Boston Rob Teases New Project, Says Reality TV Days ‘Might Be Over’

Since he made his reality TV debut on the cast of “Survivor: Marquesas” in 2002, Rob Mariano – better known to fans as ‘Boston Rob’ — has become one of the show’s most iconic players of all time. 

Now, more than 20 years and a dozen reality TV appearances later, Boston Rob is seemingly teasing his retirement from the genre, focusing instead on a brand new project created in collaboration with his “Traitors” Season 3 co-star Dylan Efron. 

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Boston Rob Says His Days as a Reality TV Star ‘Might Be Over’

Following his debut appearance on “Survivor: Marquesas,” Boston Rob returned to the Emmy-winning CBS reality competition series for four subsequent runs on “Survivor: All Stars” (2004), “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains” (2010), “Survivor: Redemption Island” (2011) – which he won – and, most recently, “Survivor: Winners at War” (2020). 

As the show’s first five-time player, Rob’s icon status on the long-running series was cemented well before his on the all-winners season, having served as a mentor to the castaways of “Survivor: Island of the Idols” alongside two-time champion Sandra Diaz-Twine in 2019. 

While Mariano has since become synonymous with “Survivor,” the reality star has celebrated memorable runs on a number of other competition series, including dual appearances on “The Amazing Race” seasons 7 and 11 alongside his wife, fellow “Survivor” champion, Amber Brkich. 

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Outside of the CBS sister series, however, Mariano has similarly appeared on reality series like “Deal or No Deal Island” and “The Traitors” Season 3. 

While he’s historically done fairly well on each of his respective seasons, regardless of the series, Mariano revealed that the gamer reputation he’s garnered over the last 23 years had made him too much of a threat to continue competing in the future. 

“As a competitor on these shows, I feel like it’s been 25 years,” Mariano told Page Six. “I kind of have a reputation now where they might let me stay a little while, but they’re going to be coming for me. So, I feel like my days as a competition reality person might be over.”

The bittersweet reveal from the reality star comes after months of fan speculation that Mariano could potentially compete on a future season of “Big Brother” or, follow in the footsteps of his “Traitors” co-star Dylan Efron with an appearance on “Dancing with the Stars.”

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Boston Rob Teases New Project with Dylan Efron Coming Soon

While Mariano has seemingly announced the end of his reality competition career, he amended that he isn’t done with the spotlight just yet. 

“I’d like to move into other aspects [of entertainment],” he said. 

In recent months, Mariano has already begun broadening his entertainment horizons, becoming the face of ad campaigns for brands like Degree deodorant, Kaluha and Dunkin’ Donuts. 

Now, he’s preparing to launch his own independent project in collaboration with Efron. 

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“Dylan and I actually worked on a different project that’s going to be coming out soon,” said Mariano. “It’s kind of like a little bit docuseries, YouTube format, a little being competitive.” 

Mariano and Efron, who celebrated a rivals-to-bromance storyline on Season 3 of “The Traitors” last year, have been teasing the potential team-up for months now, including an unexplained medieval sword-fighting photoshoot earlier this summer. 

Despite competing against one another on “Traitors,” the duo have since become the best of friends in real life, with Mariano visiting the set of “DWTS” multiple times during the currently-airing season to cheer on Efron and his pro dance partner Daniella Karagach. 

According to Mariano, it was Efron’s love of competition that made their friendship blossom. 

“We just vibed based on, like, we both have a shared sense of adventure and competition. [Dylan is] just a good guy. I like that,” he told Page Six, adding that, “as soon as [‘Traitors’] was over, we just connected on a regular level.”