Leaving not just home but the country at age 18 to head to an Ivy League university in the States is definitely up there with the most challenging things The Traitors NZ star Violette Perry has ever had to do. Saying goodbye to family and friends during the height of COVID to embark on an incredible opportunity at Yale in Connecticut – after being offered places at six of the prestigious Ivy League schools – was a wild prospect for the Christchurch strategy consultant.
So was being the first-ever woman to be recruited to Yale’s men’s water-polo team. Now Violette’s current side hustle is developing a line of canned espresso martini cocktails. And that’s on top of starring on reality TV!
Laughing, Violette, 23, shrugs and humbly tells Woman’s Day that somehow things have just worked out really well for her.
“I’m a very calm person and I just go with the flow – and the flow’s been pretty good!” she tells.
The talented athlete, now based in Sydney, might be talking down her impressive achievements, but Violette is resolute in her pride of representing her beloved family – dad John, mum Emma, her big sister Tigerlily and little brother Tama – with mana.
“My dad didn’t finish high school and didn’t go to uni, so growing up, he cared deeply about me and my siblings doing the best that we could do,” explains Violette, who has Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa heritage, adding that her grandma never even got to go to school.
“So Mum and Dad really instilled the idea of making the most of every opportunity that you’re given – in education and sport. When I told Dad I got into all those schools, he was very happy!”
No challenge too big
Talented actress Tigerlily is now a surgeon, while Tama is a visual artist and also a promising water-polo player. That sport has always been a huge passion for Violette, who moved to Auckland after the 2011 Christchurch quake closed all of the city’s pools.
From there, it was a straight shot to the Ivy League after coming to the attention of scouts – something that “felt like it was out of the movies”, recalls Violette, who has also competed in track and field,
as well as playing four different musical instruments.
Having now graduated from Yale with an economics degree, Violette is hugely enjoying her fast-paced, long-hours job as a business analyst in strategy consulting.
“I love being around people smarter than me,” she smiles, adding that she hopes her office experience will keep her in good stead in the Traitors castle.
So with all her endless “side quests”, as she calls her hobbies, what made her apply for reality TV?
With a shrug, Violette replies, “My family is all massive fans of Traitors and the application window came at a time where I had nothing on. I was waiting for my new job to start. I’ve been so busy my whole life, so I thought, ‘Why not?’ My brother urged me to apply and I love a side quest – and this is absolute peak side quest!”
The unexpected emotional toll
Having only watched one season of The Traitors before becoming part of it herself, Violette says she never envisioned she’d be on TV, but she reckons not knowing about contestants’ past strategies only helps her on the show. However, she admits she’s been taken aback with how emotionally draining the experience is.
“I’ve really enjoyed it, but I probably didn’t anticipate how psychologically painful it was, especially as a Faithful – you literally know nothing!”
What does help is her naturally cynical nature.
“Oh, I’m such a pessimist!” she laughs.
“I like to expect the worst, so everything else is nice. I have a little bit of a dark side, especially compared to my siblings. My elder sister is like a ray of sunshine with rainbows and I got none of that! My brother is like me, though – he told me not to come home unless I was a Traitor!”
Meanwhile, the lads in the under-16 water-polo team she coaches had a different take.
Violette smiles, “I admitted that I was going on television and when I came back, they asked me, ‘So how was Love Island?’ I was like, ‘Please say you haven’t been telling other people that!’”
The Traitors NZ screens 7.30pm Sundays and Mondays on Three, streaming on ThreeNow.
