Rob Rausch Bought Maura Higgins a Birkin — and the Backstory Involves Jake Shane and Lisa Rinna
If your entire For You Page turned wall-to-wall Hermès orange this past week, here’s why: The Traitors Season 4 winner Rob Rausch actually bought his co-star Maura Higgins a Birkin bag on live television. The whole thing somehow involved TikTok’s favorite podcast host, a Real Housewives legend, and one of the most unhinged audience polls in late-night TV history.
Rausch, 27, won $220,800 on The Traitors Season 4 by being, well, a Traitor. He was a Traitor alongside Lisa Rinna and Candiace Dillard Bassett. He later recruited Eric Nam to be a Traitor after both women were banished from the castle.
The moment that launched a thousand TikToks happened between Rausch and Higgins. On the show, Rausch broke a “pinky promise” to Higgins that they’d win The Traitors together, after he revealed his true identity as a Traitor on the Season 4 finale, to her utter shock. The betrayal was dramatic. The fallout was even more dramatic.
At the reunion, Higgins laid out her terms for reconciliation: she’d forgive her fellow Love Island alum if he bought her a Hermès Birkin.
Reader, he bought the Birkin.
Jake Shane, Lisa Rinna, and the Group Chat That Made It Happen
When Rausch was photographed stepping out after buying the handbag, he was spotted with none other than Therapuss podcast host Jake Shane. People had questions. Why was the influencer tagging along on a luxury shopping run with a reality TV winner?
Rinna has the answer.
“Let’s talk about the Birkin bag!” Rinna, 62, said via TikTok on Sunday, March 8. “I’m so excited about the bag. I’m so excited that we got to come full circle,” the reality star said. “You can see how happy Maura is.”
According to Rinna’s TikTok, the whole thing unfolded like a group chat coming to life. Lisa revealed that Rob reached out to her and wrote “important” to get her attention. Jake and Rob then FaceTimed Lisa to help them get the Birkin.
“So they’re doing the podcast, and they tell me that Jake is gonna go with Rob to get the Birkin. Cause he should have a gay with him,” Lisa explained in the video.
Rob filmed an episode of Therapuss — set to drop on Wednesday, March 12 — and then took Jake along to secure the bag as he needed another opinion.
Why You Can’t Just Walk into Hermès and Buy a Birkin
For anyone who’s ever wondered why people don’t just waltz into Hermès and grab a Birkin off the shelf: it doesn’t work like that. Rinna explained that “of course” she helped Rausch buy the Hermès bag, which customers can only acquire if they have a relationship with a sales associate and spend a significant amount of money on other products.
“I said I would, and we did it. We got it for her.”
“It was so fun helping Rob. My friends Isaac Boots and Jeffery helped with that connection because they had the connection in New York, so we were able to make that happen quickly,” Rinna explained, noting that they would have otherwise had to travel to Paris to get the bag that is estimated to cost between $16,000 and $22,000. “It would have taken a bit longer.”
So the chain of events: Rob texts Lisa “important,” FaceTimes her with Jake Shane, records a Therapuss episode, then takes Jake along to pick up a Birkin that Lisa’s friends helped connect him to in New York.
The Watch What Happens Live reveal
The actual Birkin reveal happened on the March 4 episode of Watch What Happens Live, and it was peak television.
Before the big moment, host Andy Cohen polled the audience on whether getting a Birkin bag is enough to forgive someone. Ninety percent voted yes. The audience essentially said a luxury handbag is a perfectly acceptable apology for emotional betrayal on national television. The internet had a field day.
After the poll, Rausch delivered on Higgins’ request, putting on gloves and grabbing the iconic orange Hermès box from behind the bar. He kept his gloves on, telling Higgins, “Only the owner’s supposed to touch it first.”
On cue, Rausch presented her with a burgundy Togo Birkin bag in a size 30 with gold hardware, which retails for $16,000.
“See this is my win,” she said. “I knew I’d have my moment.” She posed with the bag before jumping up to hug Rausch and shout, “You’re forgiven.”
A pinky promise broken. A Birkin delivered. Forgiveness granted on live television.
Production of this article included the use of AI. It was reviewed and edited by a team of content specialists.
