Phaedra Parks, star of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, confirmed on Sept. 4, 2026 that she is dating The Challenge veteran CT Tamburello, ending two years of speculation that began when the pair's chemistry on season two of The Traitors caught fans' attention.
Asked on Jeff Lewis Live whether her connection with Tamburello was platonic, Parks said, "No, it's not."
The attorney, 52, said the couple already has date nights planned, starting with the Creative Emmy Awards on Sept. 5. "We're going to the Emmys," she said, referring to the ceremony. "He's a presenter, so I'm his date." She added that Tamburello, 46, will join her on a work trip to Fire Island in New York after the ceremony.
Parks lives in Atlanta while Tamburello lives elsewhere on the East Coast, and their romance reportedly began during her last visit to Hollywood, likely a June 5 trip to Los Angeles for the 2026 Impact Awards. Parks said the relationship became official "probably since the last time I came out here."
From Traitors Costars to Couple
Parks and Tamburello were castmates on season two of The Traitors, the Peacock competition show, and Tamburello ultimately won that season, which aired in 2024. At the time, he downplayed romance rumors, telling E! News, "I think that's more wishful thinking. We had some laughs, we had some fun, but that's it."
Speculation resurfaced on Aug. 22 when Tamburello posted a selfie on Instagram with the caption, "When you are at the current biggest event on Earth, and you are with the coldest..." Parks reposted the photo, as captured by an X user, adding her own caption alongside a checkmark emoji: "Claimed."
Their Past Relationships
Parks was previously married to Apollo Nida from 2009 to 2017; they share sons Ayden, 16, and Dylan, 13. Tamburello shares a 10-year-old son, CJ Tamburello Jr., with ex-wife Lilianet Solares. He married Catalina White in 2024, but the two split in January.
More Reality TV Love Stories
The report also rounded up other couples whose relationships grew out of reality television.
- Chrishell Stause and G Flip: Stause announced she was dating the nonbinary musician on Selling Sunset's season five reunion in May 2022, saying, "They're nonbinary, so they go by they/them, and they are an extremely talented musician. And it started because I was just going to be in their video." G Flip told Vogue Australia the two met at a 2021 Halloween party but didn't start dating until 2022. They married in Las Vegas in May 2023.
- Joey Graziadei and Kelsey Anderson: The pair got engaged on Graziadei's 2024 season of The Bachelor, and Anderson later cheered him on as he won season 33 of Dancing With the Stars. She told E! News in February 2025 she wants a "beautiful, timeless wedding."
- Rob "Boston Rob" Mariano and Amber Mariano: The two met after competing on separate seasons of Survivor and appeared together on 2004's Survivor: All Stars, where Amber won and Rob proposed during the live finale. They wed on television in 2005 and share four daughters: Lucia, Carina, Isabetta and Adelina.
- Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and Jionni LaValle: The two met at a club in 2010, with Polizzi recalling on Jersey Shore, "I meet this little Mario brother... I'm drunk and I just wanna hook up." They got engaged in 2012, welcomed son Lorenzo that August, daughter Giovanna in September 2014, married two months later, and had son Angelo in May 2019.
- Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd: Vanderpump said on Stassi Schroeder's podcast Straight Up With Stassi that they got engaged six weeks after meeting at a London club and married three months later, in 1982. They have a daughter, Pandora, and a son, Max, and Vanderpump has said Todd, who is 16 years older, "never put me down, he never belittled me."
- Trista Sutter and Ryan Sutter: The couple got engaged on the original 2003 season of The Bachelorette and married that year. Parents to Maxwell and Blakesley, they have weathered Trista's 2017 seizure and Ryan's Lyme disease diagnosis. "It's communication, it's trust, it's respect," Trista told E! News in January 2025.
- Lauren Speed and Cameron Hamilton: The pair married on the first season of Love Is Blind in 2020 and have documented fertility struggles on their podcast, The Love Seat. "You showed me a new level of love that I'd never seen before," Cameron told her in a 2024 episode.
- Tiffany Pennywell and Brett Brown: They wed on season four of Love Is Blind in Seattle in 2023. "Started in the pods, now we're here!" Brett wrote on Instagram that year.
- Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici: The two got engaged on Lowe's 2013 season of The Bachelor and married in 2014. Living in Texas with kids Samuel, Isaiah and Mia, Sean told E! in 2024, "We've created this beautiful family and beautiful home."
- Captain Sandy Yawn and Leah Shafer: The Below Deck Mediterranean star and Shafer met in 2018 after Shafer messaged her. Yawn proposed in September 2023 and they married eight months later.
- Jamie Otis and Doug Hehner: The two married as strangers on the first season of Married at First Sight in 2014, and Doug reproposed a decade later. Living in Texas, they lost a son, Johnathan, at 17 weeks and are raising daughter Henley, son Hendrix and twins Hawkins and Huxley.
- Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt: The Hills stars, known as Speidi, met at a club in 2006 and became parents to sons Gunner and Ryker. After losing their Los Angeles home in the January 2025 fires, Heidi told Billboard in February 2025 that people could "finally see through that and see that there was always a love story."
- Kandi Burruss and Todd Tucker: The two met on a 2011 Real Housewives of Atlanta trip to South Africa and married in 2014, welcoming son Ace and daughter Blaze. The couple finalized their divorce in March 2026.
- Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra: The pair began dating in seventh grade in 2005 and placed their daughter Carly for adoption as teenagers, a journey chronicled on 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom. They married in August 2015 and had daughters Novalee, Vaeda and Rya.
- Heather Dubrow and Terry Dubrow: The Real Housewives of Orange County star and the Botched surgeon met on a blind date in 1996 and married in 1999. They have four children and sold their chateau for $55 million.
