’ll have to pick up an actual Cosmo to see it in the flesh. Enjoy!
It had only been six days since the season 4 finale of The Traitors aired on Peacock when I logged on to Zoom to speak with its winner, Rob Rausch. In that time, he’d already racked up glossy spreads with GQ, Interview, Men’s Health, BuzzFeed, and The Cut—plus a conversation with the New York Times (no photo shoot for that one, but still).
There were TV appearances too: TODAY With Jenna & Sheinelle, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Access Hollywood, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Therapuss With Jake Shane, and multiple encounters with Andy Cohen—once for the show’s reunion and again on Watch What Happens Live.
Somewhere between all that, he’s been juggling brand deals with SONIC, CELSIUS Energy Drinks, MAC Cosmetics, Crown Royal, DoorDash, and KIND Snacks, while also recording exclusive audio erotica for Quinn. (Everyone say, “Thank you, Quinn!”)
In other words, Rob had been a Traitors winner for less than a week and already, his victory lap has turned into a full-blown sprint. His schedule was so packed that I ran out of time to sit down with him during the photo shoot—which took place just four days after the finale aired and he walked away with the $220,800 prize pot—so our interview ended up being virtual instead.
When he finally popped on my screen, it was clear the whirlwind of press was catching up to him. I could tell that the newly crowned reality TV mastermind was a very sleepy boy.
“I’m sorry, my brain is absolutely fried,” he said, switching on his phone camera from bed. The past week had put him through the ringer. But even through the haze of exhaustion, it was obvious he was ready to lock in. He was wearing a hoodie and a baseball cap, and in that moment, he didn’t feel like a celebrity on a call with a journalist. He felt like someone still orienting himself to a suddenly altered life.
When asked about the mind-boggling pace of his recent hustle, he says, “I’m just trying to make the most of my situation.”
At 27, he embodies a distinctly modern archetype—a kind of himbo genius. The term fits not because it diminishes him; instead, it captures the disarming contrast between his physical charisma and laid-back charm. It causes people to underestimate him at first before appreciating the measured brilliance that eventually reveals itself. There’s also a notable degree of self-awareness—an understanding of economic volatility that people who suddenly come into money rarely possess. It’s sexy.
“I could probably do more shows,” he muses. “But I’m reluctant.”
That reluctance isn’t particularly surprising. On Love Island, Rob often appeared emotional, even messy at times—someone visibly overwhelmed by the intensity of his own feelings. But on The Traitors, a different skill set came into focus. There, he displayed a precise strategic intelligence, quietly shaping the game by calculating outcomes, reading the room, and committing to the long con while maintaining the disarming image of a harmless hot guy. He admits that the Traitors version is closer to who he is in real life. (“Not in the sense of backstabbing and lying to everyone, but in the sense that I presented as a very calm person.”) In both arenas, however, viewers were quick to project their own interpretations onto him.
“The term ‘gaslighting’ gets thrown around way too much these days,” he says, too tired to give me one of his iconic eye rolls. “It’s not a loose term. But maybe I’m just sensitive to it because people have said it about me.”
But in a competition explicitly built around deception, can manipulation really be called gaslighting if every participant has agreed to the premise? For Rob, the answer is straightforward. “It’s great gameplay, period.”
And he’s not wrong. Still, audiences watching from home often struggle to separate the mechanics of the game from the morality they might assign to it, mistaking strategic maneuvering for something more sinister. The line between gameplay and personal ethics blurs easily when betrayal is the premise.
A reality TV star receiving the same fanfare and scrutiny as a Hollywood A-lister is so 2026. But the outdoorsy Alabama snake wrangler and laid-back heartthrob who seems genuinely unbothered by fame is equally unfazed by the accusations that he played dirty. More importantly, he says the people who actually shared the experience with him also see it for what it was: a competition. (“To be so honest with you, I don’t think anyone from the game really thinks that anyone was being malicious.”)
“Playing a game and winning is fun,” he says, sitting up just a little bit straighter. “Anybody who says that’s not true is lying,” he smirks.
Much of Rob’s appeal lies in the tension that he looks like the archetypal dreamboat—tattoos, blue eyes, athletic hobbies—but he also paints watercolors, plays piano, builds things with his hands, and once pursued a degree in photography. The combination of confidence and creative curiosity makes him feel multidimensional rather than manufactured. His upbringing—homeschooled until high school and relatively insulated from the usual social pressures—likely contributes to his unusually strong sense of self. There’s a calm indifference to public opinion in the way he carries himself that many people find magnetic.
“I feel like that’s a common denominator throughout my siblings as well,” he says, clearly proud of his family’s shared ability to evade conformity. “They’re all the same way. I don’t think they really seek validation in others.”
That same independence also shows up in how he handles his personal life. While the world has quickly crowned him its latest internet boyfriend, Rob has revealed he’s officially off the market. He recently confirmed he has a girlfriend—although beyond that, he’s saying very little about her. In the middle of a press blitz that seems to expose every corner of his life, the relationship is one thing he’s choosing to keep largely to himself.
“The only reason I even said that I have a girlfriend was to give her that peace of mind that I am proud of her and I do want it to be known that she’s mine and I’m hers,” he says. To which I tell him that if I were in her position—despite, as he describes it, her being a girl who “is private on everything and does not want a lot of attention”—hearing him publicly profess that kind of commitment would mean the world.
“I think it’s important,” he says, a contagious smile spreading across his face, one that suggests he’s deeply enamored with the small pocket of privacy he seems determined to protect. But when I ask whether she’s seen the show, he can’t help but let slip just a little bit more.
“She’s also a gamer,” he shares enthusiastically. “We play a lot of games,” he pauses, smiling even wider. “And I win a lot of games!” He laughs. “So she wasn’t, like, super surprised by the finale. She kind of had a feeling that I won.”
Naturally, the internet is clamoring to know who the lucky woman is. Some Instagram users have even joked about what her reaction might have been when Rob bought his castmate—Traitors finalist and fellow Love Island alum Maura Higgins—an Hermès Birkin through Madison Avenue Couture with some help from Lisa Rinna. (“Big shoutout to them,” he says to me, briefly holding the bag up on camera before giving it to her later that night.) But according to Rob, his girlfriend just isn’t “into that lifestyle,” which, he added, is one of the things he likes most about her.
Of course, the Birkin moment only fueled the internet’s broader fascination with Rob. He followed through on the promise, after all. Maybe the accidental sex symbol isn’t quite the walking red flag some fans initially assumed. On social media, plenty of people have joked that a guy from the South must come with questionable politics. In the current climate, a healthy skepticism toward all-American, pretty white boys isn’t exactly unfounded. But that’s another narrative Rob seems to complicate.
He’s been outspoken in his criticism of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), recently wearing an “ICE OUT” pin and explaining his stance to GQ via text message: “I don’t fuck with ICE. I couldn’t sleep at night not supporting my immigrant brothers and sisters.”
And on the very topic of brothers and sisters: The siblings he mentioned earlier, he says, are themselves a diverse and deeply close-knit group. In his interview with the New York Times, Rob shared that his older sister has Down syndrome and that his younger brother is gay—and that Rob was the first person his brother came out to.
The internet, naturally, has taken notice of the abundant green flags he’s laid out before them.
“Every single thing I see about him makes me like him more!” shared one Threads user.
“Stop making him even hotter than he already was!” published another.
“Ok fine, I’ll stop being a hater,” one wrote.
The internet’s crush on Rob has only intensified—which makes sense the more we learn about him. And as he is a publicly thirsted-after figure, his earlier fans have been quick to remind him of the steamy 2025 calendar he once released with photographer Amber Asaly (who, fun fact, has shot two Cosmopolitan covers: Alex Cooper and Tyla). Which raises a practical question: What does it feel like to be this publicly desired—and would he ever consider giving the people another calendar?
“I got a lot of disappointed DMs over not having another calendar,” he reveals. “My sister wants to do a calendar for [our clothing line] Creek Rat, but I’m afraid it won’t be as glamorous and amazing as Amber’s.”
I ask what a Creek Rat calendar might look like.
“Well, it won’t be me,” he says assertively. “We just want to do cool shots of the farm and include some lore of the land.”
I joke that he might sell just a few less.
“Probably a lot less,” he laughs.
Ultimately, aside from the lethal face card and washboard abs, people seem drawn to Rob because he’s authentically himself—and still wholly unpredictable. He’s a self-professed “jack of all trades” who considers himself a “really complex person.” And the description tracks. He’s the kind of handsome outdoorsman who might catch a critter in your garden, correct your vocabulary over dinner, and quietly outsmart everyone in the room. When I ask how he’d describe himself, his answer is disarmingly simple: “I would not put myself in any box.”
“I have a lot of different sides to me and a lot of depth that probably will never be known to the world,” he says, his thoughts drifting somewhere quieter for a moment. And I believe him. For now, though, the whirlwind continues. But it’s clear his mind is drifting back home.
“I don’t get treated special in Alabama,” he says. “I’m just a normal guy again, and that’s how I like it.”
Lead image: All clothing and tie Todd Snyder, shoes Jimmy Choo, bracelet David Yurman.
Styled by Brandon Tan. Grooming by Alexandra DiRoma for MAC Cosmetics. Special thanks to New York Rent a Snake.
