Ariana Madix Manifested Herself All the Way to the Emmys

From her first strut into the villa, Ariana Madix has made hosting Love Island USA look effortless. But only she knows how much goes into steering the world’s biggest dating show: tracking the Islanders’ ever-changing affections, calling out toxicity in the fandom, and being ready to step into a skin-baring gown at a moment’s notice. After three seasons with the host—who just earned her first Emmy nomination—it’s hard to imagine anyone else gracing the wooden catwalk.

For Madix, the entrance calls back to what's remained her favorite place since childhood: the theater. “We stand in the tunnel, and [a producer] cues me in, just like you would for a play. Also, because the floors are hardwood, it feels like I'm on a stage,” the reality star tells Marie Claire a week following the season 8 finale. After 10 years of giving a very different type of performance on Vanderpump Rules, it’s as if Love Island USA is the perfect bridge between Madix's reality TV résumé and her theater-kid roots. If anyone knows how to balance passion with keeping cool under pressure—not to mention the spotlight or 24/7 camera crew—it's her.

That's in part what led Madix to receive an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality Competition Program—an honor she's still processing. “It felt very surreal,” she recalls, chatting over Zoom while barefaced in a black sports bra. “It's really going to hit when we start scheduling things closer to the Emmys. Whenever they do billboards for Love Island, I'm always [in Fiji]. If they do something to promote this, I'll probably get very emotional.”

The awards ceremony is the latest milestone of the whirlwind three years Madix has spent showing the breadth of her talent, channeling heartbreak and a period of transition into a career breakthrough. Go back to her previous interviews, and she’s accomplished every one of her dreams: a Broadway debut, a role on a mockumentary comedy, even the Emmy nom. The recognition also marks a full-circle moment for the longtime Love Island fan, who went from name-dropping the show while she was still on Bravo to becoming a mentor to young women taking their first steps into the public eye.

“Fangirls unite,” she says of going from a viewer to the face of the show. “People love to talk down about it, but fangirling is powerful.”

Ahead of the Emmys on September 14, Madix chats with Marie Claire about her behind-the-scenes styling decisions, how grief affected season 8’s production, and the emotional strength she admires from the Islanders.

MC: What does your day-to-day look like as you’re filming a season of Love Island USA?

AM: It's always in flux, which is fun because it keeps me on my toes. I'm always in the gym and trying to keep my head right. I watch all the episodes, and when I'm wondering if I'm behind on something, I'll text producers or the social team to try to stay up to date. Things are happening so fast that I can very easily be behind on what's going on, especially right after a recoupling.

Sometimes when I go to the villa, I don't have a script. I’ll have an earpiece [to feed me lines], and there are times where I'm saying things that I've never heard or read before. I love it when I can get a script so I can put things in my own words, because I do like to be able to go in and be myself. I always think those are the moments that are the best on the show: when I'm able to bring myself to whatever crazy, fun, sexy moment is about to happen.

MC: Walk me through your styling for the show. How do you choose which outfits to wear each night?

AM: What I wear can definitely be dictated by the subject matter or the feel of the night. When we had our big fitting this year, we didn't know yet which ones were going to be for what. I am so lucky that I have both an amazing stylist here in L.A. and an amazing on-set styling team in Fiji. Our on-set styling team also works with the Islanders, so they have an idea of what the Islanders are going to be wearing, as well. For the premiere, we discussed that the Islanders are all going to be in bright colors, so if I wanted to wear a black dress, this would be the time. And of course it's this gorgeous, fun Tom Ford dress.

For a Casa Amor recoupling, I always think the look needs to feel a little bit dangerous. The finale look can be more celebratory. And then outside of that, it's usually, Do I feel good in the look, and am I excited about it? Because it's Love Island, I always want it to feel sexy and fun, and probably not something that I would wear in my day-to-day life.

MC: Is there a look that best combines your Love Island look and your personal, off-camera style?

AM: [In season 7], the pink [gown] with the hood and the gladiator sandal. I think that was the best marriage of what I would wear going out or something that feels like me and a Love Island style.

MC: Do you have any fun stories behind the looks from season 8?

AM: A lot of the looks this year were last-minute choices. The wet-look dress was actually one of my personal dresses that I just happened to bring with me. It had been pouring for days, and we had to figure out shoes I could wear in case I needed to walk in the rain. For the red one, my friend Taylor [Jean Cox] designed it, and I knew that was going to be the Casa recoupling dress. We had a fitting in my house the day before I flew to Fiji, and she was able to make that dress and get it out to set. That was the one I was the most excited to wear all season.

MC: Longtime fans know that season 7 was very different from the typical Love Island season. Were there any lessons you learned that you took into season 8?

AM: Anytime people say, ‘But we always do this,’ [the producers are] going to change it. They're never going to let anybody think they know what's coming next. That's part of what I love about the show because I always love to be surprised. In terms of my hosting, something I took away from season 7 is that the Islanders are always going to do what they want to do, and they're going to feel how they're going to feel. I love them all, and I always hope that they're okay. I feel like I could have reiterated that more.

MC: You often speak out against negative criticism towards the Islanders. With the show's growing popularity, how have you learned to handle the online criticism?

AM: I don't think that hate has any place in our viewership whatsoever. If I'm scrolling and I see someone being hateful, I block them. I don't care who or what they're talking about. I really was excited to hear that they were handling the socials differently this year, with the Islanders turning off certain things on their profiles, because that was something I was hoping that they would have done in season 7 as well.

Fans are not always going to agree with what someone says or does on the show. That's the point: We all date differently, we feel differently, we come from different backgrounds. If you want to talk about how you didn't like the way that someone said or did something, that's completely fine. But to then harass or send Islanders hate? I think it's so wrong. Because no matter what, they're all trying their best in this moment, and that's all that you could ever ask of somebody.

MC: Executive producer James Barker tragically passed away while filming season 8. How did you and the production team process the loss of a colleague while still having to make a successful show?

AM: Honestly, it was really, really sad. I don't know how the people on his team who worked with him day in and day out were able to continue. We had a night where everyone came together and celebrated James, and I'm glad we were able to take a moment on the show for him in one of the episodes as well. James was a friend of mine, someone who I really valued. He was so talented, so kind. The big thing that we connected on was our love of music. We would send each other music nearly every day, especially when we were in Fiji. I would be watching the show, and text him about a song, and he would know exactly what I was talking about. I feel like in so many ways he was the heart and soul of the show.

When I've experienced losses, if I can be distracted by something I'm passionate about, such as this show, it's helpful. I think that a lot of the team were feeling like, Let's do this for James and let's get through the season. I know that [the executive producing team are] all missing him terribly because they worked so closely together. I hope that now that we're all back, everyone's able to take some time for themselves, be with family, and process.

MC: So much has changed for you in the past three years, both professionally and personally. How has hosting Love Island and being in your current relationship changed your views on love and dating?

AM: Something I always take away from the Islanders is their ability to express exactly what they're thinking and feeling to each other in the moment. I admire that as a strength in people because it’s something I’ve definitely struggled with. I blame it on my Virgo moon. I'm a Cancer who feels things very deeply, but until I can process those things and put some logical explanation to it, I don't know how to express it. So I always try to take that away and be able to bring that to my real life. Also, I am a very anxious person, and Daniel [Wai, my boyfriend] really helps my nervous system. He helps me be able to go into a job like this and feel confident and loved.

MC: If you think back to a younger Ariana—hustling in N.Y.C., bartending at Butter, making College Humor videos—what do you think she would be like as a contestant on Love Island?

AM: Besides the crippling insecurity that I would feel being in a bathing suit all day, I think I would have been very messy. I would've been trying to collect boys and girls like infinity stones—so maybe a great Islander and a horrible Islander at the same time.

MC: Speaking of, you’ve said before that you want more queer representation on Love Island. What are your thoughts on people who say it doesn’t fit the show’s format or logistics?

AM: We’ll figure out the logistics. When there's a recoupling, they tell the powers that be. They're not coming up with it in the moment. Making this show is always laying one piece of train track in front of the other as the train is approaching. So we would figure it out. That's just me being optimistic or maybe delulu, but I certainly think that it's possible.

MC: Many of your career goals have come true, from performing on Broadway to earning an Emmy nomination. What do you hope to manifest next?

AM: If I say something out loud, especially in a forum where other people are going to hear about it, I feel as though, Okay, now that I've said it, I have to put work towards it. Putting something out there allows me to really focus and work towards it. What are the loftiest goals possible? EGOT status is probably the biggest. I think my ideal life includes getting to host this fun, fantastical show, being able to go on stage and dance and sing, and to go on TV and creatively express myself and make people laugh. If I could balance all of that with a loving and stable life at home, that to me is the ultimate goal. We're manifesting that now, but we can still put the EGOT out there.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.