Deontay Wilder says that taking part in The Traitors almost reduced him to tears because it brought up too much "childhood trauma". Back in 2022, the former world heavyweight boxing champion - best remembered for his thrilling trilogy of fights against Tyson Fury - took part in series two of America's version of the must-see TV show currently captivating audiences across the UK, alongside, among others, former MP and Speaker of the House John Bercow. But after just three episodes, Wilder quit, citing personal difficulties.
The Bronze Bomber, 39, was a 'faithful' in the show, and struggled to cope after rallying the group in order to banish Dancing with the Stars alum Maksim Chmerkovskiy, who he'd grown close to, after suspecting that he was a traitor. It turned out that Chmerkovskiy was in fact a faithful, which devastated Wilder.
After the reveal, the boxer was seen lying on the sofa, visibly emotional. He was then heard saying to himself: "I don't know how much more I can go on. My heart. I can't do this no more.". In a subsequent interview with Us Weekly, Wilder explained that he'd been surrounded by traitorous people all his life, and that the game had evoked a lot of painful memories for him. "I thought it was trying to figure out [who] were the traitors, and being that you have so many more faithfuls than the traitors, that it would be kind of easy to try to figure it out. But being on this show, it really struck some childhood trauma from me that I didn't expect," he said.
"Although my profession is 'the hurt business', as I call it. But as a man, as Deontay Wilder, as a person, I'm a loving, caring guy that I love everybody and I want to see everybody succeed in life. And I think you got the best of me being on the show.".
