Who Is 'The Traitors' Season 2's Deontay Wilder?

Deontay Wilder

The Traitors is back for a second season and long gone are the flock of normies gallivanting around the castle with the reality TV all stars. While Season 1's cast consisted of half known entities and half gen pop, Season 2 will be comprised of only celebrities. Among the 21 competitors, most are reality TV royalty with big names from Survivor, The Real Housewives, Dancing with the Stars and The Challenge all trying to bring home the $250,000 prize. However, there are a few outliers in the mix.

Related: Six Big Changes Coming to 'The Traitors' for Season 2

One of the most interesting additions to the cast is heavyweight boxer Deontay Wilder, who arrives at The Traitors mansion with little reality TV experience. While fans of the genre may be familiar with most of the Traitors and Faithfuls haunting the Round Table this year, unless you've been following the world of boxing, Deontay is probably a question mark for you. Here's everything you need to know about the boxing icon before you start your binge:

Who is Deontay Wilder?

His boxing career

Deontay Wilder is known first and foremost as a professional boxer. He is the former WBC Heavyweight Champion and one of the greatest boxers in recent memory. If you don't know a ton about boxing (and don't care to sift through his records), here are a few key things to know:

Deontay started boxing late in life.

While most professional athletes begin their search for greatness as a child, Wilder didn't begin boxing until he was 20 years old. He's now 38, meaning he had a relatively fast rise to fame.

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He's won an Olympic medal.

Deontay competed in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing China, only a few years after he picked up the sport. He earned the bronze medal there in the heavyweight division and was later nicknamed "the Bronze Bomber" because of the accolade.

He's got an incredibly strong arm.

Deontay is known among the boxing community for his powerful arm. He has knocked out every opponent he has defeated in the ring and his "knockout-to-win" percentage is 97.67%, which is the highest in history. While many boxing matches conclude with a winner being decided post-match between the two still-standing boxers, Wilder rarely lets it get that far.

He's on a bit of a losing streak.

Despite winning his first 40 consecutive matches, in 2018, Wilder ended a match with Tyson Fury in a draw. When the two rematched in 2020, Wilder was TKO'd by Fury in the 7th round, and in their third fight in 2021, Wilder again lost. Most recently, Wilder lost to Joseph Parker in December 2023, with many expecting he'd announce his retirement. However, on Instagram he wrote, "That is not the end, we'll be back."

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His personal life

In addition to his prolific boxing career, Wilder has had an eventful personal life fathering eight children. Wilder had his first child with ex-girlfriend Helen Duncan in 2005, and later added three more with his ex-wife Jessica Scales Wilder. He's now engaged to Telli Swift, and the pair have one daughter. The identity of the other three children are unknown, but Wilder claims he'd like at least 12 kids if not more in total.

In addition to focusing on his family, Wilder is also religious and an avid advocate for mental health. He has spoken out about his relationship to both religion and depression in interviews and actively works on self betterment.

WAGS Atlanta

While The Traitors will be Wilder's first foray into a reality competition show, he has briefly worked in reality TV before. In 2018, he appeared in three episodes of the short-lived E! Network show WAGS Atlanta about the "wives and girlfriends" of high-profile Atlanta athletes. His fiance, Telli Swift, was a cast member on the show and Wilder appeared in several episodes. However, the show was cancelled after just one season.

Assault allegation

Wilder's life, however, is not without controversy. In 2013, Wilder was charged with domestic battery and released on bond for an altercation with a woman in Las Vegas. In 2023, the boxer was also arrested for alleged possession of a firearm. However, he has not been convicted on either account.

Joining The Traitors

Prior to filming The Traitors, Wilder sat down with Parade to discuss why he'd decided to participate on the show and what his strategy was coming into the game.

Related: Meet the Full Cast of 'The Traitors' Season 2

Matthew Huff: What drew you to The Traitors? Why did you accept the offer to come on this show?

Deontay Wilder: For me, when I got the call to do it, I agreed because I'm big into challenges, being able to figure out certain puzzles and working with people. I'm an athlete, so I love doing different courses and stuff like that. I've got a few friends that have done things on Peacock. So hey, let's join the family.

What's your mindset going into the game?

DW: Alan [Cumming, the show's host] asked me one word to describe what you're trying to do here, and I said "win." The main thing is to win, but not just to win, because this is a game, but after this game, it becomes a reality. There's some wonderful people here with great energy, so there have been a lot of relationships as well. I think the relationships that have been built are just as grand as the win.

What was your strategy coming into The Traitors?

DW: I'm an empath, so I pick up energy all the time. My strategy was to come in, be myself as always, meet people and pick up on that energy before the show picks Traitors. See how they are in their physical form before the game has started, to pick up on that energy. So when the game starts, if anything changes, I will pick up on that. I'm a people person, so I'm always talking to people, I'm always interacting with them, and picking up different feelings, auras, vibes and getting on the same frequency as them. So that's been my strategy. We'll see if it plays in my favor.

Are you prepared for the emotional highs and lows of this experience?

DW: I think I'm prepared for it. I'm an emotional type of human being. I don't have no fear in my emotions, whether it's crying, whether it's laughter, whether it's affirmation of words. I am a fighter, but I help other men to be comfortable with themselves and to step outside the box, especially when it comes to tears. For certain men and certain cultures where you grow up, you're taught not to show fear, don't cry because it shows weakness. And when guys see me in my occupation shed tears, it makes it seem like it's OK. So I'm looking forward to the emotional rollercoaster that the game has to offer.

Next, Everything You Need to Know About 'The Traitors' Season 2