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Couture Fashion & Shade Assassin: Why Chanel Ayan Is a Perfect Traitors Contestant: "Period. Dot."
Chanel Ayan will bring her fashion sense and business savvy from Dubai to Scotland to compete in Season 3 of The Traitors.
From her elaborate headpieces to her stunning gowns, long trains, and sky-high heels, The Real Housewives of Dubai’s Chanel Ayan has turned heads since the show first premiered on Bravo in June 2022.
“They don’t hate me because I’m beautiful, they hate me because they are basic,” she proclaimed in her Season 1 tagline of RHOD.
RELATED: Get a First Look at The Traitors Season 3 Challenges as New Celebrity Players Face Off (WATCH)
Now Dubai’s first Black supermodel is taking her couture and 5’10” self to the Scottish Highlands to try her hand at a new challenge: Season 3 of The Traitors. Here’s why her fashion won’t be the only reason she slays, regardless if she’s a Traitor or a Faithful.
Chanel Ayan might be the only contestant who can out-dress Alan Cumming
Everyone’s been buzzing about host Alan Cumming’s outrageously amazing outfits on The Traitors for the past two seasons, as he donned everything from traditional Scottish kilts, fly plaids, and sporrans (the name of the little purse Scotsmen wear on the front of their kilts) in every color of the rainbow, to scarves and hats and brooches.
But there’s one housewife poised to potentially outshine the Traitors host: Chanel Ayan. While all the Dubai housewives dressed red hot at the Season 2 reunion, Chanel looked like a true Spanish flamenco dancer in her red Michael Cinco couture gown. As if the gown, adorned with red flowers, wasn’t enough, she paired it with red Christian Loubotin heels and a towering crown to complete the royal look. She also chose a Michael Cinco couture gown (with an insane train!), shoes, and jewelry for her glamorous Season 1 reunion look, but in eye-catching yellow.
Chanel will be right at home in Scotland, after throwing a queens’ dinner during RHOD Season 2, where she wore an elaborate black gown, a Chanel pearl necklace and earrings, and a diamond-studded tiara.
She even won "The Dorit Kemsley Award for Chicest Bravolebrity” category at The Bravos at Bravocon 2023, cementing her reign as a true Bravo fashionista.
Chanel Ayan's a Shade Assassin and even threw a diss at The Traitors' Phaedra Parks
Chanel Ayan never backs down and is never afraid to throw shade at her fellow Housewives, making her perfect to ask questions around The Traitors Round Table. During RHOD Season 1, Caroline Stanbury called Chanel “the rudest wedding guest ever” for wearing what Caroline believed to be a “f---king wedding dress” to her engagement party. But Chanel immediately defended her Amato couture bodysuit and cape.
“I did understand the assignment. I was told, ‘Wear white.’ I did f---king wear white. You know if I’m going to show up at any party, I’m always overdressed and I always look good. It’s not my problem if you’re coming underdressed,” she told Page Six of the moment.
Chanel was also a member of the “Shade Assassins” panel at BravoCon 2022, where she took on The Real Housewives of Atlanta and Married To Medicine’s Phaedra Parks before Phaedra appeared on Season 2 of The Traitors.
Andy Cohen asked Chanel, “Who do you think has the worst fashion sense on this stage?” prompting Chanel to answer Phaedra. Although the audience booed, she confidently replied, “I don’t care,” and later answered she was wearing a huge ball gown because, “It is my job to look fabulous.”
Chanel also took on The Real Housewives of New Jersey’s Melissa Gorga, and accused her of buying Instagram followers in the summer of 2024. In the August 6, 2024, episode of Watch What Happens Live! with Andy Cohen, she was asked to name three positive things about Melissa, and one of her shady answers was, “She has a business called ‘Why Be Envious,’” referring to Melissa’s store, Envy.
Chanel Ayan is a powerful businesswoman
Chanel isn’t just a model, she’s also a savvy businesswoman. The Kenya-born Housewife launched her cosmetics line, Ayan Beauty, during a predictably lavish party during RHOD Season 2.
“I’m so happy that people get to see me this season building Ayan Beauty because growing up in my village, I used to sell bananas on my head. And now I’m selling products on the internet,” she told BravoTV.com.
Chanel also uses her platform to speak out against ongoing inhumane practices she experienced at an early age. During her time on RHOD, Chanel has spoken out about undergoing forced genital mutilation when she was just five years old and shared that proceeds from her beauty line go to raising awareness about the practice.
Chanel Ayan loves a good athletic competition
Chanel might have a built-in alliance when she joins the Scottish castle, as she'll be joined by The Real Housewives of New Jersey’s Dolores Catania and The Real Housewives of New York City’s Dorinda Medley. When Chanel attended Dolores’ annual charity softball game that raises awareness for breast cancer screenings and treatments, she and Dorinda were both on Dolores’ team, and snapped a photo on the field in their red jerseys. Chanel proved she can handle the competition, which will be invaluable during The Traitors challenges to raise money for the winning pot of up to $250,000.
She also showed she’s not afraid to get down and dirty when she picked up her racquet for a game of padel in the RHOD Season 2 premiere. But her fellow padeler Lesa Milan wasn’t exactly impressed with Chanel’s athletic prowess.
“Ayan does not play sports. She does not know the difference between a football and a basketball,” Lesa said on the show.
We’ll see how Chanel fares against the other contestants in the Scottish Highlands!
Chanel Ayan successfully negotiated with Andy Cohen at a reunion
The final reason Chanel Ayan is one to watch on The Traitors? Her negotiating skills.
Host Andy Cohen revealed that during the RHOD Season 2 reunion, Chanel’s dress featured an elaborate red train, causing her and Andy to have to do some rearranging to make sure the gown didn’t take up the entire couch, or get into Andy’s space.
“I’ve never had to negotiate this,” Andy said, marking a Housewife reunion first.
Watch the Season 3 premiere of The Traitors on Peacock beginning Jan. 9, 2025.
