Rob Rausch made good on an expensive promise to Maura Higgins and did so in front of a live studio audience.
The Season 4 winner of The Traitors surprised Maura Higgins, the season’s runner-up, with a coveted Hermès Birkin bag during a joint appearance on Watch What Happens Live Wednesday night. The lavish gesture came weeks after Rausch betrayed Higgins in the game’s dramatic finale, revealing he had been a Traitor all along.
Host Andy Cohen leaned into the moment, polling the audience: “Would you forgive someone if they bought you a Birkin? Yes or no?” As cheers erupted, Cohen added, “She says all it will take to be forgiven is a Birkin,” prompting Rausch to don white gloves and retrieve the iconic orange Hermès box.
Carefully unwrapping the handbag to applause and hoots from the crowd, Rausch presented the luxury accessory to Maura Higgins, who reveled in the moment. “I knew I would win,” she quipped. “This is my moment.”
The extravagant gift was not spontaneous. During the finale of The Traitors, Rausch had vowed to buy Higgins a Birkin bag after his strategic betrayal secured him the win and the $220,800 grand prize. The promise quickly became one of the reunion’s most talked-about moments.
Prior to his late-night appearance, the 27-year-old reality star was spotted in New York City purchasing the bag, photographed alongside podcaster Jake Shane while carrying two large white shopping bags. Rausch later told People that Higgins, 35, had been very specific about her desired style.
“She told me immediately she wanted burgundy with gold accent, size 30,” he said, referring to one of the most sought-after configurations of the Birkin.
Rausch also revealed that fellow “Traitors” cast member Lisa Rinna played a key role in securing the designer bag. “She’s a very well-connected woman, and she did it,” he shared. “She gave me all her resources and originally I was going to get it from a guy in Paris.”
“I was going to actually have to go to Paris, which I was going to do,” he continued. “But now we got someone in New York City, and it’s going to be great.”
While Rausch and Maura Higgins’ flirtatious dynamic fueled speculation throughout the season, both have clarified that their relationship remains platonic. During the tell-all reunion, Rausch disclosed that he has been in a private relationship for the past two months. Higgins, for her part, told Us Weekly that she views him as a sibling figure.
“I’m not gonna ruin it for the viewers, but no, nothing ever happened between me and Rob,” Maura Higgins said. “People online are saying I’m ‘d–kmatized.’ Believe me, you would know if I was d–kmatized. If they think that’s me flirting, then they do not know me, and they have never watched me on ‘Love Island [UK].’”
For now, any lingering tension from the castle appears to have been smoothed over at least in designer leather.
