‘The Anonymous’ Winner Nina Twine Would Love To Join ‘The Traitors:’

Victory runs in the family. The daughter of two-time Survivor winner Sandra Diaz-Twine, Nina Twine was just crowned the winner of USA Network competition series The Anonymous.

The younger Twine is no stranger to reality TV. She competed on both Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains and Survivor: Blood v. Water, where she notoriously voted her mother off the show.

Twine credits her mom for giving her advice before The Anonymous but mostly stayed true to her own confidence and strategy. “When it comes to my mother, she has a lot of opinions,” Twine told DECIDER. “While I enjoy and do absorb them, they can be overflowing. That is not my style.”

Developed by the producers of The Traitors and The Circle, The Anonymous centers around 12 contestants that engage in multidimensional game play: half of the time, they compete in the real world, while the other half takes place in “anonymous mode.” Each week, Anonymous players are instructed by “DANI,” the Digital Anonymous Networking Interface. DANI facilitates tests where players try to match their fellow competitors to their anonymous handle. 

Ultimately, Twine emerged the most successful player and walked away with a $100,000 grand prize, but this is not the end of her reality TV career. “I’m definitely going to be on something else, whether it’s The Circle or The Traitors,” said Twine, whose mother also appeared on The Traitors. “Obviously, I’d probably put Traitors above The Circle.”

DECIDER caught up with the winner on game strategy, following in her mom’s footsteps, and how she plans on spending the prize money. 

DECIDER: How did your experience on Survivor prep you for The Anonymous?

NINA TWINE: It prepped me in any way that you could think, from the toughest days where social strategy is just not working for you to the simpler days where you’re like, “Wow, that worked out. Let me be a little bit more confident in myself.” It gave me a different outlook when it comes to competition games, from sitting on the couch and watching it versus doing it. In the most extreme conditions, you’re hungry, you’re dirty, you’re filthy, but you need to be able to really trust yourself. There were so many moments on Survivor when I know for a fact I didn’t trust myself. The Anonymous allowed me to be like, “Nina is here. Nina is going to trust in herself, her intuition, all of the work and time she put into study body language, how she previously played. All of that is going to come to fruition here, and I’m going to come to win.” The second I heard what The Anonymous was about, I was like, “This game was tailor-made for me.“

Your mom is also reality TV royalty. Did she give you any advice going into The Anonymous? 

She gave me a little bit of advice. When it comes to my mother, she has a lot of opinions. While I enjoy and do absorb them, they can be overflowing. That is not my style. She’s a crammer. I’m studying for a month. I took any suggestions from her when it came to day to day. Like, “Hey, you were on The Traitors. This might be similar. I don’t really know. Can you tell me some things?” Or, “Hey, don’t eat anything crazy. Your stomach is going to be hurting. You’re going to miss out on some really important stuff. Be mindful of your wardrobe and always have your head on a swivel.” Sounds very basic, but sometimes those basic things get forgotten because you’re so worried about everything else. 

What was your strategy on the show, and how did it differ from the other competitors? 

My specific strategy really came from being confident in myself. Not second guessing and saying, “Screw it, girl. Third time’s the charm. And I hope that you can do it.” I know based on conversations I’ve had and people that I watched out there that there was a lot of second guessing coming from others. Now, don’t get me wrong, The Anonymous has a whole half of the game that is hidden. You don’t know what’s going on. So that aspect was really stressful. And yeah, you’re always wondering, but I said, “Nah. I’m going to lock this in. Lock this in, DANI. It is what it is. Let’s see what happens after this and adapt and move forward. Never get stagnant. Never focus too much on something that’s going to change tomorrow. Always be ready. Have your head on a swivel.” I think that’s something that a lot of other players didn’t [have]. They would really fixate on something. And I’m like, “I don’t want to tell you how to play the game because I’m trying to win” or that “you kind of need to move past that.” You know, this game, we’re playing it every day. Let’s keep it moving. We cannot stop. 

Was it difficult to lie about your mom being on Survivor? Were you nervous that getting caught in a lie would be your downfall? 

I was never nervous I’d get caught in a lie because I made sure that I spoke truthfully. If you go back, rewatch the season and look at any clips. I’m never really lying. I’m just not telling you the full truth, or I’m going to say it in a different way. My mom is not physical in challenges. She’s not a winner when it comes to challenges. She would never do anything like that. I’m half-telling the truth. So it’s really easy, especially having studied body language a little bit before going out there, knowing when you’re telling a half truth, it’s a lot easier to convince people versus trying to fully lie. I also talk a lot. I can’t tell full lies because I’m probably going to get caught up. But guess what? I know that about myself. I did a lot of self evaluation before going out there, and I think that’s something that I knew was going to be a strong suit of mine. I knew that I could be confident in myself to navigate every conversation as flawlessly as possible. 

You mention how important body language was as part of your strategy. Were there any specific body language cues that players gave you during the game that indicated they were lying?

Yeah, a lot of movement. There were multiple times. Of course, I never really wanted to be in a face-off when it came to “safety” and “at risk.” But I’m thankful for each and every one of those opportunities because they gave me a lot of insight. Each player’s movements and what that looked like once we got the results of what was in their box when they were at risk, they were moving a lot. Next time they ended up having safety, they were still as a statue. People allow words to really cloud their judgment. And don’t get me wrong, there were moments where I’m like, “My God, this person, they’re confusing me.” But when I just turned their volume down and looked at them, I was like, “Wow.” Especially in last night’s episode, I’m like, “This dude is jumping off his puck.” Like, “I don’t think he got it. He can’t stand still.” And then here we have another gentleman frozen like a statue holding on to this thing, “No, no, no, I don’t got it.” Your body language is saying something completely different, and that’s something I really try to use. Don’t second guess it. Do it, and hopefully you’re right. 

When you were The Anonymous, how did you make choices without getting involved on too much of a personal level with the players you connected with?

I was making a lot of connections. I talk a lot, and I said, “Girl, put on your listening ears. You got your shades. Focus. Put your hand [up] to stop you from talking. Allow these other individuals to tell you about their ideas, their lives.” I also didn’t dive too much into it, to be honest with you. There are a lot of players that can tell you what school other players went to, what job history they have. I can’t because I was not really trying to dive too deep into that. I have to separate heart from mind. That’s something I think was a really strong suit of mine because I know how I am as well. A lot of people love people, right? I wanted to make sure I got to know everybody as much as I needed to, but not so excessive. 

You planted a lot of seeds, such as telling Lilly that Chris or Victoria were responsible for the elimination, not you. How did you ensure people weren’t onto you?

Look, I have a green thumb. I really do. I have a lot of plants downstairs. They thrive. I knew what to say and who to say it to. I knew there were certain individuals I could be straight up, blunt and honest, “Hey, this person said your name.” I knew they would not throw me under the bus because of the preexisting relationship we had. I also had a few other moments that may not have made it where there were smaller seeds planted in an effort for myself to say, “Is this person actually on my side? If they spread this around and it comes back to me, it’s not anything that’s going to actually damage my game, but now I know I can never say anything to them again.” And in all honesty, nothing ever made it back to me. And I’m like, “Okay, maybe they’re being really secretive and good about it, but something in my gut is saying that’s not the case. So let’s let certain people know things that are happening that you think will get you one step forward, whether it’s in front of that person or the entire day.” Anytime I was at risk standing on that puck, I was looking around, “I don’t think I’m going home tonight.” And I was right. 

Your confidence took you all the way to victory. How does it feel to win? How do you plan on spending your prize money?

Smart. Investing, making sure moving forward in my life that I never look back and regret it. One of the big things, of course, is purchasing a home because it’s so expensive out here, as we all know. I know a lot of people, unfortunately, don’t take care of their winnings responsibly. That’s not going to be me. I’m going to be very responsible with it. 

Do you see yourself going on any other reality TV competition shows in the future, like The Circle or The Traitors?

I’m going to speak it into existence. I’m definitely going to be on something else, whether it’s The Circle or The Traitors. Obviously, I’d probably put Traitors above The Circle. I would love to be a Traitor, by the way. Whatever works out. I would love, love, love to be on something. I honestly don’t think this is going to be the last you see of me.

The season finale of The Anonymous can be streamed on USANetwork.com with a valid cable login, or you can stream it on Peacock beginning on Monday, October 28.