Tara Lipinski shares her ‘paranoid’ moments on ‘Traitors’ and spills on the cast group chat

Olympic figure skater and commentator Tara Lipinski is currently soaking up the summer with her family while enjoying the humid weather on South Carolina’s Kiawah Island. Lipinski will soon return to work hosting a new under-wraps TV show that is expected to debut around the holidays, as well as resume her work as a figure skating commentator alongside her bestie and Traitors co-star, Johnny Weir. Even with all the exciting projects coming up, the newly-brandished reality star is still reminiscing about her time on the hit Peacock show. “Reflecting back, it was such a wild, fun experience,” she tells Upworthy. “Part traumatizing, part one of the most amazing experiences of my life.” Lipinski also appeared on the wildly popular fourth season of Traitors earlier this year. “I had never done reality television before. I thought I had this in the bag, and it was one of the hardest things I’ve done in my career, ever,” she says. “Just because you don’t know what to expect. Production did such a great job at setting this up. It’s a really immersive experience.” She went on the show with her real-life best friend Weir, and the two had a strategy to remain loyal to each other from the start. (Spoiler alert: the duo made it all the way to the show’s final episode, and remained Faithfuls.) “It was a once in a lifetime experience for us as best friends,” she tells Upworthy. “Johnny and I talk about it a lot. We have days where we think, ‘That was really hard. Psychologically tormenting us for a month while we were in Scotland…but we loved it. We had so much fun. When you watch it on TV, it’s so funny and campy—but [everyone] took it very seriously.” Viewers saw Lipinski in some vulnerable moments, which she says she intended to be genuine. “I’m proud of my journey on it. I’m an emotional person, so I had my crying moments. I had my paranoid moments on it,” she shares. And yes, the cast does have a group chat. “We had a group chat going for a little while, we’ll all touch base,” Lipinski shares. “I’ve made some good friends. Candiace [Dillard Bassett], I love her so much. Lisa [Rinna] and Mark [Ballas]—I knew him before, but this bonded us even more. Ron [Funches]—I get to go see his comedy shows, and he seats me up in the front row and roasts me. It’s fun.” And of course, her friendship with Weir survived. “I’m proud that we stuck it out as best friends,” she adds. “It’s just one of those experiences I’m so glad I said ‘yes’ to, and I can’t believe we got as far as we did.” Miracle Treat Day with Dairy Queen Lipinski is also doing some work with Dairy Queen, which holds a special place in her heart. She is teaming up with the beloved ice cream chain for Miracle Treat Day. On July 30, participating DQ locations will donate $1 or more from every Blizzard purchase to the Children’s Miracle Network to support local children’s hospitals. “It’s kismet—I have been a DQ fan for life,” she tells Upworthy. “When I moved to L.A., there wasn’t one close to me, and I would drive far distances for my Choco Brownie Extreme Blizzard (which has chewy brownie pieces, choco chunks, and cocoa fudge blended with vanilla soft serve). With double the stuff! That’s the key.” Tara Lipinski and Whitleigh celebrate Miracle Treat Day. She also adds that her love for Blizzards has impacted her love life. “[Dairy Queen] played a role in maybe why I married my husband,” she adds. “On one of our first dates, he went and surprised me and drove to that far away [DQ] location with a cooler and brought back a Blizzard as a surprise. And I was like: this might be the guy!” In honor of Miracle Treat Day, Lipinski got to ice skate with a little girl named Whitleigh, who was born with a condition called VACTERL Association. She received life-saving treatments (including 14 surgeries) through Children’s Miracle Network that have allowed her to live a full and active life. “Being on the ice with Whitleigh, and having a daughter myself…looking at [Whitleigh] and seeing what an impact Children’s Miracle Network made for her, it’s hard not to get emotional,” she says. “It’s really special I’m able to be part of this and spread the word about Miracle Treat Day.”