Check Out These Throwback Pics of Young Boston Rob Before Traitors: "You Were So Hot" (PHOTOS)
Audiences first met Boston Rob Mariano when he was 26 years old on his first season of Survivor.
Of all the hilarious, dramatic back-and-forth at The Traitors Season 3 reunion, "Boston Rob" Mariano and Ciara Miller's new-found bond definitely got some of the best laughs — and many a fan blushing over Ciara's spot-on observation.
"Boston Rob and Ciara got 'bug married,' and we saw him go from a dad to a daddy," master of ceremonies Andy Cohen — the "other AC" filling in for Traitors host Alan Cumming — quipped. "Ciara, what was it like to be married to Rob for a bit, and did you ever go out for veal parm?"
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Fans will recall that, in Episode 7 of this season, the players were tasked with holding another player's hand and not letting go as a series of creepy-crawlies rained down from above and skittered over their joined hands. Rob, cool and collected, talked his partner Ciara through the worst moments when it looked like she was this close to losing it. For Ciara, it was a kind moment that proved once again what a "girl dad" Rob is (he and wife, Amber, have four daughters).
Meanwhile, the internet collectively swooned over Rob's take-charge attitude.
At the Reunion, Ciara shared an observation that had her fellow contestants in stitches: "You were so hot — not that you're not now, but those clips from back in the day were — I was like 'Oh my god,' I had no idea."
Rob quietly thanked Ciara and seemed to demur with a smile (with the rest of the cast, especially Bob the Drag Queen, laughing all the while), but that was also the smile of a man used to being on television.
Because it seems Ciara spent some time Googling Rob from his OG Survivor days, especially around the time he met his wife Amber.
Young Boston Rob on Survivor (PICTURES)
Rob's been in the public eye since his first stint on Survivor in the 2002 season, Marquesas, when he was a 26-year-old construction worker. He met Amber, then 25, in 2004's Survivor: All-Stars, during which they shared arguably one of reality TV's most epic showmances of all time.
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"In the beginning, the flirting with Boston Rob was complete strategy for me. And on the other end, I thought it was complete strategy for him, too," Amber said in the show at the time. "And, I'll admit, when I saw him building that shelter, he was pretty hot building that shelter... it's getting much easier and easier to flirt with Boston Rob."
Throughout the All-Stars season, the pair grew closer, and the flirtation grew more meaningful.
"I told myself I wouldn't really let something like this happen, but I love having the comfort level of it," Amber said. "I love that he keeps me warm at night and he makes me feel safe out here. I can vent to him, complain to him about anything, and he won't hold it against me... You're not ever supposed to feel secure in this game, but with Rob and I, I feel 99.9% secure."
The pair actually had their first official date while competing on Survivor after winning a challenge that allowed them to spend some one-on-one time away from their Tribes.
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"Amber's definitely special to me," Rob said at the time. "A lot more special to me than when we started this adventure."
By the end of the season, they were the last two standing. They kept seeing each other after filming wrapped, and then, before the big reveal at the live finale taping, Rob got down on one knee and asked her to marry him, regardless of who won.
She said yes — and she won that season of Survivor.
For more Boston Rob, you can catch watch the Deal or No Deal Island After Show with Boston Rob on Peacock, NBC's YouTube, and NBC.com every Wednesday following new episodes of Deal or No Deal Island Season 2, which air Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC.
All episodes of The Traitors Seasons 1-3 are available to stream right now on Peacock.
