Kirby Bentley might have won The Traitors Australia 2026, but she insists she is anything but a liar by trade.
The Survivor star, 40, was a Traitor from day one and managed to sneak all the way to the $200,600 prize pot undetected by the Faithful.
While she’s walked away with a life-changing amount of money, her victory has come at a price: viewers have accused her of being a liar in real life.
Speaking exclusively to New Idea, Kirby has firmly defended herself against the backlash, insisting it couldn’t be further from the truth.
“You see people be like, ‘She’s so manipulative, she’s such a liar and a snake’, and things like that. In the real world, knowing that that’s not who I am, I hate that people would ever think that, but people don’t know me apart from what they see of me [on TV].”
While being a Traitor involves a lot of deception, Kirby insists she only told one actual lie to her competitors, with her tactic instead relying on genuine connections.
“It’s not very often that I do lie,” she insists of her time on the show.
“All I’m doing is, if you’ve brought something up about Krissy, I’m just adding to the Krissy conversation. I’m like, ‘Oh, that does make sense’. The only lie I told was probably [on the] last night or the night before, when I’m like, ‘I’m a Faithful’.”
Rather than spinning lies, Kirby’s strategy was a social one: She got people on side by connecting with them through her real-life stories.
“My game style was social. So, being able to connect with people genuinely and authentically, share stories about myself and learn about others – that’s how you can relate,” she explains.
“You can’t share things of vulnerability or experiences from your personal life without it being real, unless you’re genuinely a psychopath.
“So, I think that’s the hardest thing, knowing that you’re going to leverage that when you need to. But the leveraging comes in with you feeling safe with me, not necessarily me pointing out things that I’ve learned.”
Kirby was no stranger to game-playing, having finished in fifth place on Survivor, however, she insists the mental strain of The Traitors was harder than anything she’s ever done.
“I found it difficult because you’re trying to be a Faithful knowing that the Faithfuls are showing up as themselves,” she says.
“In Survivor, you’ve got alliances, and you can speak openly and freely. You know if someone’s moving, you’re aligned. Whereas in this, the Faithfuls are trying to be open, but always have doubts.”
Even though she might not have been at risk of murder, there were a lot of sleepless nights for Kirby.
“I hardly slept at all,” she admits.
“I would wake up thinking, all right, so we’re going to breakfast today. Whatever comes up, just make sure it comes up early and then nip it in the bud.
“You want to be across all that you can without being too nosy in things. So I hardly slept.”
Ultimately, her game plan worked, and she beat Traitor Rhys Nicholson and Faithfuls Krissy Marsh and Keira Maguire to the prize pot, which she now plans to spend on her sister’s wedding.
She says it’s the “least” she can do for her sibling, given she missed her wedding to go on Survivor – actually getting eliminated on the day of the nuptials.
“Everything that I’ve done has definitely been worth it. This is massive, not only for my family, but for Aboriginal people and women as well,” she said upon her win.
“Everything that I do is bigger than just me. $200,000, it does change your life, and I just don’t think that it’s sunk in right now. To win The Traitors as the OG Traitor? Cheers!”
