Ron Funches is sharing more about his identity.
The Traitors contestant, who has been butting heads with fellow contestants on season four of the reality competition show, revealed that he was diagnosed with autism after viewers suggested online that he might have the developmental condition.
“Well the internet told me I was autistic and was right,” Ron wrote on his Instagram Stories Jan. 22. “You win this round.”
Given his experience on the show, the comedian added, “Thanks @thetraitorsus for helping me find out more about me through some type of cruel trauma.”
Closing out his message, he shut down another fan theory that has been circulating about his sexuality, clarifying, “Still not gay yet.”
The day before, Ron—whose son Malcolm, 21, was diagnosed with autism at the age of 2—reflected on how his interactions with his Traitors costars led to his later-in-life diagnosis, though he noted he is still waiting until his “diagnosis is done” to refer to himself as “autistic.”
“I honestly didn’t know I myself had Autism I thought I was just an ally and parent of an autistic child,” he wrote on Threads, “but the way I felt I wasn’t being comprehended or understood while I thought I was being direct and seeing some of my own mannerisms made start the process of going to get a diagnosis.”
Throughout his time on The Traitors, hosted by Emmy winner Alan Cumming, Ron has hit a few speed bumps. First, he persuaded the castle to banish Real Housewives of Atlanta alum Porsha Williams because she misspoke about being a Traitor, despite being a Faithful. He also unknowingly aligned with Donna Kelce, this season’s Secret Traitor, prompting strained relationships—and a few verbal spats—with fellow Faithfuls after she was eliminated.
Euan Cherry/PeacockDespite his challenges on the Peacock TV show, Ron seems to be grateful that it led to him discovering his own autism, an aspect of his son’s life which he has celebrated over the years.
“Happy Autism Awareness Day!” he wrote on Instagram in April 2022. “Thank you to my son who brought autism awareness into my life, and continually teaches me so much every day.”
Ron has also been vocal in his standup comedy routines about being “very proud” of Malcolm.
Euan Cherry/Peacock“He’s got great discipline, and I don’t know where he got it, because I never disciplined—I didn’t know how,” he said in a clip shared to Instagram in April. “Especially having a teenager and having someone have autism, I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what was teenager related. I didn’t know what was autism related.”
“I don’t know which of these things made him download 60 episodes of The Price Is Right, but I know that’s not normal,” Ron continued, prompting laughter from the audience. “The Price Is Right is a fine show, but it is the same damn show every day. I’m like, ‘Son, did you need to fill the entire DVR with Price is Right? He’s like, ‘I’m just trying to keep season stats, dad.’”
He concluded, “I’m like, ‘OK, so, it’s the autism. Carry on.’”
Of course, Ron isn’t the only star who has experienced The Traitors first-hand. Read on to learn behind-the-scenes secrets about the show from people with insider knowledge.
1. While scheming is certainly a hallmark of The Traitors gameplay, contestants have no choice when it comes to their Traitors vs. Faithful status. Though, starting with season two, stars like Phaedra Parks and Kate Chastain were able to plead their case to host Alan Cumming.
“That has a really big bearing on it, as does Alan’s opinion,” executive producer Mike Cotton noted to Variety. “It’s almost like a job interview to be a Traitor, and we take all of that into account and decide just before the pick who that should be. We want to make sure we’ve got an interesting mix of characters that will bring their own unique skill set to it.”
Though it’s not immediately clear to the cast just how many among them are Traitors. “We knew that there could potentially be three to five Traitors in the game,” Survivor’s Cirie Fields told E! News in 2023 after her season one victory. “That was explained to us from the very beginning.
Euan Cherry/Peacock2. They were also instructed to commit to the Traitors oath: “Do you commit to lie and deceive throughout the game? Are you willing to murder your fellow players every single night? And, do you vow to keep your identity and the identity of your fellow players a secret?”
Euan Cherry/Peacock3. To help producers determine who might be best at backstabbing and bluffing, contestants take a personality test. “We see attributes that might make someone a good liar or particularly deceptive,” Cotton Variety. Still, “We actually don’t know who the Traitors are until that pick, where Alan walks around and taps them on the shoulder.”
4. As for Cumming, he was excited to sign on for his campy role and bring his little dog, too. Recounting the initial pitch to Daily Beast in 2023, “I said, ‘It’s sort of like you want me to be like a Bond villain. And I should actually bring my dog and pet her.’ And they went, ‘That’s a good idea’ And I thought, oh, I want to do this.”
With rescue pup Lala on hand, he leaned hard into his role, quoting playwright William Shakespeare and philosopher Plato on-camera. “So I had this flaring-nostril sort of persona,” he told the outlet. “And you’re kind of making stuff up as you go along. Literally, sometimes, they’re feeding me lines in my ear. So it was a bit like doing stand-up comedy actually, because you’re just winging it.”
Euan Cherry/Peacock5. The cast might have a royally good time in Scotland’s Ardross Castle, but they don’t actually get their own palace digs.
“None of us stayed in the castle,” Cumming divulged to the Daily Beast. Instead, he continued, “You come to Scotland, and you stay in the Inverness airport hotel.” While he had his own nearby digs, “I had a room in the castle where I would get made up and dressed,” he added. “It had a huge bed in it. So I did actually sleep quite often, but not overnight.”
Euan Cherry/Peacock6. In fact, the cast almost navigated rougher seas. “My first idea was to do it on a ship in Australia, and if somebody had to be out of the game, he or she had to jump into the water and swim to an island,” creator Marc Pos revealed to Variety, “but then I thought it would be too difficult to produce.”
Euan Cherry/Peacock7. Contestants weren’t able to wade into every corner of the castle. “We use a section of it,” Cotton explained to Variety. “We’ve taken a wing of the castle, and that’s their area that they can play the game within. They’ve got all the outside as well. They’re free to roam around.”
But with enough square footage for some 30 bedrooms, he noted, “If we covered that huge space, it’d be impossible to cover them all. They can split up and have their own conversations, but it’s small enough that someone could be listening on the door outside, and someone can see when someone disappears and has their own secret chat.”
Euan Cherry/Peacock8. Perhaps that’s why Big Brother alum Rachel Reilly shared that car rides to and from the challenges were the most ideal times to scheme with fellow players. “You’re separated, and nobody can hear what you’re saying,” she explained to Reality Blurred. “In the castle, you have to whisper.”
Euan Cherry/Peacock9. Game planning at the hotel, however, was strictly verboten. “You’re not supposed to talk about the game when the mics aren’t ready or the cameras aren’t on,” season two player Dan Gheesling told Business Insider, “because if we say something that’s important and it’s not on camera, they can’t use it on the show.”
Euan Cherry/Peacock10. Also not allowed, season three’s Chrishell Stause revealed, was a hair and makeup team. “I would’ve died to have glam in the castle,” she told Us Weekly, “but Alan [did] not allow us to.”
Euan Cherry/Peacock11. In order to arrange the nightly murders, “It’s a massive military operation each night to get the Faithful to bed in individual rooms,” Cotton told Variety, “and get the Traitors back out to have their meeting.”
Even season two then-couple Larsa Pippen and Marcus Jordan weren’t able to share a room. “I think they would have wanted to,” acknowledged executive producer Sam Rees-Jones, “but they weren’t allowed to because it would have given them a foot up in the game.”
Virginia Sherwood/Peacock12. Still, Shahs of Sunset’s Reza Farahan attempted to get crafty. “I did try to sneak out of my room to leave notes… I was trying to have fun in the moments where you weren’t supposed to have fun,” he told Digital Spy. “I would leave notes under people’s doors that said, ‘I know what you did last summer, signed The Traitors.'”
Euan Cherry/Peacock13. Not that there is all that much time for fun and games. “We mainly like to film an episode a day, which is quite a big undertaking,” Rees-Jones detailed to Variety. “But the reason we like to do that is because it keeps an immersive bubble, keeps their heads in the game. Schedule-wise, it’s a real pressure, but content-wise, it’s definitely the right thing to do. We start the day with breakfast, have a roundtable, have a mission, have a murder and then start again.” (Stause revealed there was one night they got back to their rooms at 2 a.m.)
While the breakfasts are a strategic operation where players are brought in at staggered intervals, Cotton told Variety, the meals last “from start to finish, an hour max.”
Euan Cherry/Peacock14. Perhaps that’s why producers take strides to keep contestants sharp. “You can only drink one drink a night,” Love Island winner Ekin-Su Culculoglu, a season two Faithful, told Entertainment Weekly in 2024, “it was quite restricted.”
Euan Cherry/Peacock15. Though it can be hard to find true allies in-game, each player is assigned a welfare team member. “They’re checking on you at all times,” season two standout Mercedes Javid said on the Just Sayin’ podcast. “They’re so cheerful and professional. I felt taken care of at all times.”
Euan Cherry/Peacock16. As for forming onscreen bonds, contestants don’t know who they’ll be competing alongside until they arrive in Scotland. “You don’t want them to be able to research each other,” casting director Deena Katz explained to Time, “or talk to each other or form alliances before.” But once the game kicks off, players receive cheat sheets on each other and a journal to take notes.
Euan Cherry/Peacock17. For the record, Cumming fancies himself a Traitor. “I think it’d be great to decide who to murder,” he told the Daily Beast in 2023. “The thing about this game—people would sort of turn on people and say, ‘Well, they did this and therefore that means they’re a Traitor.’ Well, they’re a Traitor because I patted them on the shoulder. And that’s the only reason they’re a Traitor.”