Boston Rob Reveals He’s Taking a Hiatus From Reality Television

Rob Mariano, known as Boston Rob in the reality television world, announced that he won’t be competing on any shows in the near future.

“At this point, I’m kind of just hanging out. I don’t have a desire to go back and compete in that realm right now. I’m going to take a little break, the kids are off for the summer,” he told People on April 19.

Mariano assured it would just be a short break and said, “I truly feel like I’m the luckiest person in the world. I didn’t expect to be still doing it after 25 years, so never say never. You never know what’s going to happen.”

Boston Rob’s last appearance was on season 3 of “The Traitors,” and he told People that the show earned him a new fanbase.

“You have that whole Bravo world where I think it introduced a whole new subset of people that watch reality TV to me,” he said.

Mariano added, “And now I hear a lot of people are going back and watching the old ‘Survivors’ and the old ‘Amazing Races’ and stuff. It’s kind of cool to see the younger generation seeing all the stuff I’ve been doing for 25 years.”

Mariano Would Return to ‘Survivor’ On One Condition

Boston Rob got his start in the reality television world with “Survivor” in 2002, and he went on to compete in the show four more times, with one win under his belt.

On whether he would return for another season, Mariano told Entertainment Weekly in March 2024, “I’ve always said it would take some kind of unique format change to make me go back and compete over there.”

“Something would have to happen, otherwise we’re faced with the same situation where they gang up on me and want to get me out, or keep me around for a little bit, or whatever,” the father of four continued.

Mariano’s last appearance as a competitor on “Survivor” was in 2020, and he told Entertainment Weekly, “Season 40 was special. It was ‘Winners at War,’ it was all the winners, and ‘Survivor’ had given me so much in my life up to that point that I felt an obligation to go there. And I wanted to be there just because we got another round number.”

However, he’s hesitant about another return, adding, “I think there would have to be a pretty dynamic format shift to get me excited to get back out there.”

Still, it seems Mariano is keeping the door open. On April 1, he shared on Instagram, “Maybe I do have one more in me after all! ….it would be poetic. I’m turning 50 this year!”