Whether you first met her amid the cloak-and-dagger drama of The Traitors or watched her deliver unforgettable one-liners on The Real Housewives of Potomac, Candiace Dillard-Bassett has always kept it real. The singer, actress and reality star is known for her sharp perspective and even sharper glam—and when she loves something, she doesn’t hold back.
That authenticity makes her latest partnership feel like a natural fit. Teaming up with Arby’s to spotlight the brand’s new Meat & 3 Value Box, Dillard-Bassett is leaning into what satisfies—whether that’s a beauty must-have or a go-to meal. The customizable $7.99 box lets guests choose an entrée, appetizer, side, dessert and drink, delivering major flavor and serious value in one crave-worthy lineup.
We caught up with Dillard-Bassett to talk about the collaboration, what’s currently in her beauty rotation and why indulgence—on your own terms—is always in style.
You look nice, and you look like you’re in a nice hotel room.
“Yes! I am traveling all week. I just came from San Francisco at the Super Bowl, actually. I flew down to LA. I’m here for the week doing some press and some Traitors stuff and music stuff as well.”
Good for you. I’d love to ask you, why this partnership? Everyone loves Arby’s, but I’d love to hear how it came about organically for you.
“It really felt like such an organic partnership for me and a full-circle moment. I grew up eating Arby’s. I was born in Biloxi, Mississippi. My parents were in the Air Force, and we were stationed at Keesler Air Force Base. I just remember always going to Arby’s. Back then, the big thing was the roast beef sandwich with the Arby’s sauce, but I’m loving the new Meat & 3 deal that they have with the meat and the three sides and the drink for $7.99.
It was so fun to do this commercial with them. It felt like going back to my childhood in a way because it was almost such a core memory to go with my mom after school to get an early dinner or to get lunch on the weekends and have my Arby’s and my fries. Forever and always, I will be an Arby’s curly fry girl. If I could be a curly fry for Halloween, I would be one. That’s how much I love the fries!”
Good stuff. Core memories. I remember when the roast-beef sandwich was $1…if you added cheese, it was a bit more.
“Yes! Same. It is truly a core memory for me as well.”
You are busy, and you have the baby, the show, your singing career. How do you make time for yourself at the end of the day?
“Oh, my gosh. It has been increasingly more challenging, I think, because in addition to all of the work I do outside of the home, I’m a new mom. That, as all moms know, just adds an extra layer to whatever you’re doing. For me, really, when I turned 30, I will say, I started to take my skin-care routine really seriously because I said, ‘Okay, if I’m going to maintain good skin for the rest of my life, I need to start now.’ I got into the 10-step Korean skin-care routine. I will go into my bathroom, shut the door and spend an hour just taking off makeup, doing all of my steps, my serums, my gua sha, my steamer, my under-eye patches and my sheet masks. That’s my happy place and the way that I unwind.
Then, I love to nap when I can, because I’m not napping as much these days. And I love to eat. It sounds trite, but my husband is a classically French-trained chef, so we’re always eating in the house. More often than not now, we’re both exhausted and it’s easier to go out, so we will go out and get our Arby’s. I always get a big curly fry. I like to dip my fries in the Arby’s sauce. Now that the Meat & 3 deal is a thing, I love to add the peach rolls. I’m from the South, so anything peach feels like home.”
You’re making me hungry. You do a lot of press and glam all the time. Did you do anything special for the Super Bowl?
“Not particularly. Honestly, it’s a blur. I’m trying to remember. It feels like I was there two weeks ago, and I literally just came from San Francisco this morning. We were just ripping and running the whole time. From the time I landed, I did the Super Bowl pre-show, which was so cool. It was televised. All my family and friends were sending me videos of me on their TV. That was really cool.”
I’m sure you had fun. When you’re traveling like this, is there any skin care you like to use on the plane?
“I will typically travel without makeup on so that I can wear under-eye patches. I will put my patches on before I leave home. I put my sunglasses on and get to the airport, go through security, do all of that and just wear them until they dry out. Then I have a misting face spray—an oil-based face spray—that I will use if it’s a long flight, throughout the flight, just to keep my skin as supple as possible because, as you know, airplanes can be very drying on the skin. The eye patches, I keep them very close to me. I always have eye patches in my purse close by that I can switch out on the plane.”
You’ve had a busy 12 hours, but what else are you looking forward to this week and the second half of February?
“I can’t believe we’re even saying that because I feel like February just started. Yes. There are so many things on the horizon. It’s hard to even keep track. I’m promoting my latest single. It’s called If Only. It’s out now on all streaming platforms. It’s available for download and streaming. I have a music video to accompany the song release that’s coming out next week, I believe, so I’ll be promoting that as well.
We are taping The Traitors reunion very soon. We’ll actually be wrapping up the show, which is sad because it’s like, wow, we just got into all of it. We’ll be doing a lot of press around the finale of The Traitors. It’ll be exciting to see how it all wraps up. I’m trying to think. Those are the highlights. Then in between, I will be eating a curly fry from Arby’s.”
