Cosmic beings, we’re in the final stretch of Mars’s six-week journey through Pisces, which had us feeling more emotional, nostalgic, or even a little delulu at times. Mars in Pisces doesn’t move in straight lines. It drifts, it dreams, it revisits old feelings and unfinished stories, and it reminds us that not all progress is visible or immediate. So as we close out this transit, the invitation is to actually honor what it taught you instead of rushing past it. Honor the power of visualization, the importance of rest without guilt, and the understanding that growth can be nonlinear and still very real. You may not have moved as quickly as you wanted to over the past few weeks, but you did shift internally, and that’s going to matter more than you realize.

Then on April 9th, everything changes tone almost instantly. Mars enters Aries, the sign it rules, and it’s like the volume gets turned all the way up. Suddenly, the energy’s sharper, faster, more decisive. And it’s not just Mars… we also have the sun, Saturn, Neptune, and Chiron all in Aries. It’s giving “wake up and go.” It can feel like a surge of motivation, courage, even impatience, like you’ve been stretching before a race and now the starting gun has finally gone off. But with this much fire, it’s important to be intentional about where you direct it. This energy can build, create, initiate… but it can also burn out or escalate if it’s not grounded. So think of it less as needing to do everything at once, and more as choosing what’s worth your energy and going all in there.

By the time we reach April 10th, the last quarter moon in Capricorn arrives like a reality check in the best way. Last quarter moons are about reflection and adjustment, taking what began at the new moon and asking: what’s working, what’s not, and what needs to be released so we can move forward with more clarity? In Capricorn, this becomes very practical. You’re looking at your responsibilities, your commitments, your long-term goals, and noticing where your energy is actually being well spent versus where it’s being scattered. After all the fire of the Aries stellium, this is the moment that helps you get organized, get focused, and make sure your actions are sustainable. Not everything needs to be pursued at once. What matters is choosing what truly aligns and building it step by step.

Read your horoscopes for your Sun and Rising signs for the most in-depth forecast.

Aries Sun & Rising:

Aries, you can feel it… that shift from floating to moving, from imagining to actually doing. Mars, your ruling planet, enters your sign on April 9th after spending six weeks in Pisces, where things may have felt slower, more internal, or harder to define. You were processing more than pushing, feeling more than acting, even if that wasn’t always obvious on the surface. Now, as Mars comes home to Aries, there’s a surge of clarity and momentum that’s hard to ignore. Your energy returns, your instincts sharpen, and you may feel more ready to take action on things you’ve been sitting on. But this isn’t just about speed… it’s about direction. With so much Aries energy in the sky right now, you’re being asked to move with intention, not impulse. What are you actually ready to commit to? What deserves your energy long-term, not just in the heat of the moment? This is your chance to act on what you know is right, not just what feels urgent.

By the second half of the week, the last quarter moon in Capricorn on April 10th brings things into sharper focus, especially around your career and public life. This can feel like a moment where you’re asked to get real about your goals: what’s working, what’s not, and where you need to adjust your approach. You might notice pressure around responsibilities, expectations, or the path you’re on, but this isn’t here to slow you down, it’s here to help you refine. Capricorn energy wants structure, discipline, and sustainability, so this is a powerful time to organize your next steps, set clearer priorities, and let go of distractions that don’t actually move you forward. The fire is there, the motivation is there… now it’s about building something that can last.

Taurus Sun & Rising:

Taurus, this week feels like a shift you can’t quite explain at first, but you feel it in your body. As Mars enters Aries on April 9th, it moves into your spirituality and subconscious sector, and after six weeks of it being in Pisces, a fellow Water sign, you may notice the difference in a subtle but real way. Where things may have felt dreamy, emotional, or even a little scattered, now there’s a sharper edge to your inner world.

You’re becoming more aware of what’s been draining you, what’s been lingering beneath the surface, and what you’re actually ready to release. This isn’t the kind of transit that asks you to rush forward… it’s more like preparing behind the scenes, cutting cords, clearing space, and getting honest about your energy before your own season begins. The lesson here is learning that rest and action can coexist… you don’t have to burn yourself out to make progress, but you do have to be intentional about where your energy goes.

By the second half of the week, the last quarter moon in Capricorn on April 10th activates your expansion and long-term vision sector, and this is where things begin to click into place mentally. You might find yourself reflecting on your bigger goals: travel plans, career direction, or something you’ve been wanting to grow into but haven’t fully committed to yet. There can be a moment of doubt or hesitation here, like questioning whether you’re ready to take the next step, but this moon is less about stopping and more about refining your approach. Capricorn brings structure to your vision, helping you break things down into practical steps so it doesn’t feel overwhelming. If something isn’t working, adjust it. If something feels aligned, lean into it. You don’t have to have the entire path figured out… just the next move that makes sense.

Gemini Sun & Rising:

Gemini, this week you’re back outside, but this time with purpose. As Mars enters Aries on April 9th, your social and community sector lights up in a way that feels energizing after the more emotional, reflective vibe of the past few weeks. Mars in Pisces may have had you questioning your direction, your career, or where you actually belong, but now there’s less overthinking and more movement. You’re ready to reconnect, collaborate, share your ideas, and be seen in spaces that actually feel aligned.

Invitations, conversations, and opportunities may start picking up, especially in group settings or online, and the key here is discernment. Not every room deserves your energy, but the right ones will remind you exactly who you are when you’re in flow. This is a powerful time to take initiative within your network: reach out, follow up, say yes to what excites you, and don’t wait to be chosen.

By the second half of the week, the last quarter moon in Capricorn on April 10th brings things into a more introspective space, activating your depth and shared resources sector. You might find yourself reflecting on what you’re investing in emotionally, financially, energetically, and whether it actually feels reciprocal. This could show up as a conversation about money, a realization about trust in a connection, or simply noticing where you’re giving more than you’re receiving. Capricorn energy helps you get practical about it. Instead of overanalyzing or spiraling, you’re being asked to set clearer boundaries, make smarter decisions, and adjust where needed. Not everything needs to be dramatic to be meaningful… sometimes it’s just about tightening things up so your energy is being respected.

Cancer Sun & Rising:

Cancer, this week you might feel the shift before you can even explain it, like something in you is ready to step up, even if part of you still wants to stay comfortable. As Mars enters Aries on April 9th, your career and public image sector becomes activated, and after six weeks of Mars moving through Pisces in your expansion sector, you may feel the difference immediately. Where you were dreaming, reflecting, or trying to figure out your next move, now there’s a push to actually make that move. You may feel more motivated to go after your goals, speak up for yourself professionally, or take yourself more seriously in spaces where you once hesitated. With so much Aries energy building, you’re being asked to lead with courage, not just emotion, and to trust that you’re ready, even if you’re still figuring things out as you go.

By the second half of the week, the last quarter moon in Capricorn on April 10th activates your relationship sector, and this is where things can feel a bit more personal. You might notice tension or clarity within a partnership, whether that’s romantic, professional, or even a close friendship. This could look like realizing where expectations aren’t being met, where boundaries need to be clearer, or where a conversation can’t be avoided anymore. Capricorn energy asks for maturity and honesty, even when it’s uncomfortable. Instead of reacting emotionally or withdrawing, this is your chance to respond with intention, to say what needs to be said, listen just as much as you speak, and to choose connection that feels grounded, not just familiar.

Leo Sun & Rising:

Leo, this week feels like your spark is coming back, but with a little more direction behind it. As Mars enters Aries on April 9th, your expansion and adventure sector lights up, and after several weeks of Mars moving through Pisces, your depth and emotional processing zone, you may feel the shift almost immediately. You’ve been doing internal work, reflecting, releasing, maybe even confronting things you didn’t fully want to look at. And now there’s a sense that you’re ready to move forward again. You might feel pulled toward travel, learning something new, saying yes to opportunities that stretch you, or simply thinking bigger about what your life could look like. This energy wants you out of your comfort zone, but not recklessly. It’s about trusting your instincts enough to take the next step, even if you don’t have the whole map yet.

By the second half of the week, the last quarter moon in Capricorn on April 10th brings things back into your daily life, activating your work, routine, and wellness sector. This is where reality checks in, not to slow you down, but to make sure what you’re building is actually sustainable. You might notice where your schedule feels overwhelming, where your habits need adjusting, or where you’ve been procrastinating something that would actually make your life easier in the long run. Capricorn energy is practical, so this is a great time to get organized, set priorities, and follow through on what you said you were going to do. The vision is there… now it’s about the structure that supports it.

Virgo Sun & Rising:

Virgo, this week brings you into deeper waters, but with a clarity you didn’t quite have before. As Mars enters Aries on April 9th, your depth, intimacy, and shared resources sector becomes activated, and after six weeks of Mars moving through Pisces in your relationship sector, you may notice a shift in how you engage with others. You’ve been reflecting on your connections, your boundaries, and what partnership really means to you, and now you’re being asked to take that awareness deeper. This can show up as a desire for more honesty, more vulnerability, or a clearer understanding of what you’re willing to share emotionally, energetically, even financially. Mars in Aries doesn’t do surface-level. It wants truth, even if it’s uncomfortable. The key is to lean into that without overanalyzing every detail. You don’t need to have perfect control to be secure… you just need to trust your ability to navigate what comes up.

By the second half of the week, the last quarter moon in Capricorn on April 10th activates your creativity, romance, and self-expression sector, bringing a grounded perspective to what brings you joy. You might notice where you’ve been holding back, overthinking, or waiting for the “right” moment to express yourself, whether that’s in your creative work or your love life. This moon encourages you to take your joy seriously. Not in a heavy way, but in a committed way. If something makes you feel alive, it deserves your attention. Capricorn energy helps you turn inspiration into something tangible, such as setting time aside to create, showing up consistently in a connection, or simply allowing yourself to enjoy something without questioning it. Sometimes growth looks like structure, even in the things that feel light.

Libra Sun & Rising:

Libra, this week brings your relationships into sharper focus, but in a way that actually helps you move forward instead of just overthinking it. As Mars enters Aries on April 9th, your partnership sector becomes activated, and after several weeks of Mars moving through Pisces in your work and routine zone, you may notice a shift in how you engage with others. You’ve been adjusting your habits, your boundaries, and how you show up day to day, and now that work starts reflecting in your connections. There’s more directness here. More honesty. You may feel less inclined to avoid difficult conversations and more ready to say what you mean, even if it disrupts the peace a little. And that’s the point. Healthy relationships can handle truth. Mars in Aries is teaching you that asserting your needs doesn’t make you difficult… it makes the connection real.

By the second half of the week, the last quarter moon in Capricorn on April 10th brings your attention inward, activating your home and emotional foundation sector. This is where you might feel the need to slow down, reflect, and check in with yourself away from everyone else’s energy. You may notice where your environment feels supportive, or where it doesn’t, and that awareness can guide small but meaningful changes. This could be as simple as creating more structure in your personal space, setting boundaries with family, or giving yourself permission to rest without guilt. Capricorn energy is about building a foundation that actually holds you. The stronger your inner world feels, the easier it becomes to show up authentically in your outer relationships.

Scorpio Sun & Rising:

Scorpio, you’re coming out of a softer, dreamier chapter and stepping back into your power in a way that feels a lot more tangible. Over the past six weeks, with your ruling planet Mars moving through Pisces, you may have noticed a different relationship to love, creativity, and even yourself. Things may have felt slower, more emotional, more reflective… but also more open. You may have softened your edges, let your guard down a bit, allowed yourself to feel instead of control, and remembered that love doesn’t always have to be intense to be real. There was a kind of peace available there, even if it didn’t always come with clarity or momentum. Now, as Mars enters Aries on April 9th, everything sharpens. You’re no longer floating… you’re moving. Energy returns to your body, your motivation picks up, and anything that felt stalled or hard to act on suddenly feels doable. This isn’t about abandoning the softness you cultivated, but rather about embodying it through action.

By the second half of the week, the last quarter moon in Capricorn on April 10th helps you organize that surge of energy in a way that actually sticks. This activates your communication and mindset sector, so you may notice where your thoughts need to be more structured, your plans more realistic, or your words more intentional. If you’ve been all over the place mentally or sitting on ideas without following through, this is your moment to tighten things up. Capricorn energy isn’t flashy… it’s effective. Write things down. Make a plan. Follow through on one or two things instead of ten. The shift you’re feeling right now is real, and the more you ground it in consistent action, the more momentum you’ll actually build.

Sagittarius Sun & Rising:

Sag, you’re coming back to your spark, but this time, it actually has direction. Over the past six weeks, with Mars moving through Pisces in your home and emotional foundation sector, you may have felt more inward than usual. Processing family dynamics, your living situation, or even just your own emotional needs took priority, and at times, it may have felt hard to find momentum or clarity around what to do next. But that wasn’t wasted time… it was necessary grounding. Now, as Mars enters Aries on April 9th, everything begins to shift outward. Your creativity, romance, and self-expression sector lights up, and suddenly, you feel more alive, more playful, more ready to engage with life again. This is the kind of energy that wants you to take risks, flirt with possibilities, create something just because it excites you, and stop waiting for the “perfect” moment. The lesson here is simple: joy is not a distraction, it’s a direction.

By the second half of the week, the last quarter moon in Capricorn on April 10th brings your focus to your money and self-worth sector, grounding all that fire in something more practical. You might notice where your energy is being spent versus where it’s actually paying off, financially or emotionally. This could be a moment of recalibration around your budget, your priorities, or even how you value your own time and effort. Capricorn energy asks you to get real without getting discouraged. If something isn’t working, adjust it. If something feels aligned, commit to it more seriously. You don’t have to dim your fire to be responsible… you just have to direct it where it counts.

Capricorn Sun & Rising:

Capricorn, something is shifting beneath the surface, and it’s asking you to move differently, not just work harder. Over the past six weeks, with Mars in Pisces activating your communication and mindset sector, you may have felt like your thoughts were everywhere: reflective, emotional, sometimes inspired, sometimes unclear. Conversations may have circled back, plans may have changed, and it might have been harder to land on a single direction. But that space wasn’t wasted… it helped you feel into what actually matters. Now, as Mars enters Aries on April 9th, your home and emotional foundation sector becomes activated, and the shift is immediate. You’re no longer just thinking about what needs to change… you’re ready to do something about it. This can show up as making moves in your living situation, setting firmer boundaries with family, or simply reclaiming your space and your energy in a more direct way. You’re learning that your foundation matters just as much as your ambition, and now you’re ready to build it with intention.

By the second half of the week, the last quarter moon in your sign on April 10th brings everything into sharper focus. This is a personal checkpoint… a moment where you’re asked to reflect on what’s working, what’s not, and what needs to be adjusted so you can move forward with more clarity. You might feel a bit more pressure or awareness around your responsibilities, your goals, or how you’re showing up, but this isn’t here to overwhelm you. It’s here to help you refine. Capricorn energy thrives when it has a plan, so this is a powerful time to simplify, prioritize, and let go of anything that’s not aligned with where you’re going. You don’t need to do everything at once… you just need to commit to what actually matters.

Aquarius Sun & Rising:

Aquarius, your mind is waking up again, but this time, it’s not just ideas, it’s action. Over the past six weeks, with Mars moving through Pisces in your money and self-worth sector, you may have been reflecting on what you truly value, not just financially, but energetically. There may have been moments of confusion around direction, income, or even confidence, like you were feeling things out more than making clear moves. But now, as Mars enters Aries on April 9th, everything speeds up. Your communication and mindset sector comes alive, and suddenly, your thoughts are sharper, your instincts quicker, and your desire to speak, share, and do something with your ideas becomes undeniable. This is the kind of energy that wants you to send the message, pitch the idea, have the conversation, start the thing… not later, now. The key is to trust your voice without over-editing it.

By the second half of the week, the last quarter moon in Capricorn on April 10th pulls you inward, activating your subconscious and healing sector. This can feel like a moment where you need to pause, even if everything is picking up externally. You might notice where your energy is leaking, where you’re mentally overextending, or where you need more rest than you’ve been giving yourself. Capricorn energy is about quiet discipline: choosing to step back, reset, and clear your mind so you don’t burn out. You don’t have to act on every idea immediately. Let some of them breathe. The more you honor your need for rest and reflection, the more powerful your next moves will be.

Pisces Sun & Rising:

Pisces, you’re stepping out of the dream-space and into something a lot more real. Over the past six weeks, with Mars in your sign, you may have felt everything more intensely… your emotions, your desires, your memories, even your energy levels fluctuating in ways that didn’t always make sense. It’s been a deeply personal transit, one that asked you to slow down, to listen, to feel your way forward instead of forcing clarity. You may have softened in ways you didn’t expect, let go of certain defenses, or simply realized that you can’t rush what needs to be processed. But now, as Mars enters Aries on April 9th, that internal work begins to translate into action. Your money and self-worth sector becomes activated, and suddenly, there’s a desire to do something with everything you’ve learned. To advocate for yourself more, to take your needs seriously, to move with more confidence when it comes to your stability. You’re not just feeling your worth… you’re starting to act on it.

By the second half of the week, the last quarter moon in Capricorn on April 10th helps you ground those shifts within your social world and long-term goals. This activates your friendship and community sector, so you may notice where your connections feel aligned with the version of you that’s emerging… and where they don’t. There could be a moment of clarity around who you want to invest your energy into moving forward, or how you want to show up within your network. Capricorn energy encourages you to be intentional here. Not every connection needs to be maintained out of habit. Choose the spaces that support your growth, your goals, and your peace. The more aligned your environment is, the easier it becomes to sustain the changes you’re making.

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Your April Horoscope Is Here

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Venus In Taurus Is Here

Paradise can give us nuclear meltdowns, a godlike quantum AI named Alex manipulating time, multiple bunkers, multiple timelines, and at least one existential identity crisis in a finale and we can still be caught up in a reunion kiss between two teenagers, an awkward moment between a husband, wife, and his post-grief hookup, and moment between a father and the baby he didn’t know he had. It’s in these quieter scenes, amidst the chaos, where creator Dan Fogelman shines. Yes, this is a post-apocalyptic, freshly sci-fi series where the stakes are high because the world has ended and is at risk of ending again, but it’s also a family drama about hope, humanity, and the inherent goodness of people. Season 2 did the impossible: live up to the ridiculously high expectations set by Season 1. And now that we know Season 3 is confirmed, the only question left is: can it do the same? 

Here’s everything we know about Paradise Season 3. 

How Did Paradise Season 2 End? 

There’s a lot to unpack after the Season 2 finale, entitled “Exodus.” Xavier and Teri are reunited (more on my fave Black TV fam since the Pearsons later) and head back to the Colorado bunker to get their kids. Only, the bunker starts spiraling into meltdown mode thanks to a trio of idiots (I’m sorry but I will never forgive Jeremy, Robinson, and that scientist dude for this). Oxygen is failing, systems are glitching, and suddenly the supposed safest place on earth is giving Pleasantville meets The Truman Show written by Stephen King during Mercury retrograde.The biggest reveal is that “Alex” isn’t a person, it’s a hyper-advanced quantum AI computer built to save the world but instead might be rewriting it. Time glitches, nosebleeds, and weird déjà vu moments are all chalked up to Alex quietly bending reality like it’s the spoon in The Matrix. Also: Alex may have been casually influencing everything we’ve seen this entire time. Cool, cool, cool.  

In the final moments of Season 2, Sinatra sacrifices herself to save the people she’s convinced herself all her evil doings were protecting. She’s eerily calm (more so than usual) as she walks through the crumbling bunker. And before she dies, she gives a final task to Xavier: save the world. Sinatra sends Xavier on a mission to find a second version of Alex hidden under the Denver airport. Oh, and Xavier is revealed to be “User X,” aka the one person who might be able to control Alex and possibly rewrite everything we just watched. No pressure.

Will The Hero Of Paradise Season 2, Dr. Teri Rogers-Collins, Be Returning?

Almost exactly one year ago, I wrote that Paradise’s Xavier Collins was the hero television needed. In Season 1, we watched Xavier go from respected secret service agent to assasination suspect to savior of the world. It was an exhilarating ride and one that was driven by Xavier’s grief. He hated President Cal Bradford (James Marsden) because he failed to get Xavier’s wife, Dr. Teri Rogers-Collins (Enuka Okuma) on a plane to the bunker that, at the time, he thought housed the last living survivors of the world. By the end of Season 1, we know that Teri is alive and Xavier sets out to find her. 

Teri is the hero of Season 2 because her character can sum up why Paradise, Fogelman, and Brown are so good. I think they are actively trying to dismantle the tropes we’ve come to know in television and storytelling overall. The dead wife. The one-dimensional brooding man tasked to save the world. Teri could have easily been relegated to a plot device more than a person with depth and a story of overcoming debilitating health issues while she meets the love of her life. The scenes with Teri and Xavier falling in love as he took care of her while she recovered from surgery was some of the most romantic shit I’ve ever seen in my life (and Brown has truly never been hotter). This is why Dan Fogelman will always be famous in my house. Instead of being another “disposable Black girlfriend” or a dark-skinned Black woman dismissed as a memory in flashbacks, Dr. Teri Rogers Collins is kind, caring, smart, strong, compassionate, and resolute. She’s the woman who takes in a little boy (Bean) for no other reason than he needs her. And she’s the woman whose empathy takes over when she stops Xavier from shooting Gary (Cameron Britton), the so-called nice guy whose obsession with her turns him into a murderer. 

“I had no clue that it was gonna get as crazy and wild as it has,” Enuka Okuma says to Entertainment Weekly. “When I auditioned, I was like, ‘Okay, I’m gonna be the wife of the head of the president’s detail. So there’ll be coffee scenes.'” Okuma calls getting to play such a rich character with a deep arc, “a very pleasant surprise.” I’m sure part of her surprise came from the fact that dark-skinned Black women in Hollywood rarely get these kinds of roles; ones packed with romance, independence, and nuance. And finally, Dr. Teri Rogers Collins is the hero of Season 2 because in a series that shows us the lengths at which disaster can push humans to be their best and worst selves, she is good — through and through. She shows us that people can be good. Full stop. And that Black women don’t need to save the world. They can be desired, taken care of, and fought for. They can be themselves and be loved wholeheartedly.  Xavier Collins may be the hero TV needs, but Dr. Teri Rogers Collins is the hero I’ve always wanted. 

Will Xavier Tell Teri About His Past With His “Therapist” Dr. Torabi?

In the most hilarious moment in an otherwise equally triumphant and traumatizing finale, Xavier and Teri meet Dr. Gabriela Torabi (Sarah Shahi). Xavier introduces her to his wife as “my therapist,” conveniently leaving out the fact that he and Dr. Torabi shared a shower scene that launched a thousand memes. On the official Paradise podcast, Ryan Michelle Bathe (Brown’s wife IRL) said what all of us were thinking: why didn’t Xavier tell Teri the truth? Watch the married couple playfully argue about the moment below. 

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I’m on Team Sterling. Xavier definitely could have worded it better and maybe told Teri a little bit about their hookup on the train ride to the Colorado bunker but announcing that he had a steamy moment with this woman during their first meeting isn’t the move. That’s what Season 3 is for! 

What’s Up With The Time Travel?

Has Paradise pivoted from “how do we survive the apocalypse?” to “can we undo it entirely?” In short, yes. By the end of Paradise Season 2, time isn’t just a concept, it’s basically a character with its own agenda. The show reframes all those earlier “glitches” (nosebleeds, déjà vu, overlapping memories) as evidence that reality is being quietly rewritten in real time by Alex, the quantum system at the center of everything.

Rather than traditional time travel with clear rules, Paradise leans into something messier: timelines bleeding into each other, people possibly existing in multiple universes, and cause-and-effect breaking down under pressure. The writers have described this approach as less about “going back” and more about “layers of time colliding,” emphasizing that the story is exploring what happens when memory, identity, and chronology stop lining up. There’s also a cheese analogy I didn’t understand, but I was bad at math in high school so of course I’m not going to get quantum physics. What we need to know is that they’ve hinted that the ambiguity is intentional, suggesting the audience is meant to feel as disoriented as the characters, because in this world, time isn’t a straight line anymore.

Here’s what Fogelman says about the time travel and Alex: “It’s at the core of what we’re doing. The exciting and the scary part of artificial intelligence is there are things the human brain will not be able to comprehend. The best explanation I got was: Imagine there’s an escalator that takes you up, but when you get to the top of the escalator you’re down. Your brain cannot process that, right? I say that as an example of talking about time, of talking about multiverses, of all these complicated things that are part of our science fiction lore and part of our show. These are things that are beyond our mortal comprehension, but that are maybe coming in the near-future. It’s not just science fiction anymore.”

So it’s safe to say the show will definitely play with time in Season 3. Season 2 blew the bunker wide open and what began as a tightly wound political thriller morphed into something far more sprawling: part road-trip survival drama, part speculative sci-fi fever dream toggling between intimate character work and increasingly bonkers mythology. And I am 100% here for it. Paradise is the most addictive show on TV because its mysteries are riveting and its characters feel real. It also makes sure to line every story and every twist with the show’s secret ingredient: hope.

Does That Mean We’ll See Shailene Woodley’s Annie Again?

I don’t know if there’s anybody better in TV at getting us to invest so fully in a character that we’re snot crying so hard our face hurts (again, just me?) in one episode than Dan Fogelman. By the end of Season 2, Episode 1, I was ready to die for Annie (Shailene Woodley). And when she died, I was a wreck. 

Annie’s fate in Paradise sits squarely in that deliciously frustrating gray area the show loves to live in. On paper, her story looks finished and the emotional fallout of her loss has already reshaped the characters around her (including Xavier, who took care of her baby and brought him back to Link). But the finale quietly undermines the idea of a clean goodbye. Once the show confirms that time isn’t linear and reality itself may be editable, Annie stops feeling like a closed chapter and starts reading like unfinished code. Between the memory glitches, overlapping timelines, and the suggestion that people can exist in more than one version, her “ending” feels less like a death and more like a variable.

Narratively, the time travel creates a real path for Annie to reappear, whether as a version pulled from another timeline, a preserved imprint within Alex, or something even stranger. So while we’re meant to grieve Annie, the show is also clearly asking us not to get too comfortable with that grief just yet.

Is Link/ Dylan Really Sinatra’s Son?

With the addition of Link/Dylan aka Annie’s baby daddy, Paradise has officially entered its sci-fi era. I’m pretty sure Dylan is Sinatra’s deceased son grown up, but Paradise very intentionally refuses to give a clean yes-or-no here. And that’s the point. The finale drops just enough evidence to make the connection between Link (Dylan) and Sinatra feel plausible, then immediately destabilizes it with everything we’ve learned about fractured timelines and manipulated reality. Paradise executive producer and writer John Hoberg said this to The Hollywood Reporter: “We’re playing with almost a multiverse kind of idea. Maybe Sinatra is crazy, and Alex isn’t really doing this, but she sure feels like Dylan could be proof that this is actually working.”

Dylan could be Sinatra’s child in one timeline, a reconstructed echo in another, or someone Alex has positioned to function as her son for reasons we don’t fully understand yet.

Is Sinatra Really Dead?

Yes. Maybe. Definitely. In this timeline. But maybe not in others. Confused, yet?�� If Alex can rewrite events or preserve versions of people across timelines, then Sinatra could exist beyond that explosion as anything from a stored consciousness to a reinserted presence in a different loop. The series wants us to feel like she’s gone, while quietly planting the idea that “gone” might not mean what it used to anymore. But here’s what Fogelman says: “It’s very hard to survive a mountain collapsing on top of you. I think that it’s very fair to say: Yes, Sinatra is done.” But he does leave the door open for Julianne Nicholson to return to the series.

Is Jane Really Dead?

Yes. Maybe. Definitely. In this timeline. But maybe not in others. Here’s what Hoberg said to The Hollywood Reporter: “She was stabbed and was bleeding and laying dead in a shower. There is a shot at the very end where there’s an empty shower, but she seems pretty dead to me. We intend her to be dead.” And Fogelman’s two cents: “It sure seems like it.”

Will Season 3 Be Paradise’s Last Season?

Season 3 is likely where Paradise will leave us, according to Fogelman himself. He’s said that he intended the show to be a three-season arc.

“In my initial pitch, I told people, ‘The second season is going to end with the bunker failing and the collapse of the whole infrastructure,’” creator Dan Fogelman says to the LA Times. “That was a lot to figure out: How are we going to pull that off? How is that going to send us forward into the third season? It was big and daunting.”

Plus, Emmy-winner and Academy Award nominee, Sterling K. Brown, is always booked and busy so I doubt the show will be able to hold onto him for much longer. And what’s Paradise without Xavier Collins?

When Is Paradise Season 3 Premiering?

There’s no date yet but if the timeline between Season 1 and 2 is any indication, we might be getting a new season by this time next year. Plus, we know that Fogelman and his writers are already done writing Season 3. Expect lots of his signature twists and turns. “It’s the first time I’ve ever turned to my writers and said, ‘Are we allowed to do this? Are we breaking some rule of television?’ But it’s been really exciting in that way,” he tells the LA Times. Fuck us up, Fogelman! I’m ready.

Paradise is streaming now on Hulu.

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I’ll admit it. There was once a time when I felt like every special outfit had to be paired with a stiletto. Thankfully, the fashion cycle has entered an era where teetering on stilettos is out. I’m finally fully embracing the functional-meets-sexy era and doing so in — dare I say it — clogs. Yes, the once orthopedic-recommended shoe is at the top of my shopping list.

Of course, Chloé’s last couple of shows with Chemena Kamali at the helm certainly piqued my interest, making me fall in love with the delicious combination of frilly dresses paired with chunky shoes. But it was Louise Trotter’s sculptural take that made me finally hit add to cart.

And it’s not just a runway moment. The street style scene is flooded with the chunky-sole shoe. Zendaya was recently spotted out and about with Tom Holland wearing slip-on clogs. Anne Hathaway also was photographed by paparazzi in a studded pair — the true star of the clog comeback.

We can’t talk clogs without mentioning the OGs, Dr. Scholl’s. Not only have they been at it since 1924, they continue to find ways to make the click-clack wooden shoes feel more relevant than ever, most recently with a limited-edition collaboration with Wrangler.

Between the dirt-kicking heritage of Wrangler and the orthopedic-chic legacy of Dr. Scholl’s, the latest crop of clogs feel both utilitarian and wildly cool. While the collection features the iconic open-toe Original Sandal in new colorways (including a striking red and a speckled, cow-print motif), the standout is the studded perforated suede and leather designs.

I like to think of the hardware-adorned clogs as shoe candy, especially since they instantly dress up a simple outfit like a jeans-and-T-shirt combo. And what’s even better? Most designs offer the height and formality of a heel with the stability of a wedge or chunky kitten heel. That’s a win-win for all of spring and summer outfits.

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Spoilers ahead for Season 3 of XO, Kitty. Weeks away from the end of winter semester of her senior year at the Korean Independent School of Seoul (KISS), Kitty Song-Covey’s (Anna Cathcart) life feels like it’s falling apart. She’s in the midst of a terrible fight with her BFF Q (Anthony Keyvan), broken up with the boy of her dreams, Min Ho (Sang Heon Lee) and has no idea if she’s going to be accepted into New York University, her dream school — or if that’s even what she wants at all.

It’s a lot to process, and as Kitty tells the audience as she recounts her predicament while strutting down the halls of KISS: “A week ago, I thought my life was over. Teenage girls, am I right?” But, this isn’t the Kitty Song-Covey we know and love from Season 1, or even one episode earlier in Season 3. Because, after three seasons of XO, Kitty and three To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before movies, Kitty is finally growing up. For the first time, XO, Kitty isn’t about who Kitty loves, it’s about who she is without them. 

That growth mirrors Anna Cathcart’s own experience. Reflecting on joining the franchise as a teenager, she describes navigating identity, uncertainty, and the value of having strong role models on set — a journey that closely tracks Kitty’s own. “Looking back, I met [Lana Condor] at a time where it was so pivotal in my life,” the now 22-year-old Cathcart tells Refinery29. “I was becoming a teenager. I was learning what that meant, how to find my sense of self.” Going through high school, which Cathcart says can sometimes be “the worst years of your life,” with so much up-in-the-air and such new experiences, “to have a support system and to have a role model like Lana and Janel [Parrish] and everybody from the original movies was so impactful on me as a person and as a young teenager.” 

When Kitty first came onto our screens in 2018’s To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, she was, like Cathcart herself, truly finding her way. Very much initially boy-crazy, Kitty was the all-seeing, and a bit of a romantic know-it-all. It was Kitty that sent out the initial love letters from her elder sister Lara Jean that kicked off the TATBILB cinematic universe. And since then, audiences have watched Kitty follow her heart — sometimes to disastrous, or at least comically adventurous results. It’s her sometimes impetuous heart that inevitably took Kitty to Seoul, Korea; following in her mother’s footsteps as a bid to get closer to her, but also, essentially, to follow a boy. (Who remembers that Dae/Kitty romance from all the way back in S1?) 

And, for two seasons, Kitty — and the series — has leaned into the romantic chaos we expect from a young adult series; as Kitty has explored different relationships, both romantic and friendly, as a way to learn about herself, her sexuality, and what she’s looking for in a partner. While past relationships helped shape her, Season 3 marks a shift: for the first time Kitty is defining herself outside of them; not through who she’s dating, but through what she wants.

While Kitty initially kicks off this season, and her summer break, clumsily proposing she follow Min Ho on his musical world tour, she inevitably drops those plans to fly to NYC and the aid of her sister Lara Jean. In many ways, though she’s obsessing about Min Ho the entire summer, staging her social media posts to appear like she’s having the best summer ever (who among us hasn’t done that?), she’s focused on her sister and exploring the city she hopes to one day call home. When she returns to Seoul, and finally gets together with Min Ho, that starts to change as they fall into their relationship, with Kitty eventually contemplating staying in Korea after graduation to be with him. 

When they do break up, after a miscommunication of epic proportions (she accuses Min Ho of getting their friend pregnant), that’s when Kitty’s growth really starts to show. Heartbroken, but encouraged by her sister to follow her heart to her next great adventure —independent of the guy she loves — Kitty makes the decision to apply for NYU; knowing that whether or not she and Min Ho end up together, she has to follow her own dreams and put herself first. The rest will work itself out. 

Kitty’s decision to put herself first and apply for NYU might be the culmination of her journey to a more mature outlook, but as her sister Lara Jean notes when she visits Kitty on the heels of her devastating break-up with Min Ho, she’s consistently shown the ways in which she’s grown up throughout this season in the ways she helps others. This maturity is most poignantly on display during Lara Jean’s visit, when their cousin Jiwon (Hojo Shin) — a teacher at the school — reveals she’s pregnant and scared of not having any familial support. In a super sweet moment, it’s Kitty, not Lara Jean the constant fixer-upper, who rushes to comfort her, reassuring her that she’ll always have support in them. “The leaps that you take and the lengths that you go to for others, that’s what makes you, you,” Lara Jean later tells Kitty. “And your heart is always in the right place.” Later, Kitty helps foster a reunion between Jiwon and her grandmother; not because she feels like she needs to fix things, but because she wants to ensure everyone’s happiness. 

It’s not just Kitty who’s maturing. Her friends and the circumstances around them are too. While we’re used to tween dramas like Riverdale and 90210 that escalate into absurdity, casting 30-year-olds as 16 and tasking teens with insurmountable — and often outrageous — responsibilities (like, say, hunting down a serial killer that turns out to be your own father), show creator Jenny Han’s series has always been great at meeting the characters on-screen where they’d believably be.  This makes Kitty’s emotional evolution actually land harder. The past three seasons have seen Kitty go a little boy crazy, contemplate her latest relationship status, stress over whether or not she’s going to pass her courses and try to navigate complicated friendships; concerns every 16 to 18 year old should be dealing with. 

But, eventually, those concerns change, or at least evolve to include others. And Kitty and Co. are definitely dealing with a batch of new — and very adult — issues. This season alone sees two pregnancy scares, the difficulties around complex familial dynamics, including disappointing your parents or realizing that maybe they’ve disappointed you, and figuring out who you are after your family goes bankrupt.

But, as anyone who’s gone through the trials and tribulations of young adulthood knows, maturing isn’t linear. Inching towards adulthood doesn’t mean losing all sense of whimsy and fun; both defining trademarks of the series and K-Dramas, which the show is influenced by. Kitty is, after all, only 18. While we’re all for Kitty realizing that romantic relationships aren’t the be-all-end-all of your existence, that doesn’t mean that romance; wanting it and leaning into it, is a bad thing. It can be magical; as the series continues to show every time Min Ho and Kitty lock eyes (it’s steamy and yes you will shriek with glee). 

But now, along with the magic, comes a healthy dose of realism. In the final moments of the season, audiences see Min Ho and Kitty — reunited in an epic subway running montage — boarding a flight for Portland, Oregon. They’re together, they’re happy and they’re off towards their future. “I definitely think if you ask them on that airplane, they would both say they are end game,” Cathcart says. “In that moment, they feel closer than ever and more excited than ever about the future; so much of the theme of season three is embracing the unknown and not knowing what’s gonna happen next and finding the joy in that versus the fear in that. And I think that really applies to their relationship as well.”

But, they’re also still in high school. Which means whatever comes next, is probably only temporary, a stepping stone to their future selves. This is a reality both Kitty and Min Ho, as well as the actors who play them, recognize. “You get to see that they started this relationship, but sometimes all good things come to an end,” Lee adds. “And even if it’s something bad, there will be an ending. But also I feel that the audience should realize it’s okay, this is how life works; but there’s always a better thing to look forward to as well. It’s not the end of the world.” Which is ultimately the same conclusion Kitty herself seems to have come to as she accepts her place at NYU and jets off to Portland with Min Ho; that whatever comes next isn’t the be-all-end-all. For the first time, Kitty isn’t chasing the future— she’s learning how to live in the now.

Season 3 of XO, Kitty is now streaming on Netflix. 

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When it comes to shopping for a new handbag, there are a lot of little details worth considering beyond pure aesthetics and asking yourself if it’s “cute” or not. From size and shape, to its material and intended use, this is not a purchase that should be taken too lightly, regardless of price point. So it makes sense why designers and brands are so particular about their pieces. Case in point, functionality seems to be the name of the game for this season’s handbag trends, to ensure it has the power to work hard in every shopper’s wardrobe. (The fact that they’re aesthetically pleasing is just icing on the cake.)

Like most things in fashion right now, this season’s it bags fall into one of two categories. On one hand, following the popularity of slouchy silhouettes from last season, you have structure-less bags that are surprisingly spacious inside. On the other hand, you have trends of pure novelty with fruit-shaped clutches replacing the bird bags of yesteryear and viral vintage-inspired purses as seen on everyone’s favorite TV fashionista, Carrie Bradshaw. Although they’re two very different sides of the same coin, both deserve a spot in your spring wardrobe.

Not yet convinced? Keep scrolling for a breakdown of the popular handbag trends of the season, along with the key pieces you’ll need to recreate the looks yourself.

Soft Shoulder Bags

If you are a fan of the bowler bags, then you’ll love the structure-less shape for 2026 just as much. Seoul-based brand and certified cool-girl label Margesherwood led the way with its slouchy dumpling bag, while Miu Miu and Loewe offered up styles made with supple suede and textured leather. The key is finding a style that’s spacious and malleable enough to fit all your essentials. Bonus points if you find one in one of the standout shades of the season like persimmon or turquoise. 

Drawstring Pouches

Drawstring pouches à la the Chloé runway are starting to replace the classic everyday crossbody, and these are the definition of cool yet functional. Whether it’s a slouchy pouch from Prada and Alessandro Michele’s embroidered design for Valentino or more structured silhouettes like the quilted Chanel 25 bag that shoppers can’t get enough of, these drawstring details are everywhere. Chloé even took a more artful approach with a pleated crossbody that looks just like a bouquet of flowers. 

Utility Belt Bags

Whether you’re looking for hands-free options that work hard in your closet or are hoping to take your accessory game to the next level, a utility-style belt bag with multiple compartments is an absolute must and the spring 2026 runways are proof. London-based designer Johanna Parv took a more technical approach with “gorpcore” inspired designs, whereas Coperni and Julie Kegels leaned into utilitarian aesthetics. Pro tip: Find a style that will fit just the essentials — think keys, wallets, lip gloss, etc.

Artisanal Seashells

The change in the season (and weather) is your chance to experiment with different textures, which makes the timing of the seashell trend on the runways at Balmain and Ulla Johnson, among others, just so perfect. Whether you’re going to the beach or not, Simon Miller’s raffia tote is a great accompaniment for the months ahead and will add a little extra oomph to the most basic outfit. Simkhai offers a more literal take for minimalists hoping to embrace the trend with a shell-shaped clutch that oozes spring. 

Metal Handles

Every so often there’s a vintage silhouette that inspires the next generation of designs. The resurgence of the YSL ‘Mamba’ bag –– in line with all the metal handles on the market –– is a prime example. Thankfully, that means you can participate in the trend with a style that has similar vibes. Consider adding top-handle bags with artful shapes to your cart for occasions, like spring weddings, that call for a little extra flair. 

Fancy Fruit Clutches

It’s almost as if every season, fashion picks a random everyday thing to create novelty bags around –– birds, vegetables, electronic devices. And this season, according to Giambattista Valli, Moschino, and Chanel, it’s all about fancy fruit clutches. If you’re looking to get in on the trend, Cult Gaia is known for its cheeky accessories, including a “bunch of grapes” bag, while the Maison de Sabre coin purse is a great way to dip your toe in before fully committing.

Buckled Details

In line with the utilitarian theme for spring, there are so many bags with statement buckles and they all look a little different, which means you’re bound to find one that works well for you. From dainty east-west satchels and slouchy shoulder bags, there are a slew of options that will get you through the season with your belongings intact.

Kisslock Frames

There have been rumblings of a kisslock resurgence for the last few seasons. Coach’s archival silhouette made a viral comeback on the runway, and then again on Sarah Jessica Parker in And Just Like That on Season 3. The vintage-inspired detail has been on the rise ever since. Off the runway, Edie Parker released an undie-inspired kisslock clutch that is an instant conversation starter a night out.

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From the moment I started working, bilingualism was a core part of every job I’ve had. At 14, I worked at a day care helping Spanish-speaking kids learn numbers and letters in English, while communicating with coworkers who only spoke Spanish. Later, in teenage lifeguarding jobs, I translated for community members because it was expected in the largely Spanish-speaking neighborhood I grew up in. At the time, I thought of it as coming with the territory. Not something I should be paid for, just a skill I was lucky to use to help others.

School, however, framed language differently. Teachers often preached, “learn more languages, and you’ll make more money.” Spanish, Italian, French, Mandarin, whatever came next. Bilingualism was sold as a direct ticket to opportunity. But while my Spanish-speaking skills have consistently benefited my workplaces, it has never translated into higher pay for me.

The fact of the matter is, speaking more than one language is a blessing that opens up new worlds. And some companies do understand that. According to Preply, nearly half of the companies in the U.S. Fortune 100 advertised jobs that require bilingual or multilingual skills in 2025. Even more, a study from FluentCap from 2019 found that about 90 % of U.S. companies rely on employees who speak another language besides English. And some people are getting paid for this language proficiency. Some estimates suggest bilingual workers can earn anywhere from 5% to 20% more than their monolingual peers. But when it comes to fairly compensating Latinas — many of whom speak Spanish, Portuguese, or Haitian Creole as a first language — for those same door-opening abilities, the promise often falls short.

Sarah*, 29, who works in nonprofit legal aid-adjacent work in New York, describes it bluntly: “I think there is ultimately a difference. My dominant language is Spanish. I’ve been the default person before because there was an awareness that I was a bit more comfortable and flexible with translation work. And now, if I ever leave this role, it’ll just be expected of the next person to be bilingual, with no bonus or special recognition.”

When asked if she was ever compensated for it, she says, “Technically yes, but it’s one thing to be compensated differently, and another to actually be compensated properly for the amount of work that is added on when you’re bilingual.” For Sarah, being bilingual added hundreds of hours of client-facing work, ad hoc translation, and emotional labor, but the salary bump amounted to only about $1,000 more than a non-Spanish-speaking colleague. 

The numbers back up her experience. Based on the U.S. Census, Latinas earn roughly 58 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men, even before considering bilingual labor. Even among college-educated workers, Latinas can still earn 31% less than white men with the same education, and over a lifetime, these pay gaps translate to losses of more than $1 million in earnings. Being bilingual, it seems, does little to close the Latina pay gap if the added labor is expected of your identity but not formally recognized.

While bilingual workers are often told their skills come with financial benefits, those gains aren’t distributed evenly. Language premiums are more likely to appear in higher-paying, white-dominated industries or when the language itself is considered “specialized.” Meanwhile, Latinas are overrepresented in lower-paying fields like nonprofit and public sector work. Even more, Spanish is often treated as a baseline expectation for Latine workers rather than a professional skill. While white workers are often rewarded for acquiring a second language, Latinas are expected to already have it. The result is a gap where bilingualism adds value to organizations, but not to the Latina workers themselves. 

Camila, 27, a public health worker in county government, tells a similar story. Her job requires translating documents, running community health events, and providing education, often in Spanish. “I am the default translator for my team,” she explains. “They equate it to Google Translate. I have to step away from my own work to translate for others. It benefits the organization more than it benefits me. I’m one of the people who gets paid the least on my team, even though I fill in gaps for higher-paid positions.” Like Sarah, she was hired because of Spanish fluency, except there was no extra pay. “When I was hired, it was discussed as something they were looking for, not something that was going to be compensated higher.”

The pattern holds across industries. Camila, 36, a product designer in tech who grew up in Colombia, speaks Spanish, English, Hebrew, and French. She’s used her multilingual skills to open markets in Latin America and navigate multicultural workplaces, including at the United Nations. “I’ve never been compensated differently because I speak languages,” she says. “People are impressed, but it’s never meant any monetary addition.” 

It’s hard to imagine that the devaluing of Latina bilingualism isn’t directly connected to racism or xenophobia. Accents, cultural fluency, and language from Latin America are still treated as lesser, while the same skills in white or U.S.-born speakers are rewarded. In practice, that means the same skill can be rewarded, ignored, or expected depending on who is speaking and where they’re speaking it. Sarah notes, “Whenever it’s someone who isn’t Latino, it’s considered a professional skill. But if you come from a culture where that language is spoken, it’s just assumed you should’ve been there in the first place.” 

While Latinas — who often occupy the roles that require bilingual skills the most, from client-facing work to translating documents to bridging cultural gaps — rarely see that labor reflected in their salary or promotions, the benefits flow overwhelmingly to organizations: broader client bases, stronger community trust, expanded markets, and increased funding opportunities. Meanwhile, the workers themselves absorb the emotional impacts, added responsibilities, and time.

What would fair compensation look like? Camila, 27, suggests a clear path: “Putting in a differential for bilingual pay would make it equal for everyone who has a second language. It would set a standard so that everyone coming into a company with that skill can be compensated properly.” Sarah adds that formal recognition, even tagging bilingual skills onto job titles, would prevent the expectation that bilingual work is just part of the baseline.

Being bilingual has opened doors for many Latinas, but it has also opened a conversation about what is truly valued in the workplace. It’s not enough to teach students in school that speaking multiple languages will make them more marketable. Without structural change, workplace recognition, and equitable pay, bilingual Latinas continue to face a system that profits from their labor and skillset far more than they do. And until that changes, speaking more than one language remains a skill that society expects for free. 

If bilingualism is truly valuable, then it needs to be valued consistently, not just when it benefits employers, but when it comes time to pay the workers who make that access possible. Because right now, bilingualism pays, just not for us.

Only first names are used in this story to protect the identities of sources.

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On a breezy week in March, I had the opportunity to touch down in Georgia for the Crown Royal x Realtree Kickback Experience to celebrate a new collaboration that truthfully may have got lost in my inbox. That is, until I found out that Love Island alumna and The Traitors winner Rob Rausch was the face of it!

Yes, the snake-wrangling, denim overall-wearing, reality TV heartthrob that the internet is obsessed with is the face of the camouflage and whiskey brands’ new capsule collection. “A perfect fit,” Rausch says to me. Even more kismet, Crown Royal and Realtree tapped Rausch before knowing the outcome of Season 4 of The Traitors. His laidback nature and outdoor lifestyle were simply a match for the brands, which both value heritage, connection, and kicking back.

Like Rausch (and his recent endeavors with MAC Cosmetics, DoorDash, Quinn, Celsius, Sonic, and more), clothing and gear brand Realtree is no stranger to notable collaborations, adding its iconic camouflage prints to the likes of Nike, Supreme, and even Skims (modeled by Post Malone) throughout the years.

“When we looked at what Crown Royal has built around their brand – the tradition and the heritage — it was clear this wasn’t just a run-of-the-mill brand collab,” said Tyler Jordan, VP of strategic partnerships at Realtree in a press release.

Meanwhile, this is Crown Royal’s first time creating a co-branded Crown Royal Fine Deluxe whiskey bottle pouch design (which I’ve since learned are deemed collectibles).

“We always hear stories about what people do with their Crown Royal bags. For our first nationally distributed collaboration, it was important that we made something with the right partners that would be cool and collectible,” said Hadley Schafer, vice president at alcohol leader Diageo. “The result is a collection that reflects not only style, but also our shared appreciation for craftsmanship, time spent outdoors, and, of course, generosity.”

In addition to the Crown Royal bag, the capsule collection includes a Crown Royal x Realtree T-shirt, hoodie, baseball cap, and 45-quart cooler. Crown Royal will also be donating at least $20,000 to the Purple Heart Foundation tied to this collection.

And Rausch, while extremely humble — he was shocked that the likes of Olympian Alysa Liu and actor Daniel Radcliffe have introduced themselves since his Traitors fame — seemed happy to talk about the collab and to actually kick back (and escape from his press cycle) at Realtree Farms in Georgia.

“Crown Royal is something I always tend to go to when I’m back at home, chilling with friends. Crown Royal lemonade,” Rausch told me. “Realtree being part of it is massive. And I love everything they’re about — being outdoors with wildlife is what it’s all about. What more do you need?”

On a sunny day full of cornhole, fishing, tractor rides, campfires, Traitors talk, and an impromptu game of mafia (basically Traitors, which Rausch, as the gamer he is, prompted us to play), we celebrated and tested the new camo styles and whiskey cocktails.

Rausch specifically called out Crown Royal lemonades as one of his favorite concoctions to drink. (And in case you’re wondering, he prefers his drinks neat, in red solo cups.) He also shared that he was excited to hand deliver the new coolers to his friends and family, and that he’s most likely to wear the new camo hat to go snake wrangling.

When describing his ideal kickback, Rausch says: “One of the ways I like to relax — I love playing poker with friends back home. Pour myself a little Crown Royal and lemonade. Have a good time with the boys. And being home on the farm at the creek by myself. That’s when I feel most like myself.”

In a press release, Rausch also added: “This partnership brings together the things I care about most, like being in nature, spending time with my people and enjoying great whisky. I’ve always been into camo, and everything in the collection fits both how I live and my personal style.”

And by the end of the kickback experience, I truly couldn’t think of a more perfect or down-to-earth celebrity to represent Crown Royal and Realtree.

Rausch says he wants to spend time back home in Alabama, settle down, and seemingly doesn’t want a chaotic celebrity lifestyle. He even explains that he probably wouldn’t join an all-stars version of The Traitors because he already has a “perfect record” and that, regarding the fan theories that he’ll join the next season of Dancing With The Stars, he doesn’t think he’d do it: “But never say never, you know?”

Shop the full Crown Royal x Realtree collaboration

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