Boston Rob Mariano Names Which Reality TV Legend Should Appear on 'Deal or No Deal Island'

Boston Rob Mariano

"Boston" Rob Mariano is a game-changer when it comes to reality television. Over the course of 20 years, he lent his face to six seasons of Survivor, playing for 150+ days, commanding some of the most dominant gameplay the show has ever seen, and being at the face of the series' greatest love story with his now-wife Amber Mariano. The two even went off-island, appearing on two seasons of The Amazing Race, where they nearly took it all when they brought their social strategy prowess into the travel series.

So what happens when the game-changer has the game changed up on him? That's what we've been watching with Deal or No Deal Island. The Peacock series is simple in concept, with each episode focusing on one contestant playing the titular NBC game show, trying to get a "good deal" from the mysterious Banker to eliminate one of their fellow contestants, lest they get eliminated themselves. But over the past two months, the show has expanded greatly beyond its proof of concept. Alliances have been made and broken, confrontations have exploded, and strategy has surprisingly emerged at the forefront.

"In Survivor, if you have individual immunity, you're good till the next week," Bo"ston Rob tells Parade.com when explaining the differences between the two shows. What was interesting is figuring out that, in Deal or No Deal Island, there's absolutely no way to cover all of your bases completely, other than to win the challenge and have that fight where you're safe. So in order to control the vote, you essentially have to control the bottom. And then even by controlling the bottom, you still have to get lucky. The people that you have they're working for have to win that flip in order to eliminate someone that's not on your side. So it took us a little bit before we got to it. And you can see the shift in strategy and the change. Initially, people didn't want to face the banker to now realizing that, because there's no absolute safety, it makes sense to take the risk, if the upside benefits your game more than the downside."

Check out our full interview with Boston Rob below, as well as an exclusive clip from this week's episode that shows him confronting Stephanie Mitchell at the Temple for her "holier than thou" attitude about his deception. New episodes of Deal or No Deal Island air weekly on Monday nights at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on Peacock.

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Suffice it to say, the fans have been greatly surprised by how cutthroat and dramatic a show called Deal or No Deal Island can be. How did your expectations about the show and the game measure up to the reality you experienced?
So I mean, initially, I didn't really know what to expect, because we're kind of like figuring out the game as we play it. We're the first people to play it. So obviously, my experience playing Survivor and The Amazing Race and other strategy games that I've played over the years comes into play, because I have that foundation. At the same time, this is not that game. There's not a voting element. There's not a jury, and you have to kind of weigh how much you're actually able to control versus how much is just up in the air and left to luck. And it's a pretty, pretty, pretty intense balancing act, I'll say that.

Yeah, to that point, in Survivor, as long as you have the votes, you're almost always good for that round. But because anyone who makes a good deal can pick who goes home, you have to basically make sure you're good with everybody, because they can single-handedly choose you to go. What was it like to try to figure out how to do that, considering how different that is from strategies from your previous shows?
So in a game like Survivor, you can have individual immunity. Or you can have an idol, but even an idol you're not safe potentially, because there could be an Idol Nullifier. But if you have individual immunity, you know, you're good till the next week. What was interesting is figuring out that, in Deal or No Deal, there's absolutely no way to cover all of your bases completely, other than to win the challenge and have that fight where you're safe.

So in order to control the vote, you essentially have to control the bottom. And then even by controlling the bottom, you still have to get lucky. The people that you have they're working for have to win that flip in order to eliminate someone that's not on your side. So it took us a little bit before we got to it. And you can see the shift in strategy and the change. Initially, people didn't want to face the banker to now realizing that, because there's no absolute safety, it makes sense to take the risk, if the upside benefits your game more than the downside.

Over your 20 years on reality TV, you certainly haven't been one to shy away from conflict. But Deal or No Deal Island seems like a whole new level of drama. We even get a taste of it in the sneak peek, where you confront Stephanie about having a "holier than thou" POV about claiming she's never played a deceptive game. What was it like to face so much interpersonal conflict this season?
I mean, I've never been one to not stand up for myself or someone else if I felt like something was right. And, whenever I'm challenged, I'm always gonna defend myself. That's just how I am. That's how I was raised. Especially if I feel like I'm in the right. So you don't get any back down from me, that's just not my personality. That's not the way I am. At the same time, there's always that proverbial line in the sand where you'll go and where you won't go. At the end of the day, it is a game, and I know that. But it's interesting where that line gets blurred sometimes.

We've seen in a couple of your past seasons like Redemption Island and Island of the Idols, you used your experience to mentor the other contestants. And we saw that from the jump with Aron, your tightest ally this season. Talk to me about forming that relationship, and your reaction to watching him evolve, including when he's extended past your reach or outright tricked you.
I mean, look, I'm not gonna sit here and tell you that the narratives that I implored with Aron wasn't for my own initial benefit. So I thought, "Here's someone I'm going to be able to help. And in the end, he helps me." But it's a little bit of the situation where the teacher teaching the students a little bit too much, maybe too quickly. And then all of a sudden, they think they know everything, and then they're trying to use it against you. So I definitely ran into some of that with him.

Obviously, the one that we can talk about that has been seen so far has been the bluffing challenge where he tricked me. And I don't know so much that he tricked me or I kind of outplayed myself, thinking that he was smart enough to pull a reverse tell on me. But regardless, it ended up working out in his favor. And, as much as I want to be disappointed in the fact that he's trying to do this against me, there's a part of me that's kind of proud that he's learning the lessons.

We've also watched in the past how you've been able to benefit from your reputation to do well in the game. Obviously Redemption Island is a key example of this. But even in your Amazing Race seasons, you and Amber got recognized and aided by strangers around the world because of your notoriety. However, here, that's had more mixed results, most prominently when Kim immediately tells everybody about your extensive resume on the very first night. Do you think your previous reputation helped or hurt your game more here?
So I mean, it's no secret at this point, when I show up to a competition reality show that my reputation is going to take front stage, and I know that,. But at the same time, Kim, if she used a little bit more discretion, she'd probably be still in the game. One of the best strengths that I have is my self-perception and being able to recognize a situation. And she's trying to play so hard out front from the beginning, constantly going to everyone, going at it, even after the point where I'm like, "Okay, you gotta take a step back and just leave this alone."

It forced my hand to have to take her out versus Stephanie when I played against the Banker. Because to me, I recognize the threat that Stephanie was from the outset, also. But it's one of those conundrums in this game. In Survivor, it happened, too. You want to vote more people out there, and you can only do one at a time. So, at the time, Kim was causing more of a problem for me than Stephanie was, even though I knew effectively both of them were. Look at everybody was against me, Mike. We started out there. I'm fighting for my life every single week. But I'm doing the best I can. And I'm hanging in there.

You are! Last thing I want to ask. If Deal or No Deal Island returns for a second season, is there a reality TV alum you think would be well-suited to follow in your footsteps as a contestant?
I mean, I think it's gonna be really hard after I set the precedent and go through this for them to go out there and not have huge targets on him. I think maybe somebody understated from one of the [non-Survivor] reality shows, The Amazing Race or Big Brother. I've always been a big fan of Janelle. I watched her play in The Traitors. I think she has a mind for strategy. She had a huge target on her. But ultimately, I don't know that big past reality contestants are going to be able to get out there and have the success that I've had so far without being targeted. So they got an uphill battle for sure.

Next, check out our Deal or No Deal Island interview with Claudia Jordan.