Wyatt Gillespie is a 26-year-old designer who grew up in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, studied industrial design at Syracuse University, and now works in broadcast set design in New York City. He’s one of 22 civilian contestants on The Traitors: New Blood, where his day job building televised environments meets a game built almost entirely on perception and hidden intentions.
Wyatt has described the casting experience itself as a strange kind of role reversal: a career spent designing the sets other people appear on, followed by an appearance on a set himself. Through the season’s opening episodes, he’s kept a low profile, surviving both the first murder and the first Round Table without becoming a central figure in either.
Who Is Wyatt Gillespie?
Wyatt Gillespie is a 26-year-old industrial designer and illustrator from Ligonier, Pennsylvania, currently based in Manhattan’s East Village. He works in broadcast and environmental design, building televised sets and studio environments before they become physical spaces, and he’s a civilian contestant on The Traitors: New Blood.
He entered the game as a Faithful. He wasn’t selected as one of the season’s original Traitors, and he wasn’t part of the Accomplice twist that pulled two other contestants into a secret competition during the premiere.
Wyatt Gillespie’s Age and Hometown
Wyatt is 26 years old, according to reporting from the show’s 2026 season launch. No reliable published source establishes his exact date of birth.
He grew up in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, a description best treated as where he was raised rather than a confirmed birthplace. He graduated from The Kiski School in nearby Saltsburg, Pennsylvania, in 2018, before heading to Syracuse University. He currently lives in Manhattan’s East Village in New York City, where his broadcast design career is based.
Wyatt Gillespie’s Career and Professional Background
Wyatt’s professional identity centers on industrial design and illustration, specifically applied to broadcast and environmental design. His own professional profile describes him as an “Industrial Designer & Illustrator,” and lists a role as a 3D Designer and Illustrator at Jack Morton Worldwide beginning in June 2024.
His broadcast design work involves building televised sets and studio environments, often visualizing them digitally before they’re ever constructed. Local reporting connects his work to projects for ESPN, CNN and Fox Sports, and his own professional posts tie him to Jack Morton Worldwide’s work on the NBA on Prime Video studio.
Wyatt has also referenced Emmy recognition tied to that NBA on Prime Video set, posting that the project received two Emmy nominations. It’s worth being precise here: that recognition applies to the broader project, not necessarily to Wyatt personally, unless an official nominee database names him individually. The accurate framing is that Wyatt worked on a project that received Emmy nominations, not that he was personally nominated.
Education and Design Training
Wyatt graduated from The Kiski School in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania, in 2018, then studied industrial design at Syracuse University, graduating in 2023. That combination of formal industrial design training and later professional broadcast work gives him a specific, verifiable design background distinct from a general “designer” label.
Further details about his coursework, specific student projects, or additional design training beyond his Syracuse degree aren’t independently documented, so none of those specifics should be assumed.
From Designing Sets to Appearing on One
Wyatt has publicly framed his time on The Traitors as an unusual inversion of his day job: someone who spends his career designing the environments other people appear in, suddenly appearing in front of cameras himself. That contrast is a genuinely interesting detail about his path into reality television, though it shouldn’t be overstated into a dramatic “designer becomes reality star” narrative. It’s simply a real, specific irony in his own professional life that he’s pointed to directly.
Why Wyatt Gillespie Joined The Traitors: New Blood
Available reporting doesn’t establish the specific process by which Wyatt came to the show, including whether he applied directly or was approached by casting. What is documented is his own explanation for wanting to be there: he said playing the game would let him reconnect with a more mischievous side of himself, one that doesn’t always come out in his day-to-day professional life.
Wyatt’s Pre-Season Strategy
Wyatt described himself before the season as a people-pleaser, someone who wanted to “kill them with kindness” as part of his approach to the game. He said he planned to use charm and charisma to build friendships while keeping a more strategic, calculating side of himself out of view.
He expressed a preference for playing as a Traitor, tying that preference to the mischievous side of his personality he wanted to explore. At the same time, he acknowledged a practical advantage to playing as a Faithful: a Faithful can stay “grounded” in the truth rather than needing to maintain a daily lie about their identity. He’s also described himself as someone who sees himself as a leader and thrives under pressure, while recognizing that visible leadership can make a player more vulnerable to suspicion.
It’s important to treat all of this as pre-season intention rather than a confirmed account of his actual gameplay. The season’s opening episodes don’t yet show whether Wyatt is following this specific plan, deliberately downplaying his own instincts, or leveraging his design background strategically in any documented way.
Is Wyatt Gillespie a Faithful or Traitor?
Wyatt is a Faithful. He was not selected as one of the season’s original Traitors, a role that went to Joe Vanella and Tomica Adams, and he was not chosen for the Accomplice twist, which instead involved Katie Fites and Xavier Scruggs competing in a secret task tied to the game’s first murder.
Wyatt Gillespie’s Gameplay
In the season’s opening mission, Wyatt took part with the full 22-person civilian cast as the group opened the treasure chests aboard the “HMS Cumming” shipwreck challenge and earned the full $50,000 available for the prize pot. He wasn’t among the three contestants who claimed shields; those went to Victor Vollbrechthausen, Abby Lee and Madeline Kostopulos.
He survived the season’s first murder, in which Kim Daily was selected as the victim, and was present for the first Round Table, though he wasn’t a central figure in its main conflict. That discussion focused primarily on Victor’s aggressive pursuit of a shield and Kriste Lewis’s accusation that Madeline had effectively admitted to choosing Kim for murder. Madeline was ultimately banished and revealed to be a Faithful. Wyatt remained in the game after the vote.
Available recap coverage doesn’t reliably identify Wyatt’s individual vote at that Round Table, nor does it document him leading the mission, creating a major conflict, publicly naming a suspect, or forming a confirmed alliance. His early game has been defined more by quiet survival than visible action.
Gillespie’s quiet game continued through the second week. He voted for Victor Vollbrechthausen at the first Round Table, which banished Madeline Kostopulos, and for Arisa Thomas at the second, which banished her 13-5-1. In episode 4’s Death Parade mission, he was one of only seven players kept completely off the murder shortlist (realityblurred). Through Episode 9 he remains an active Faithful with no confirmed alliances, though his name circulated at the Round Table.
At the Episode 6 Round Table, Wyatt received 3 banishment votes (from Joe Vanella, Abby Lee and Kriste Lewis) in the 8-3-3-1 vote that banished Michael Foote, a Faithful. Wyatt himself voted for Michael Foote. Wyatt survived the episode.
In Episode 7, the three Traitors shortlisted Wyatt for murder in the turret, along with Mark Zgoda and Kriste Lewis. Katie Fites argued for murdering Wyatt because he is close to Victor Vollbrechthausen and his death would shock the Faithful, but the Traitors chose Mark instead.
In the scarecrow mission, Abby Lee found a black heart and ejected Wyatt, making him ineligible for the Power of the Pardon. At the Round Table, Abby Lee pushed the case against Wyatt for the second week running, but he was not the main target. Victor Vollbrechthausen received the most votes, with 5, and no banishment was completed because of the pending Pardon decision. Wyatt survived the episode and remains an active Faithful through Episode 9.
In Episode 8, the Power of the Pardon was revealed: Shane Beatty held it and used it to save Victor Vollbrechthausen, overturning Victor’s Episode 7 banishment. At breakfast, Abby Lee was revealed murdered, the season’s sixth murder, removing the player who had pushed Wyatt’s case at the table for two weeks running. At the Round Table, Wyatt voted for Tomica Adams, one of the 10 votes in the 10-2 banishment that revealed Tomica as a Traitor, the first Traitor banished all season. Wyatt survived and remains in the game as a Faithful. 11 players remain.
Strategy vs. Actual Gameplay
| Pre-Season Plan | What Happened on the Show |
|---|---|
| Be kind and likable | Not yet documented with specific on-screen evidence |
| Avoid appearing too threatening | Consistent with his low profile so far; he wasn’t a Round Table target |
| Use charisma to build friendships | No confirmed relationships or alliances established yet |
| Keep strategy behind the scenes | No visible strategic move has been documented |
| Balance leadership with restraint | He hasn’t taken a visible leadership role in the aired episodes |
The clearest connection between Wyatt’s stated plan and his actual gameplay so far is his low profile: he hasn’t drawn suspicion, hasn’t been targeted, and hasn’t become central to any of the season’s early conflicts. Whether that’s a deliberate execution of his “kind but strategic” approach or simply a quiet start to the game is something later episodes will need to clarify.
Episode-by-Episode Wyatt Gillespie Timeline
Episode 1: Wyatt enters the castle with the full 22-person civilian cast. He takes part in the opening shipwreck mission, helping the group earn the full $50,000 prize pot. He isn’t among the three shield winners, and he isn’t selected as one of the two original Traitors, a role that goes to Joe Vanella and Tomica Adams. No major conflict, alliance, or suspicion involving Wyatt is documented in this episode.
Episode 2: Wyatt survives the season’s first murder, in which Kim Daily is selected as the victim. He isn’t chosen for the new Accomplice twist, which instead involves Katie Fites and Xavier Scruggs. He’s present at the first Round Table, where the main conflict centers on Victor Vollbrechthausen’s shield pursuit and Kriste Lewis’s accusation against Madeline Kostopulos. Madeline is banished and revealed to be a Faithful. Wyatt remains in the game, though his individual vote isn’t reliably documented in available coverage.
Episode 3 (“The Traitors Are Watching”): Wyatt stays out of the episode’s main storylines. The Traitors recruit Katie Fites as the third Traitor and murder Xavier Scruggs; at the Round Table, suspicion centers on Arisa Thomas over the crypt clue about two players “battling in plain sight to become a Traitor.” Wyatt votes for Arisa.
Episode 4 (“The Death Parade”): Arisa is banished 13-5-1 and revealed as a Faithful. In the Death Parade mission, Wyatt is one of seven players who avoid the murder shortlist entirely. The Traitors murder Logan Smith; the episode ends on a cliffhanger with Jay Vinnedge naming Katie Fites as a Traitor at the Round Table.
Episode 6: At the Round Table, Wyatt received 3 banishment votes (from Joe Vanella, Abby Lee and Kriste Lewis) in the 8-3-3-1 vote that banished Michael Foote, a Faithful. Wyatt voted for Michael Foote and survived the episode.
Episode 7: Wyatt was shortlisted for murder in the turret, alongside Mark Zgoda and Kriste Lewis. In the scarecrow mission, Abby Lee found a black heart and ejected him, and at the Round Table she pushed the case against him. Wyatt survived and remains an active Faithful.
Episode 8: The Power of the Pardon is revealed (Shane Beatty held it and saved Victor Vollbrechthausen); Abby Lee is murdered, the season’s sixth murder; Wyatt votes for Tomica Adams in the 10-2 banishment that reveals her as a Traitor; Wyatt survives.
Episode 9: Wyatt’s name circulates at the Round Table alongside Joe Vanella and Kriste Lewis; the episode ends on a cliffhanger before a vote; Morgan Cook is murdered by the poisoned chalice; Wyatt survives. At the Highland Feast, Ben McDonnell named Wyatt among the close male friends he had not expected to find.
This section is current through Episode 9 and will be updated as new episodes air and provide more detail about Wyatt’s gameplay. Episode 6 aired Thursday, October 15 on NBC (streaming next day on Peacock); Episode 7 aired Thursday, October 22; Episode 8 aired Thursday, October 29.
Wyatt Gillespie’s Relationships and Alliances
No confirmed alliance, close friendship, or conflict involving Wyatt has been documented through the season’s opening episodes. He wasn’t connected to the shield competition, the Accomplice twist involving Katie Fites and Xavier Scruggs, or the Round Table dispute between Victor Vollbrechthausen, Kriste Lewis and Madeline Kostopulos. Through Episode 4, no alliance, conflict, or leadership moment has been documented for him; his low-profile, under-the-radar game continues (realityblurred, AV Club, and TV Obsessive recaps mention him only in vote tallies and the safe list).
That absence of a defined storyline doesn’t necessarily mean Wyatt isn’t building relationships behind the scenes; it simply means nothing specific has been documented yet. This section will be updated as his actual connections and alliances become clearer in later episodes.
Wyatt’s Personality on the Show
Wyatt’s public self-description combines several traits that don’t always sit comfortably together: a people-pleaser who wants to be liked, a self-described leader who thrives under pressure, and someone who says he wants to keep a strategic side deliberately hidden from view. His professional identity as a designer, someone trained to plan and visualize before building, adds another layer to that mix, though nothing in the aired episodes yet shows that design background translating into a specific in-game skill or read.
The honest assessment at this point in the season is that Wyatt’s on-screen personality remains something of an open question. His low profile could reflect the quiet, behind-the-scenes strategist he described wanting to be, or it could simply be an early-season lack of storyline. Later episodes should clarify which read is more accurate.
The “Laugh in Serious Moments” Superlative
Wyatt’s official self-declared cast superlative is “Most Likely to Laugh in Serious Moments.” It’s a small personality detail rather than a defining trait, and nothing in the available episode coverage yet connects it to a specific on-screen moment. If a later episode gives the superlative real context, this section will be updated accordingly.
Wyatt Gillespie’s Life Outside The Traitors
Outside the show, Wyatt’s public identity centers on his design career. He’s built a professional life around broadcast and environmental design, working on studio environments for major sports and news broadcasts, and has spoken about the creative process of digitally visualizing a set before it’s physically built.
His path from The Kiski School to Syracuse University’s industrial design program, and from there into broadcast design work in New York, gives him a defined professional trajectory distinct from many of his fellow civilian contestants, most of whom bring different kinds of career backgrounds into the game.
Social Media
Wyatt is associated with the Instagram handle @wyatt_gillespie, referenced in current reporting tied to his casting. Specific post content, follower counts, and any behind-the-scenes material haven’t been independently detailed in the sources reviewed here, so none of those specifics are included until they can be verified directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Wyatt Gillespie?
Wyatt Gillespie is a 26-year-old industrial designer and illustrator from Ligonier, Pennsylvania, who works in broadcast set design and is a civilian contestant on The Traitors: New Blood.
How old is Wyatt Gillespie?
He’s 26 years old, based on reporting tied to the 2026 season launch.
Where is Wyatt Gillespie from?
He grew up in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, and currently lives in Manhattan’s East Village in New York City.
What does Wyatt Gillespie do for a living?
He works as an industrial designer and illustrator specializing in broadcast and environmental design, building televised studio sets and visualizing them digitally before construction.
Is Wyatt Gillespie a set designer?
His most precise professional description is industrial designer and illustrator working in broadcast set design, a role tied to major sports and news broadcast environments.
Is Wyatt Gillespie a Faithful or Traitor on The Traitors: New Blood?
He’s a Faithful, still active through Episode 9. He wasn’t selected as one of the season’s original Traitors or as part of the Accomplice twist.
What is Wyatt Gillespie’s strategy on The Traitors?
He said he planned to use kindness and charisma to build relationships while keeping a more strategic side of himself hidden, though his actual gameplay hasn’t yet shown a specific documented example of that strategy in action.
Is Wyatt Gillespie still on The Traitors: New Blood?
Yes. Through nine episodes, Gillespie remains an active Faithful. He survived the season’s first murder and first Round Table, stayed off the murder shortlist entirely in episode 4’s Death Parade mission (realityblurred), and survived Episode 6, in which he received 3 banishment votes, and Episode 7. In Episode 8, he voted for Tomica Adams in the 10-2 banishment that revealed her as a Traitor.
What is Wyatt Gillespie’s Instagram?
He’s associated with the handle @wyatt_gillespie.
What has Wyatt Gillespie done professionally before The Traitors?
He studied industrial design at Syracuse University and has worked in broadcast set design, including work connected to Jack Morton Worldwide’s NBA on Prime Video studio project.
