Phaedra Parks and Chris “CT” Tamburello have finally answered the question The Traitors fans have been asking for months: Are they actually together? The answer is yes. Parks confirmed during a September 4 appearance on SiriusXM’s Jeff Lewis Live that her relationship with the The Challenge veteran is not platonic, ending weeks of increasingly obvious speculation.

The timing could hardly be more dramatic. The pair are now set to attend the 2026 Creative Arts Emmy Awards together, with Tamburello presenting and Parks attending as his date. But while their romance has moved from reality-TV chemistry to real life, Tamburello’s divorce from Catalina White remains ongoing.

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Phaedra Parks Confirms She Is Dating CT Tamburello Ahead of the 2026 Creative Arts Emmys

For weeks, Phaedra Parks and CT Tamburello had been giving fans plenty to talk about without actually putting an official label on their relationship.

That changed on Friday, September 4, when Parks appeared on Jeff Lewis Live and was asked directly about reports that she would be attending the Emmys with Tamburello.

Jeff Lewis did not exactly dance around the subject.

“Are you dating? I heard you were going to the Emmys with a date. Is this a platonic thing?”

Parks’ answer was short, but it said everything.

“It’s not.”

She then confirmed that Tamburello would be her date for the Creative Arts Emmys on Saturday, September 5. Tamburello, 46, was scheduled to present at the ceremony, while Parks, 52, would attend alongside him.

Lewis also wanted to know whether this was still a brand-new development or whether the two had already spent time together away from the reality-TV spotlight.

“Yeah,”

Parks replied when asked whether they had already gone out together.

She chose not to reveal the exact timeline of their romance, only indicating that things developed after the “last time” she was in Los Angeles.

That wasn’t the only indication that the two were already spending significant time together. Following the Emmys, Parks and Tamburello are also expected to travel together to New York for a work commitment on Fire Island.

So, what looked like playful reality-TV chemistry has now crossed firmly into real life.

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CT Tamburello and Phaedra Parks Had Been Dropping Major Romance Hints on Social Media

The September 4 confirmation did not come completely out of nowhere.

In fact, fans had been watching Parks and Tamburello exchange increasingly flirty messages for weeks, with one particular interaction becoming almost impossible to ignore.

On August 9, Tamburello posted on Instagram that he was still searching for a plus-one for the Emmys. He then asked whether anyone could “throw in a good word for me” with Parks.

Parks responded with a line that instantly sent The Traitors fandom into overdrive:

“Baby I’m already yours.”

Tamburello followed that exchange by sharing a video featuring Parks with the words:

“She said yes.”

At that point, speculation around the pair naturally intensified. Were they joking? Was this simply another extension of the playful relationship fans had watched develop on The Traitors? Or had something actually changed between them?

The answer began becoming clearer on September 4.

Around the same time Parks appeared on Jeff Lewis Live, Tamburello posted a photo of a van on his Instagram Stories and wrote that he was about to:

“pick up bae.”

He subsequently shared videos showing Parks in Lewis’ studio and later inside the van with him.

Those posts appeared shortly before Parks publicly confirmed that her relationship with Tamburello was not platonic.

The social-media breadcrumbs suddenly looked a lot less like teasing and a lot more like a soft launch.

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How Phaedra Parks and CT Tamburello’s Romance Started on The Traitors

The backstory is what makes this relationship especially interesting.

Parks and Tamburello first met while competing on Season 2 of Peacock’s The Traitors, which premiered in 2024. Their circumstances could have made a close friendship difficult: Parks entered the competition as a Traitor, while Tamburello competed as a Faithful.

Yet despite being on opposite sides of the game, they developed a close bond inside the castle.

Their chemistry became one of the season’s memorable elements, and Parks affectionately referred to Tamburello as her:

“castle daddy.”

Naturally, viewers began wondering whether the connection went beyond friendship.

But at the time, Tamburello made it clear that viewers should not mistake their on-screen chemistry for an actual romance.

In a 2024 interview with Entertainment Weekly, he said:

“[nothing real happened]”

He explained:

“It was fun. I loved her because she’s a cornball. She was great. I would say there was a sense of sincerity, for sure. But it was also playing a game, you know?”

His comments at the time painted their relationship as genuine friendship developing within the unusual circumstances of a reality-TV competition.

That makes Parks’ September 2026 confirmation even more notable.

What began as a friendship between a Traitor and a Faithful has now apparently evolved into an actual relationship away from the castle.

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Phaedra Parks Previously Called CT Tamburello a “Great Guy”

There was also evidence that Parks had always held Tamburello in particularly high regard.

Following their time on The Traitors, Parks spoke positively about her relationship with him during a 2024 interview with Extra.

She expressed interest in working with him again and described Tamburello as:

“salt of the earth”

and:

“a great guy.”

Parks also praised him as:

“just a gentleman”

and:

“alpha male.”

At that stage, however, there was no confirmation that the two were romantically involved.

Their relationship remained publicly framed as friendship, while fans continued to focus on the obvious chemistry they had displayed on The Traitors.

Now, with Parks confirming that their relationship is not platonic, those earlier comments have taken on a different context.

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CT Tamburello’s Divorce From Catalina White Has Not Been Finalized

There is, however, an important detail surrounding Tamburello’s new relationship that should not get lost in the excitement.

Tamburello married Catalina White in October 2024. White filed for divorce on January 9, 2026, approximately 15 months after their marriage.

The divorce case has not been finalized.

That distinction matters. A divorce filing is not the same thing as a completed divorce, and the case remains ongoing.

Tamburello was previously married to Lilianet “Lili” Solares. He filed for divorce from Solares in November 2022, and that divorce was finalized in 2023.

Tamburello and Solares share a son, Christopher “C.J.” Tamburello Solares, whom they welcomed in 2016.

For that reason, the current situation involves both a newly confirmed relationship and an ongoing legal proceeding.

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CT Tamburello’s Relationship Timeline

Date/Period	Event	Details
2016	Birth of C.J. Tamburello Solares	Tamburello and Lilianet “Lili” Solares welcomed their son
November 2022	Divorce filing	Tamburello filed for divorce from Solares
2023	Divorce finalized	Tamburello and Solares officially divorced
2024	The Traitors Season 2	Tamburello and Parks developed their close friendship and chemistry
October 2024	Marriage	Tamburello married Catalina White
January 9, 2026	Divorce filing	White filed for divorce from Tamburello
August 9, 2026	Emmy flirtation	Tamburello asked for help finding a plus-one and Parks replied, “Baby I’m already yours.”
September 4, 2026	Romance confirmed	Parks confirmed their relationship is not platonic
September 5, 2026	Creative Arts Emmys	Tamburello was scheduled to present, with Parks attending as his date

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Phaedra Parks’ Marriage to Apollo Nida and Her Reality-TV Career

Parks also has a significant relationship history of her own.

She was previously married to Apollo Nida. The couple married in 2009 and ultimately divorced, with their divorce finalized in 2017.

They share two sons, Ayden and Dylan.

Parks has remained a prominent reality-TV personality, particularly through The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Tamburello, meanwhile, has built his reputation as one of the most recognizable veterans of MTV’s The Challenge.

Their relationship therefore brings together two established reality-TV personalities who originally crossed paths through another major reality franchise.

And that connection is arguably what makes the story feel so full-circle.

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Phaedra Parks and CT Tamburello’s Emmy Date Marks a New Chapter

The Creative Arts Emmy Awards on September 5 were set to become the first major public event the pair attended together following Parks’ confirmation of their relationship.

Tamburello was scheduled to present at the ceremony, while Parks was expected to join him as his date.

For viewers who watched their friendship unfold on The Traitors, the Emmy appearance represents a major evolution.

Back in the castle, their connection could easily have been dismissed as reality-TV banter, game strategy or simply two personalities clicking in an unusual environment. Tamburello himself previously described their bond as fun, sincere and rooted in friendship while emphasizing that “nothing real happened.”

Now, the situation is very different.

Parks has confirmed that their relationship is not platonic. Their social-media exchanges had already hinted at something more, and the Emmy date gave those rumors an even more public setting.

The next chapter will also take them beyond the awards ceremony, with the pair expected to travel together to New York for a work commitment on Fire Island.

For now, one thing is no longer a mystery: Phaedra Parks and CT Tamburello are officially dating.

What began with a Traitor and a Faithful forming an unexpectedly close friendship has evolved into a real-life romance, complete with flirtatious Instagram posts, an Emmy date and a very public confirmation.

And because Tamburello’s divorce from Catalina White remains unresolved, the story has another important layer that could continue developing as the couple’s relationship moves forward.

Disclaimer: This article is based on thorough research of publicly available statements, official information and reporting from the following sources: PEOPLE, Entertainment Weekly, the Television Academy, Peacock, Bravo and SiriusXM’s Jeff Lewis Live. The information and relationship developments described above reflect what was publicly available as of September 5, 2026. Tamburello’s ongoing divorce proceedings and other relationship developments may change as new information becomes available.

Sources

• PEOPLE — Phaedra Parks Confirms Relationship With CT Tamburello
• Entertainment Weekly — CT Tamburello on Phaedra Parks and Their ‘Traitors’ Connection
• Television Academy — 2026 Creative Arts Emmy Awards
• Peacock — The Traitors
• Bravo — Phaedra Parks

Featured Image Credit: Instagram @phaedraparks