As a longtime player in and fan of the reality TV space, it was “surreal” for “Love Island” host Ariana Madix to see her name listed alongside major players in the space — RuPaul Charles, Alan Cumming, Kristen Kish and Jeff Probst— all of whom were recognized with a 2026 Emmy nomination for their unscripted hosting duties.
“Seeing my name up there with people that I’ve admired in life and in this industry for years is really incredible,” Madix told TheWrap. “It feels very surreal, in a way, to be included in such company … it’s crazy.”
Madix was recognized for hosting Season 7 — her second time around the “Love Island USA” block — though the nod was announced in the midst of Season 8, which only built on the ratings growth the Peacock reality series has seen since she began hosting in Season 6. But Madix had been a fan of “Love Island” long before she started hosting, with “Vanderpump Rules” devotees even recalling the friction generated by the reality star’s insistence that ex-boyfriend Tom Sandoval watch the bikini-clad islanders date in their luxurious villa.
It was her love for the show that became her superpower as she stepped up to host Season 6 in 2024, as she was able to see past the juicy challenges, love triangles and dramatic confrontations to find the heart of the show. “I think there’s something about the show that goes beyond the flashy stuff and the sexy stuff,” she said. “I think it’s really interesting on so many levels, and I think that love … translates to my job as host in a way that I think … people are maybe hopefully picking up on when they’re watching.”
Having starred on a reality series herself, Madix brings a level of care to her role, understanding the contestants are among a small handful of people who are thrown into the unusual circumstance of having their every move watched over the course of a summer, especially given the show’s success.
“They’re under such a microscope,” Madix said, noting that while she doesn’t agree with the islanders’ every move, she knows “they’re all trying their best.” “They’re trying to find a connection, and they’re making friends and, of course, they’re making mistakes,” she added. “I remember my first time shooting and how different it is … I remember being in my head about what if I’m saying or doing the wrong thing.”
For that reason, Madix always tries to show her support for the islanders “without, of course, breaking that wall too much.” Some of those moments might not make it into the final edit, which cuts down a whole day in the villa to an hour or so, but it’s still worth it.
“If I can just be able to banter with them and we get to chat and just be real and authentic, I think that is what builds my relationships with the islanders, so that when these big, hard moments are coming or I’m asking them serious questions about how they feel, they can see that I empathize with them,” Madix explained. “They can see that I’m asking from a point of view of really wanting to know how they feel … it’s not just saying [a] line.”
Madix first had a guest spot on “Love Island USA” before joining as host in Season 6. But by the next summer, she felt comfortable enough to handle all the twists and turns in store. “Season 7 was so unpredictable … you never knew what was coming next,” she recalled. “There [were] all these twists and turns that were thrown in, and I feel like because I had already had a season under my belt, I was able to ride that roller coaster a little bit better than I probably would have had it been my first season.”
Her appointment as host also aligned with “Love Island USA’s” meteoric rise into the cultural zeitgeist, with Season 8 standing as Peacock’s most-watched original season ever at nearly 19 billion minutes viewed. “Every season, all of us, on at least my side of things, think maybe it’ll drop or plateau, and then when you see these numbers, it’s really mind-blowing,” she shared.
Madix certainly doesn’t take that success for granted. “It’s really hard to get shows made. It’s really hard to get shows renewed. It’s hard for people to have jobs half the time,” she said. “It’s an industry that’s in a weird place in a lot of ways, and so for us to be able to have this, I think we’re lucky.”
And she’ll stay on the “Love Island” train “as long as they’ll have me.”
A version of this story first ran in the Down to the Wire Comedy issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.
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