Larsa Pippen Reveals How She Secretly Communicated with Marcus Jordan While Filming “The Traitors ”Season 2

"I think it's super fun to be able to experience this with someone that you care about," the Bravo star told PEOPLE of competing against her boyfriend

Larsa Pippen and boyfriend Marcus Jordan’s relationship will be put to the ultimate test as they go up against one another on The Traitors.

The Real Housewives of Miami star, 49, and the former basketball player, 32, will compete for the $250,000 grand prize on season 2 of the Peacock reality show when it premieres Friday.

“I kind of wanted to push myself,” Pippen tells PEOPLE of why she signed on for The Traitors. “I feel like all the stuff that I've done on Bravo has basically been safe and this was a place that was far unsafe, didn't know what the outcome was going to be, if I was going to be good or evil or what.”

Related: Larsa Pippen's Dating History: From Scottie Pippen to Marcus Jordan

Jordan joined The Traitors because he considers himself “a big murder mystery fan.”

“Watching season 1, I kind of got hooked,” he says. “And then also I felt like all of the content around the game is strictly focused on the game and it doesn't dwell too much into your personal life. And so that was a big draw for me.”

Given his lack of competitive reality TV experience, Jordan wanted to learn as much as possible from his castmates — who include past winners of Big Brother, The Challenge and Survivor — when filming in Scotland started.

“My strategy is to be a sponge,” he says. “I think watching season 1, if you come in too hot, it might work against you. And so, I felt like the first couple of days getting to understand everybody and learn everybody's personality really helped me help develop my strategy moving forward.”

Pippen says her strategy changed throughout the course of the competition. “I started off thinking I was going to be super quiet and just kind of taking in all the information,” the Bravo star says. “And I feel like now, I am just friends with everyone.”

Pippen also hoped she wouldn’t have to “pick sides or have to throw anyone under the bus or me get murdered.” But she felt prepared for the physical aspect of The Traitors, despite not coming from a competition background.

“For Marcus and I, we work out every day, so I feel like once we knew we were going to do The Traitors, we were like, ‘Hey, we got to step up our cardio,’” she says. “We got to get used to not having our phones, which is a whole other aspect of this challenge. But I think when you're doing the challenges, your adrenaline really does pick up and kind of propel you to the next level.”

As the son of NBA legend Michael Jordan, the reality star found himself getting competitive on The Traitors. “I'm a Jordan by DNA and so I feel like winning is in my blood,” he teases.

Jordan admits playing alongside his girlfriend made navigating the game a bit more complicated. “I definitely feel like it's a target on our back,” he says. “But I do feel like I'm super lucky and happy to have my girlfriend here because it made the adjustment so much easier.”

Pippen believes “our relationship has changed” thanks to The Traitors.

“We had to have this conversation and we're basically like, ‘Hey, once we get to the castle, I'm Larsa and you're Marcus and we're not necessarily a duo anymore. You're on your own. I'm on my own,’” Pippen continues. “I feel like we're both growing individually and this is our path. And I think it's super fun to be able to experience this with someone that you care about and at the same time be challenged in your relationship.”

After filming at the Traitors castle wrapped each day, Pippen and Jordan stayed the night in separate rooms where they couldn’t communicate with one another.

“They give us these headshots of everybody in our room just to understand everybody's name,” Jordan explains. “And so I find myself picking up the headshot, looking up Larsa. Soon as the morning comes, I'm racing downstairs because we travel in the same car. So that's kind of how I pick my mind out of the game trying to get back to her."

Pippen did find a covert way to communicate with Jordan while they filmed, though.

“Marcus asked me for a nail file, and I put it in a paper bag — and they go through everything, you're not supposed to send anything back and forth — but he wanted a nail file and I was like, I'm just going to send him a nail file,” she sares. “And then I was like, oh, there's a banana. He said he wanted a banana. So I [write] ‘I love you’ on the banana and send it to him with the nail file.”

Jordan thought, “That was cute.”

Related: Larsa Pippen Says She 'Hasn't Hung Out' with Michael Jordan After Dating His Son Marcus for Nearly a Year

Ultimately, being apart at night while shooting didn’t take a toll on Pippen and Jordan.

“Thank God we've got a solid relationship,” she says, “because we hadn't hung out at all.”

And if one of them ended up being a Traitor and the other stayed a Faithful, “there's no hard feelings,” Jordan says. “But I definitely feel like if I get stabbed in the back by Larsa, it'll sting a little bit.”

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The Traitors season 2 premieres Friday on Peacock.

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