Peter Weber, known as Pilot Pete to Bachelor Nation, became the second person to trade in the “Bachelor” mansion for the Scottish castle of “The Traitors.”
Weber joined Season 2 of Peacock’s competition series as a Faithful, someone who is covertly working to sniff out the three Traitors within the cast and banish them out to take home the cash prize. The “Bachelor” leading man follows in the footsteps of Arie Luyendyk Jr., who was a Faithful in Season 1 and nearly made it to the end of the game.
Halfway through this season, Weber put a major target on his back by going after the Traitors (“Big Brother” star Dan Gheesling, “Survivor” queen Parvati Shallow and “Real Housewives of Atlanta” icon Phaedra Parks). Weber led a loyal group of Faithfuls and planted a trap that Gheesling fell for, which soon led to the downfall of the Traitors’ trio and their eventual banishments. After Gheesling’s departure, Shallow and Parks attempted to recruit Weber to the dark side, but he refused and vowed to finish out the game as a Faithful.
As the game progressed, Weber took some heat from the cast members outside of his “most faithful of the Faithfuls” cliqué for his staunch strategy. His “Peter’s Pals” voted out Shallow, but in a dramatic vote, he was banished last week — luckily, though, his allies rallied in the wake of his exit and then voted out Parks.
With PvNew, Weber discusses his hard-fought Faithful strategy, teases Thursday’s finale and reveals which “Bachelor” alumni should go on Season 3.
How did you first hear about “The Traitors”?
I had heard about the first season from Arie. I remember when he got cast for it and saw the first time he had posted about it. I was super intrigued. It was this very ominous, mysterious picture with the whole cloak on. I watched a couple episodes, and I got the call for Season 2 very last minute, about a week before we started filming. Immediately it was a yes for me. I scrambled and binged the rest of the season.
Were you much of a gamer before the show? Did you play any Mafia or strategize to prepare?
No, I honestly didn’t have time. I was taking care of all the things you need to do before you head out. But growing up, I’ve always been such a competitive person in everything I’ve done, every sport I played all through high school — definitely a big fan of Clue through the years growing up. I just kind of relied on my competitive nature and instincts.
What did you have to do before production started, and how many outfits did you pack?
First and foremost, I had move my work schedule around. Obviously, being a pilot, that’s my number one priority. Then it was getting all the outfits. We needed 10 or 11 outfits, very castle-y, Traitor-type vibe. My mom flew out on a whim and helped me get everything coordinated and set up. You have to do all your medical testing and get everything in order to head out to Scotland. You didn’t know how long you’re going to be there, almost a month was the max. It was a lot condensed into about a week but we made it happen.
Did you want to be a Traitor or Faithful at first? Did you have a strategy for either possibility?
I wanted to be a Traitor so bad. When everyone’s having their one-on-one with [host Alan Cumming], pretty much everyone was like, “I want to be a Traitor. Please take me as a Traitor,” I was the same way. I would have loved to have taken that challenge on. I think I would have been really good at it. Obviously, I got the invite to do it later on, and unfortunately for me, it was just too late in the whole show to make that switch. I was telling Dan, if he would have recruited me when he recruited Parvati, it would have been a for sure yes. It was too bad when I got the recruit, at that point, I couldn’t turn.
After your banishment, when did you find out Phaedra was a Traitor?
I was dying to know about Phaedra. I think the viewers sometimes forget, we really aren’t privy to information. They don’t tell us even when we leave. It was a couple of weeks after the fact; that was the biggest thing I had to know. I was so gung-ho that Phaedra was a Traitor. We actually watched the end of the show at the reunion we just filmed live. We had gotten a teaser that stopped right before the very end to reveal who wins at all. It’s good. It’s shocking.
Your banishment was one of the season’s biggest cliffhangers. What was your immediate reaction to getting voted out?
Honestly, I got emotional. I was kind of worried how it was going to come across on the screen, but I was fighting back emotion because I had poured everything into my gameplay and my tactics. Whether it was too hard or not — for me, it wasn’t too hard and I probably could’ve gone harder — but I had poured everything into it. It’s a unique feeling when you have your group of Faithfuls turn on you. It was an emotional moment for me trying to hold back, keep my composure. Obviously, you reveal what you are and walk out, and that was emotional. But you get over that. It was exciting to finally get the answer. I kind of figured; Phaedra and I had gone at it so much in that last roundtable ceremony that I got banished. I figured it had to be her next, because obviously, it was revealed that I was Faithful. So I kind of figured that they were going to go for her next, no matter if she was a Faithful or a Traitor. So I had faith that the Faithful still had a potential chance to win it all.
Have you talked to Phaedra or Parvati since the show ended?
I will say this: Our relationships, especially one relationship, takes possibly a turn that no one’s expecting, and the reunion will reveal all.
Have you kept in touch with anyone in your Faithful group, like Bergie, John or Trischelle?
Hell yeah. We had a cast party at my parents’ house. It was a super cool way to end the whole experience. You go at it with each other and get really competitive, but ultimately it’s a game and we are all very fortunate and grateful to have had that experience with each other. It’s something I know none of us will ever forget. My Faithful group from the show, we’re very, very close. But for everyone, it was really cool to have a last parting moment where we were all together. I never in a million years would have thought my mom, my dad, my brother, my sister-in-law, my whole family would have gotten to meet everyone.
How do you feel about the whole “most faithful of the faithful” label you got stuck with?
I guess I take it as a compliment. All these terms that were thrown around were never given by myself; those are just people throwing these terms and labeling me that. I gave it my all, there was no doubt about that. I know a lot of people thought I gamed really hard, but that was all on purpose. It was cool to create a group that really bonded and had this trust with each other, and it just made it so much fun to play the game with a group that you were that close to.
Did you have a nickname for your Faithful group?
No. “Peter’s Pals” was all news to me. It’s so funny because after the fact, I actually kind of like that. I made some T-shirts and had fun with it. The only actual name that I was a part of, and this never got aired, was in the very beginning with Sandra, Sheree and Peppermint. We met each other first out of anyone in the group because we were in the car together going to the castle for the first day. We passed this sign that The Highland Council because we filmed in the Highlands in Scotland. We’re trying to figure out how to navigate this game and were like, “Let’s put some trust in each other right now. We’re gonna call ourselves THC for The Highland Council.” That was the first little group that I was a part of and actually, the only one that we really had a name for.
I was always curious how it was decided who would ride in the cars together to challenges. You had some tense car rides with Traitors in there with you. Who decides that, the cast or the producers?
The producers didn’t tell us anything about what to do. They didn’t give any instruction on any type of conversation, who to ride with. That was all free choice. It made it great to be able to use that to your advantage. We’d try to work it, like someone go in this car or that car. It’s funny, we were driving to the cast party at my house and I was in a van with Dan, Trischelle, Dan’s wife, Bergie and Ekin-Su. Dan was upfront and being really quiet and wasn’t talking. He’s like, “Guys, I’m so sorry. I just get really, really carsick. If I’m being quiet, it’s nothing against you guys.” Then Trischelle is like, “Yeah, you were always so quiet and reserved in the car.” He’s like, “I promise, I wasn’t trying to be sketchy. I just can’t talk when I’m in cars, because I get carsick.”
Who would you like to see from “The Bachelor” on Season 3?
I think Jason Tartick would be great for the show. He’s one of the smartest guys I know, very analytical. I think he could really pull off either role. Nick Viall would be great in that role as well. I think it’d be cool to see Chris Harrison take a shot at the castle. That’d be some really good TV. I’d be really curious to see how he would handle it.
“The Traitors” Season 2 finale and reunion drop on Peacock on Thursday, March 9.
