Lawson Mahoney opened up about his ADHD diagnosis on The Traitors Australia 2026 after he struggled to keep track of a scroll that was passed around during a challenge in Episode 9.
And the Made in Bondi star shared during an exclusive interview with Chattr that the concentration challenge wasn’t the only time his condition affected his gameplay throughout the season.
“Memory’s never been my forte. I think of something, and then it’s gone. It’s the same with remembering to email someone back or text someone back. Like I do it in my head, and then I think I’ve done it. So memory is the big part,” he explained.
Of course, on The Traitors, keeping track of even the smallest details can be crucial to uncovering a Traitor’s identity and, ultimately, winning the game. So, to combat his struggles with remembering every little detail in the castle, Lawson made a point of writing down anything he thought could be important.
“I had a journal. So when you’d wrap up filming and you’d go to your room, I’d try to remember conversations and whatnot, and write who I’m suspicious of and everything,” he said.
He added that if he’d managed to remember a few more suspicious moves that Traitor Kirby had made over the previous weeks, he may have even been successful in eliminating her — instead of being banished.
“The longer the game goes, the more information you’re filled with, the harder it becomes to remember every single thing. And had I had three or four more points on Kirby, who knows who could have been persuaded with more evidence.
“So I’d say, the memory and remembering significant pieces of information were the other part of my ADHD kind of getting in the way of a perfect game.”
However, Lawson added that his ADHD wasn’t necessarily a disadvantage when it came to every aspect of the game. “It also helps me connect with people more and gives me energy. So it’s a double-edged sword, and I like it.”
Why Lawson got so emotional when he was eliminated from The Traitors
As Lawson’s former allies started revealing their votes at the round table in Episode 10, it became increasingly obvious that he would be the next Faithful sent home.
Lawson revealed that as Gretel announced that his elimination was a ‘foregone conclusion’, he began to feel emotional — but not for a negative reason.
“It’s emotional, yes, but it was a grateful emotion. You kind of look around the banishment room, and go, ‘This is the last time I’m going to see this and experience this’, and you kind of go through your journey.”
He added that it went beyond farewelling the game itself, but also the people he had grown close to, like Tully Smyth and Josh Packham.
“I knew [I was leaving] when Tully gave her vote for me, and you can see it in my reaction. That was when my heart fell off a cliff because that’s when I knew I was going home, and the two people I trusted most didn’t trust me the same, but it was bittersweet.”
Lawson added that while some people may have thought his disappointment came from coming so close to winning the prize money, that wasn’t the case.
“Money’s never been a big focus of mine in my life. I don’t think it ever will. It’s never brought me joy. I’ve been happiest when I’ve had absolutely nothing. So it was more of a pleasant emotion, being like, hey, I got to experience this. I made it 10 laps… So it was a feeling of gratitude mostly.”
The Traitors Australia 2026 airs on Tuesdays and Wednesdays on Channel 10 and 10Play.
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