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Who Is The Traitors' Sam Asghari? Model, Actor & Former Mr. Britney Spears
Does pop icon Britney Spears' ex-husband have the right stuff to seriously tangle on The Traitors?
If you want to swim among the proverbial sharks and not get eaten as a contestant on Peacock's Emmy Award-winning competition series The Traitors, you gotta step up — have a sharp mind, be a people person, and, if you're chosen as a Traitor, lie through your teeth.
In our latest assessment of Season 3's announced cast, NBC Insider examines whether Sam Asghari, a model, actor, and the ex-husband of pop queen Britney Spears, has the right mix of personality, looks, and mental machinations to go far in the game.
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With each season of The Traitors, the executive producers have progressively upped their game by casting 21 larger-than-life personalities to compete in a series of missions to earn a cash prize of up to $250,000. The players have gotten smarter, which means the show's hiding of Traitors among the Faithful contestants to upend the game has gotten more pointed and diabolical.
So, does Sam have the fire to be a top player?
Who is Sam Asghari?
A former child gymnast from Iran, Sam Asghari moved to the United States at age 13. In high school, he pursued acting and football. But it wasn't until he turned 21 that Sam shifted his attention to modeling. He walked the runways for designers like Michael Costello, and did menswear spreads for magazines like Men's Health and GQ.
Sam's first professional gig as an actor happened to be on a project with hip-hop legend — and current new favorite Coach on The Voice — Snoop Dogg. We all know the power of the Dogg can be transformational, so it's no surprise that when both men appeared in the Star Trek parody Unbelievable!!!!!, the performance bug got its claws into Sam. His cameo role led him to pursue more acting gigs. In 2021, Sam landed a recurring role as Giancarlo, the model in Showtime's Black Monday.
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He then parlayed that experience and exposure into a "Sexy Santa" role in the first season of HBO's Hacks. In a piece for Decider at the time, executive producer Lucia Aniello explained that when they were casting for the role, none of the producers had any idea Sam was fast becoming best known not for his acting, but for being the boyfriend of Britney Spears.
However, Aniello said of Sam's improv skills, “He was really funny. He improvised a ton. He looked like Sexy Santa. He just checked all the boxes and he was really so sweet and funny. We just loved him.”
Sam Asghari's relationship with Britney Spears
Yes, Sam was destined for global notoriety when his acting work connected him with Spears in 2016 for her "Slumber Party" music video. He was cast as her love interest, and they got to know one another between takes throughout the shoot. Five months after the shoot, Spears told People that she found his number in a purse and gave him a call. They started dating right away, but worked to keep their blooming relationship out of the paparazzi's glare.
By 2017, the two were Instagram official via Spears' official account at the time (since deactivated). The pop singer posted often about her boyfriend, and it was clear to fans they were in love.
In 2019, Sam supported Spears' stay at a mental health facility. They reunited upon her release and only made their first joint red carpet appearance in July 22, 2019, for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. During COVID lockdowns, they quarantined together and in September 2021, they announced their engagement on Instagram. In April 2022, she announced she was pregnant with Sam's baby, but one month later, she made the sad announcement that she'd miscarried. By June of 2022, they married at their home in Los Angeles.
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But in July 2023, the pair announced they were separated, and were officially divorced by December 2024. While the marriage didn't last, even by Spears' account, Sam was supportive and not one of the many problem people in her tumultuous — incredibly public — private life.
Has Sam Asghari appeared in a reality competition series before?
Today, Sam continues to act in series like Special Ops: Lioness and the film Jackpot. But he declined casting invites to be part of the reality shows Celebrity Big Brother and the Masked Singer.
In fact, The Traitors will be Sam's first foray into the competition reality series world. To his credit, Sam hasn't had an excessively public life outside of his time with Spears. He'll likely come into The Traitors castle with his fellow contestants deeply curious about him — they'll have little knowledge about how he operates as a person, which is definitely a plus for his gameplay. Also, not having a bad reputation with his incredibly famous ex might help if he gets placed as a Faithful.
The Traitors will return for its third outing starting on January 9, with the recently renewed Seasons 4 and 5 coming down the line.
