Ariana Madix is well into her second season as host of โLove Island USAโ and has been able to witness some of this summerโs most dramatic and wildly viral moments involving the islanders out in Fiji.
In an interview with TODAY.com just before Episode 25 dropped, Madix gave a peek behind the curtain of what goes on in the villa โ plus, her takes on Nic and Cierra, Olandria and Taylor, and the dumping from the island that shocked her the most.
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This interview has been edited for clarity.
So how involved are you on the production side of things? Do you get to decide when new bombshells are coming in, when to change up the rules for Casa, like we did this year?
No, I just hear about things maybe a couple days beforehand. Or, you know, of course, if thereโs something thatโs planned way in advance, Iโll hear about it, and I can say, โWow, I love that.โ Or, โHmm, Iโm not sure about that,โ but it doesnโt matter. Iโm not in charge.
Letโs talk about Nic and Olandria. Do you think weโll be seeing a return of them later this season? I know on โAftersun,โ you mentioned that you saw some chemistry between them.
Yeah, I think the chemistry, when you watch that kiss in Soul Ties, was palpable from watching it on the screen. When they said that they didnโt feel any sparks, I was very confused because I feel like I saw sparks. That being said, you know, I think, honestly, I just want both of them to find whatever it is that theyโre looking for. And Iโm so happy that whatever it took to get Olandria a little bit away from thinking about Taylor, I think is a positive.
I mean, that being said, I love Cierra and Nic together, so I donโt want to speak ill of that relationship, because I think that is a really good relationship, too. But you know, who knows? You never know whatโs going to happen day to day in that villa. Things happen so fast.
What do you think about some of the other couples on the show, like Chelley and Ace, and Zak and Amaya?
I mean, I feel like Chelley and Ace, they took so long to actually couple up, which was interesting, because I felt like they had had this flirtation for so long, but you know, watching the episode with the heart-rate challenge, you see that Chelley still wants to remain open to Chris, so thatโs going to be interesting. I feel like Ace might be getting a little bit of a taste of his own medicine there, because he was really putting on the pressure when Chelley was with Austin. And now Chelleyโs with Ace, and Chris is putting on the pressure, so he feel knows what it feels like to be on the other side of that.
Amaya and Zach. I think theyโre so cute. I love getting to see these little moments of them talk about cats or, you know, hula hooping in Casa. I just love the slice-of-life moments in the villa that we get to see because to me, thatโs when you really get to see what everyoneโs like around each other. So I hope we get to see more of that and more of them as well.
Letโs talk about the virality of it all. โLove Islandโ has been blowing up absolutely everywhere. Do you see these viral moments as theyโre happening, or are you just as surprised as we are?
I mean, I watch all the episodes, of course, and then you never know whatโs going to gain traction online, whatโs going to be something that people really connect with. And so with the โmommy-mamacitaโ moment, I feel like watching the episode, I thought that was a hilarious moment, but then when it took on a life of its own online, it made it even more fun. And I feel like Iโm constantly reposting people doing that audio now, because itโs just too funny.
Megan Thee Stallion came on the show! Letโs talk about that iconic and surprising collaboration, as well as whether any other influential figures might be fans of the show.
Itโs funny, because I feel like every year, we find more and more influential figures that are big fans. Or, even right now, with Olivia Rodrigo and Ed Sheeran doing the โLove Islandโ audio โ Iโm pretty sure Ed Sheeran communicates via email, so he probably does not watch โLove Island USAโ โ but to have Olivia explaining to him what is โLove Island USA,โ to me, is a moment that I wish I could be a fly on the wall for because I can only imagine how funny that is. And Megan Thee Stallion, is someone Iโve been a huge fan of for a very long time. Iโve gone to see her live performing so many times, and getting to meet her, she is an absolute delight of a person. She has the most beautiful energy, and Iโm in love with her.
Viewers didnโt get to see the deliberation process when Hannah and Jeremiah left the villa, which Iain told us earlier was the most shocking thing heโd seen all season long. What might be a little bit of the process behind that deliberation? If you heard anything, would you be able to speak on that?
I wasnโt in the villa that day, so I wasnโt watching, you know, the monitors of what they were talking about. But considering that, it was a big moment, and when theyโre editing that episode and putting it together, my major guesstimation is that they really wanted to keep in other conversations that they felt were really important to the storyline. So maybe more showing him or other people talking earlier in the episode about things, and then maybe after the fact, they wanted to really be able to show more of what it was like when everyone was saying goodbye and stuff like that. And if the deliberation was redundant or boring or fairly inconsequential or not really different to what they were talking about outside of the actual deliberation, thereโs really no point in showing it.
I know you didnโt want to say earlier who youโre rooting for this season, but is there a couple that maybe youโre not as excited to see on your screen?
I guess … theyโre not a couple as of this point that I know of right now, but I am never excited to see Taylor be wishy-washy about who he wants to be in a couple with, and Iโm definitely never excited to see Olandria second-guess her worth. Those are two things Iโm never excited to see. So I am kind of hoping that she finds the right person for her and not someone whoโs wishy-washy about whether or not they want to be with her.
What is the most shocking thing that youโve seen this season?
Oh, I think Charlieโs dumping was very shocking. I really did not expect that at all.
Do you ever expect the dumps going in? Whatโs the preparation process behind that?
Sometimes you never really know. I feel like going in, itโs a little bit of you can guess, or you can say, like, OK, I feel like Iโve seen these two people become a little bit closer, but whether or not theyโre actually going to pick this person or that person โ thereโs really no way to know. And itโs really down to the moment, and the islanders make their decisions. And sometimes Iโm like, OK, that makes sense, I get it. And other times Iโm just completely shocked โ like Charlie, for example.
Whatโs next for you?
Well, I will be going back to Los Angeles, and I have a long list of things that I need to get done, and I will be back in the sandwich shop in West Hollywood. Please come see us โ Something About Her โ and have a sandwich. Iโll be there for some time.
