Bergie Got Cast on 'The Traitors' Before He'd Even Finished 'Love Island'

Bergie

No one had a 2023 quite like Carsten "Bergie" Bergersen. Bergie began the year as a 23-year-old manager of a Dairy Queen in South Dakota and ended up on not one, but two high-profile reality TV shows. Oh, and he also found himself a gorgeous girlfriend in the process. Bergie was originally cast on Season 5 of the US version of Love Island, where he was the everyman foil to the show's troupe of douches and bombshells. He quickly won America's hearts and that of Taylor Smith. While the pair didn't win the season, they did find each other. Before Bergie had even left Fiji, however, Peacock pulled him aside to cast him on Season 2 of The Traitors.

Joining Bergie is Love Island UK winner Ekin-Su Cülcüloglu, who competed on the 8th season of the show before earning a spinoff series, and a slot on Dancing on Ice. Now Ekin-Su, who got her start on Turkish soap operas, will be entering the Traitors castle as well. While the two had never met before filming for Season 2 began (Bergie hadn't left the country prior to heading to Fiji), they bonded over being the only two Love Island alumni on the show.

Prior to filming, Parade got to chat with Bergie and Ekin-Su about why they wanted to compete on The Traitors, what their strategies were coming in and if they'd rather be a Traitor or a Faithful.

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

What's your strategy going into the game, especially since you're up against people from reality competition shows like Big Brother and Survivor?

Carsten "Bergie" Bergersen: My best strategy is just to be myself. I think that's what you have to go off of.

Ekin-Su Culculoglu: Sometimes it doesn't always work, the game plan that you plan. Because life is like that. You always plan on a certain thing, but then something happens and your road changes. So you've got to be a bit spontaneous and emotionally intelligent for this game.

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

Bergie: I love the rollercoaster of reality TV. I am someone that just kind of thrives off of it. I love just feeling myself and exploring my emotions and getting in touch with them.

Ekin-Su: For me, it's more about separating your emotions and the mind, because when you get your emotions too invested, you can become vulnerable and blind to certain things. This is a murder mystery not a Love Island.

What was your reason for coming on the show in the first place? 

Bergie: So the reason I went to Love Island was I get to go to Fiji. Why am I going to say no to that? I'm someone that grew up in a small town never ventured really far out. So any opportunity to leave that area is something I want to explore. This is my second time leaving the country in like three weeks. So I'm super grateful to be in Scotland.

Ekin-Su: For me, it's my sort of fantasy. I love murder mysteries. I love the unknown. I love mind games. I love serial killer documentaries. I'm so obsessed with it. I'm really weird by the way, and I thought, This is the closest I'm gonna get to it. And I'm never going to see these people in my life if it wasn't for the show. So I'm very grateful to meet such diverse personalities, and I love the Americans. I've watched American TV since I was a kid, and I just feel like I'm in a movie sometimes. If you would ask me to do the show again, I would do it within a blink of an eye, it's amazing.

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

Coming in did you want to be a Faithful or a Traitor? 

Bergie: I came in wanting to be a faithful, for sure.

Ekin-Su: I was grateful for whatever was given my way. The fact that I'm in the show is enough for me.

How did your family react to you deciding to come on the show? 

Bergie: I literally just got done doing Love Island, got a knock on my hotel room door, and they're like, "Hey, you want to go do this?" I didn't even have my phone back yet from doing Love Island. The last episode hadn't aired yet. So then I immediately called my dad and I'm like, "Hey, I'm going to do this other show on Peacock." He's like, "What show?" I was like, "The Traitors." He's like, "No way. We were watching those episodes in between the Love Island episodes, and we absolutely loved it." So it was perfect and I didn't have a job, so it was just like, that's what I'm doing.

Ekin-Su: I'm actually an actress. I did my acting degree at uni. I was in a Turkish soap, so I was waiting for a murder series or film, and as soon as I got approached for the show, I was like, "What, there's a murder? People murder people, and then people get suspicious of everyone? Yes, I'll do it." My family, they're like, "Oh, you'll be so good at this show." The smell of like the unknown and the fights and arguments and drama—I just love it. Without a blink of an eye again, I'm going to just do it.

And to meet Americans. It's a US platform, which opens another door to America. My dream would be to pursue a career in America as well.

Related: Everything You Need to Know About 'The Traitors' Season 2