Tara de Vries on ‘The Traitors Türkiye’

As Episode Magazine, we spoke with Tara de Vries from the The Traitors Türkiye team, whom we hosted on our cover for the April 2026 issue.

This competition taught me something very important about human relations: Always trust your inner voice. Information, direction, or perception coming from the outside can influence you very easily. Actually, the most accurate way is to be able to stay in your own center. At the same time, it reminded me once again how valuable real connections are and that one must choose carefully whom to trust.”

While The Traitors Türkiye, which takes place in a castle in Belgium, offers a fascinating atmosphere from the outside, the events unfolding inside paint a much darker picture. For Tara de Vries, this experience is a journey of manipulation, intuition, and trust, rather than a fairy-tale setting; it’s an intense psychological test where crises are intertwined.

Although Tara de Vries had experienced the effects of isolation and lack of communication before, for Tara de Vries, the struggle this time is not just with herself; it is a mind game where everyone is trying to manipulate each other. In this game, the real challenge for Tara de Vries and the other contestants is not just to feel the truth, but to be able to make others believe in that truth as well.

​Is the atmosphere of the castle a romantic fairy tale or a dark psychological experiment?

The atmosphere of the castle was, frankly, more like a dark psychological experiment than a romantic fairy tale for me. Of course, it was visually very impressive, the rooms were truly fascinating, and I could feel this atmosphere within that space from time to time.

But the events we experienced, the tension of the game, and the challenging moments pushed the fairytale side of the castle into the background for me. Overall, the experience remained in my mind for its psychological depth rather than its beauty.

Does female intuition really work in this game? How did you use it?

​I think female intuition definitely works in this game. I believe women’s observation skills are stronger, and this provides a great advantage in the game. However, the hardest part for me was making others believe what I felt. Using your intuition is one thing, but expressing and making that intuition accepted in the right way was the real struggle.

How did isolation and the communication ban affect you emotionally?

Isolation and the communication ban were not very foreign situations for me. Since I have participated in retreats and am spiritually familiar with these types of experiences, I went through this part relatively easily. But still, being without a phone and being completely cut off from the outer world inside such an intense game was emotionally impactful.

Who was the first person you established a bond of trust with and why?

​I think I established the first bond of trust with Yasemin Yürük. At the beginning, it’s not possible to trust anyone, but as the game progresses, some people start to make you feel closer. Having the same thoughts and being able to talk to her felt good to me, and this bond grew stronger over time.

When you encountered manipulation in the game, was it easy to notice?

​It was definitely not easy to notice manipulation in the game. In fact, I can say there wasn’t a single moment without manipulation. Everyone is saying something, everyone is implying something… After a certain point, you get confused about what to believe. This makes the game both harder and more intense.

​If you were a Traitor, how would you direct people?

Honestly, I think being a Traitor is a very difficult role. I believe people who can constantly lie in real life could play this role more easily. Since it is very contrary to my character, I couldn’t do it. Even staying Faithful was challenging, so I really respect those who were Traitors.

What was the moment you struggled with the most in the castle?

There were quite a lot of moments I struggled with in the castle. But the thing I struggled with the most was being able to express myself correctly. Persuading people and explaining yourself was really hard. Especially in communication with certain people, when they constantly come at you, staying calm and continuing to be yourself becomes a serious struggle.

Did you have a breaking point where you said, “I can’t trust anyone anymore”?

Yes, there was a breaking point where I said, “I can’t trust anyone anymore.” I understood the true nature of the game as soon as I entered the castle with the farewell of two contestants. From that moment on, I accepted that everyone was playing their own game and the sense of trust completely disappeared.

What did this competition teach you about human relations?

This competition taught me something very important about human relations: Always trust your inner voice. Information, direction, or perception coming from the outside can influence you very easily. Actually, the most accurate way is to be able to stay in your own center. At the same time, it reminded me once again how valuable real connections are and that one must choose carefully whom to trust.

Looking back now, what was your biggest mistake?

Looking back, there isn’t one single thing I can call “my biggest mistake.” We all experienced this game for the first time and naturally made mistakes. But overall, I am happy to have experienced the process as it was. Maybe I could have established a different strategy or spoken more at the beginning. But I preferred to observe first and then act. And since I learned a lot from this process, it was valuable in every way.

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