Ariana Madix on the Character She Creates for ‘Love Island USA,’ the Power of Female Rage and Saying Goodbye to ‘Vanderpump Rules’

It was a little more than two years ago that Ariana Madix’s life blew up on Bravo, as a result of the “Vanderpump Rules” cheating scandal that came to be known as the Scandoval. That was the bad news: The good news was Madix handled the mess with such grace that she ended up getting several life-changing opportunities when the smoke cleared. Yes, after the breakup of her nine-year relationship with fellow “Vanderpump Rules” castmate Tom Sandoval in March 2023, Madix was cast on that fall season of “Dancing With the Stars,” appeared as Roxie Hart in “Chicago” on Broadway (twice!) and, in summer 2024, became the host of Peacock’s “Love Island USA” for its sixth season last summer. Madix’s presence on the dating show — which airs nightly on Peacock, practically in real time — brought new viewers to the series, making it last summer’s No. 1 reality series, and an inescapable juggernaut.

As she prepared to head to Fiji for Season 7 — before she knew anything about the new season, which premiered on June 3 — Madix sat down with Variety at her West Hollywood sandwich shop Something About Her, which she owns with Katie Maloney, also late of “Vanderpump Rules.” She discussed her love of “Love Island,” her first time stepping on the “Chicago” stage and her experience of filming Season 11 of “Vanderpump Rules,” which will have an entirely new cast when it eventually returns.

It actually came up on “Vanderpump Rules” that you were a “Love Island” fan. Which one got you? U.K. “Love Island”?

It was actually “Australia.” My friend Brad had introduced me, kind of pandemic-time. He was like: “Well, it’s great — I think this might be our show.” I started binge-watching “Australia,” then I went to U.K. and then I went to U.S.

The U.S. version had struggled a bit before you took over. What did you want to bring to it?

I’m a big fan of so many of the women who have hosted the show in the different countries, and in the U.S. I think that no matter what, if you try to do what someone else is doing or has done, it won’t work. I wanted to really bring myself to it. So whatever that is — being a little bit more on the sexy side, and trying to bring a level of confidence that, even if I’m not feeling it in the moment, you fake it until you make it. And of course, humor. That’s one thing that “Love Island” has that a lot of sometimes dating shows don’t have, is the level of humor.

And I knew I really wanted to bring some amazing looks, and that was something that was also inspired by other hosts around the world. Because when Maya Jama is walking into that U.K. villa, she is sex on a stick.

I’m going to say this for you because you can’t. But I feel like your presence as the host brought in the Bravo audience, and then it was an incredible cast and a great season, and people stayed. What do you think of that theory?

I’ve seen people say that online — that if they hadn’t watched it before, they turned it on initially thinking, “Oh, Ariana’s hosting.” With the cast, ultimately, they stayed because that’s who they’re connecting with throughout the season. And our cast was so incredible.

You would make your opinion known in a way that past hosts didn’t —

Sort of!

What do you mean?

I mean that I definitely was holding back on a lot of stuff. I’m not allowed to be biased, but if I’ve seen footage because I’m watching the show and the Islanders haven’t, but I know that this is a thing, I’m going to want to get them to talk about it. Which I think you saw definitely in the Casa Amor recoupling, because we really do have all the time in the world. I will stand there until you talk about it. That’s what “Aftersun” is so good for — because then I can go on “Aftersun” and talk about stuff. But in the villa, in front of them, it’s interesting having to keep my mouth shut a little bit, because I can’t show bias.

Don’t you feel like it comes through a little bit, though? You’re a person.

I’m a person, and I’m watching what they’re going through. You don’t want to be a robot. Maybe it comes through to the camera, but it can’t really come through to them.

A colleague of mine who’s a huge “Love Island” person thinks that your mere presence empowered the women contestants to stand up for themselves more.

Oh, wow! Oh, I love that. I mean, they do such a good job of that, and they’re so much younger than me. They’re way younger than I ever was on “Vanderpump” or anything. And for them to be as strong and as empowered and as vocal, but able to express how they feel at that age, they’re doing great.

In terms of your clothes, which viewers love, what do you want to project? Do you have a stylist you work with?

I just have my friend Emily [Men] who helps me, and I’ll send her stuff I see on Instagram. Emily is amazing — I’ll be like, “I like things like this,” and then she’s really good at sourcing. But I think one of the tough things is that a lot of times fashion PR places or designers don’t let you hold on to something for two months, they want it back in two days. So it was really amazing that we were able to get all of these looks and have them with us in Fiji the entire time. I’m actually going to see her after this for my fitting.

What did you learn from doing it in Season 6 that you want to bring to this season?

I definitely learned a lot about what it’s like to not be able to really talk about what I’m thinking and feeling in the moment with the Islanders. I learned about what it means to host as opposed to being cast. And I really learned where the wet spots are on the deck, because it can be very slippery. And they wet it down sometimes and make it look shiny, and I have to be careful!

Did you ever go down?

Oh, I definitely had some wobble moments! Like, “I’m going to turn around and do that again. You didn’t see that!” I learned how to kind of, I don’t know — be that character? Be that confident, sexy, command- the-presence-of-the-room character when I come into the Villa. Because in real life, I’m not doing that — on a day-to-day basis, I’m not walking into the sandwich shop and strutting in and commanding the room! So I feel like I learned a little bit more about what it means to do that, and feel comfortable doing that.

Switching topics! How did it feel the first time you went on stage in “Chicago”?

Terrifying and exhilarating, and I was super, super nervous. The crowd was so loud.

They were there for you.

It was really amazing, but so loud at times that I couldn’t hear the band on stage. So I was like, “Well, let’s really hope that we have this ingrained in the muscle memory enough that that’s OK.” One of my castmates, Jeff Gorti, when I told him how I was super nervous, he said, “You have nothing to prove — only to go out and show off.”

And I was like, “OK, that’s not something I had thought of before.” Because I always feel like there’s so much to prove.

You went back a second time too. Might you do it again?

I would love to. I would love to do Roxie again. And I would love to do another show.

OK, “Vanderpump Rules”! After the cheating scandal happened in Spring 2023, which became an international news story, were you always going to come back for a Season 11?

I mean, I had to. I was definitely not in a position where I could say no to work. So I needed to say yes to “Vanderpump Rules.” But the next time it came around, I wanted to be in a position where I didn’t have to, because I wasn’t feeling great, obviously. I love the show for so many reasons. But when you feel like you don’t have a choice, it’s not a good place to be in.

It was such a huge story, and a lot of opportunities came your way because of it. But at the same time, you were experiencing terrible personal turmoil.

Terrible! Yes. I get so grossed out by every time I try talk about my work, and the headline is about somebody else, or making my life about somebody else. Saying “post-breakup glow up,” I find insulting — it insinuates that I was some sort of troll before. And that time was super, super hard. It’s funny, me and my two best friends — you know your phone loves to show you photos?

“Memories from…”

Like, “Can you not?” There’s so many photos of us, pictures of me sleeping in bed where they were like, “She’s doing fine!,” and us together having sleepovers. It’s like this really weird, somewhat beautiful and scary time.

And yes, the headlines and the attention were all about this thing, but the reality was much, much darker. The reality of the situation was very, very dark. And that’s not something that I was going to bring to “Vanderpump Rules” Season 11 either.

I was like, “Look, I’m putting all my boxes in my room; my room is my apartment.” And then they come in and film, and they don’t talk about me trying to move, they cut all the scenes of me with a real estate agent. They cut all the stuff of me talking about meeting with a lender, and turn it into some sort of other story.

You’re a squatter in your own home.

And that right there was another thing that was frustrating. Because as if it’s not hard enough, trying to uproot from what you thought was a house you’re going to live in for at least 10 years. Trying to pull everything out that you own, and try to organize — and then being told you’re some sort of loser.

You’ve been very open about your mental health struggles. Where were you when the cameras started rolling on Season 11?

I was slowly getting there, maybe a little bit better. But it was hard because I wanted to let people in on where I was. I feel like you’re really seeing that. I mean, you see me holed up in my room trying to organize my life and trying to figure out what’s next. What am I doing? Where am I going to be living? I’ve got to get pre-approved, because I need to get out of this house.

It’s hard to get a mortgage when you already have a mortgage.

That was the biggest issue for me. I ended up doing it, but I had to put down a lot more. I was really like, “Let’s show where I’m at. Let’s show the warts and all.” And then I think when it aired, because it aired so much later — it airs six to seven months after the wrapping — so I think people were like, “What’s her problem?”

Do you guys know how time works? Are you guys OK?

That drove me insane.

I think it’s important to show where I was at. And if somebody relates to that and they’ve also been there, then I feel like that’s worth it. My mental health really started to get better when I was doing “Dancing With the Stars,” because I feel like I was able to physically express things.

You had an argument with a cast member about being angry, and how men can show rage but women can’t. During the season, were you worried about the show’s capacity to show what you were going through?

I don’t think I was thinking about it in the moment; I was just trying to show myself authentically and really be myself. I think that we as women are conditioned not to show our rage. And so many times, even other women will come at you for that.

But I am very inspired by female rage. I find it beautiful. Sometimes I think it’s so beautiful I might cry when I see it in other women. I just think it is so powerful. And something I learned about myself over the last few years is that my rage or my anger, whatever it is, is a very powerful motivator for me.

Instead of being afraid of it, it’s something that I’ve been able to harness like a dragon or something. It’s something that I think can really take you places if you really let it course through you, and then you harness it and you make something of it.

The finale — which turned out to be the series finale for that cast of “Vanderpump Rules” — was explosive, and broke the fourth wall in a huge way. Had word reached you what happened after you left that party?

I knew that people were going off, and I was like, “Yeah, see, I was right.”

To leave and go to Applebee’s?

Yeah. I was like, “Bro, I just proved the whole point! I’m glad. Show your true selves.” Especially knowing that my ex was being like that. I was like, “That’s exactly what I’ve been saying! This whole thing is fake.”

The idea of being together in the same space?

Him coming, “Oh, can I just talk?” I was like, “See? Because if you don’t get what you want, and you flip like that, and start screaming, then you’re literally proving me right.” I was like, “Great,” over my Buffalo chicken wings — I went really old school. I think I was taking shots of Fireball or something.

What was it like watching the last part of the finale live at the reunion?

The last words of the show being what they were was so great.

You mean Sandoval saying, “It’s good for me”? The Robert Durst confession?

Exactly, yeah, the Robert Durst moment! Let that be your last moment. Because that to me was very fitting, and I was like, “This is what I’ve been saying this whole time!” As if I wouldn’t be the one to know.

But it was really emotional. You look at these old clips of everybody, myself included, and you think like, oh, my gosh, so many years. I mean, it was really emotional, looking at the way they clipped everything together.

Were you told ahead of time that they were going to announce that “Vanderpump Rules” would be rebooted with a new cast?

Yeah.

What did you think?

I said, “Cool! Good luck.”

Do you watch “The Valley”?

I don’t. I don’t watch anything on Bravo.

Do you watch any reality?

“Love After Lockup.”

So good.

It’s so good!

Who are you closest to on “The Valley”?

Probably Janet, Kristen, Jasmine — but Janet and Jason as a couple, very close to them as well. We went to Scotland together.

So we won’t ever see you popping up on “The Valley”?

No.

What do you think of the whole Jax Taylor situation?

What I know of it, it’s horrible. And I’m proud of Brittany for finding her voice and getting out of that.

When we last met here in December, unbeknownst to all of us, James Kennedy had been arrested the night before. No charges were filed ultimately, but what did you think of that?

Awful. I mean, it’s horrible. Again, proud of Ally [Lewber] that she’s out of that, and she’s thriving. She’s got this fucking amazing podcast. Cutest apartment. I’m happy that she’s good.

Your old house still hasn’t sold. What’s happening!? Why!?

There’s a lot more than just the house. So yeah. But it’s going.

Is it on the market?

No. But it’s not just put the house up for sale — there’s contents within it. There’s a lot of stuff that has to be worked out. It’s fine, though. I mean, the longer I own it, the more I have equity. It’s actually fine, and I have my own place. So for me, it’s more important that things get worked out the way they should than to just rush to sell.

Where do you picture yourself living in the next few years?

I think here for at least the next five to 10 years. I’m not in a place right now professionally, where if I were to up and move to New York, for example, I think I would just end up coming back — I’m just doing a lot here right now. And especially with the shop, wanting to be able to physically be here, be able to be reached when things are going on. I love New York, and I would love to go back there one day. But I feel like right now I’m also really enjoying just having the space. And L.A., it gets a bad rap sometimes, but I just think it’s a wonderful city.

How’s this place doing?

Good! I mean, look, people are not kidding when they say that opening a restaurant is hard. And it comes with a whole set of things that make it hard. I think for us, the things that are not hard, are we love our staff, Katie and I, and we love working together. We really share the same vision.

What’s tough is just a lot of our business is tourists, which we love. Please by all means, come. But we’re looking into how to tap more into the L.A. local market scene and food scene.

Which sandwich is it that’s the Greek salad one?

She’s a salad now.

She’s a salad?

She’s real messy, which is why we swapped over. We could wrap it, though!

May I get that to go, please?

This interview has been edited and condensed.