Ariana Madix Shares Which 'Love Island USA' Season 7 Contestant Was Her Favorite From the Start

Ariana Madix is sharing her real feelings on Love Island USA season 7.

Madix spoke to People on Friday, May 29 about her experience hosting the reality dating show for the past two seasons. Madix told the outlet that hosting Love Island USA has been her "dream job" but it comes with its challenges.

"The worst thing is just being so far away from home," she said. "And on such a wildly different time zone, that I just feel very removed from life, which I guess can also sometimes be a good thing."

However, Madix shared how the real time nature of filming Love Island is something she prefers to her time filming Vanderpump Rules.

"I feel like there's less time to worry," Madix said. "Whereas I feel like before, shooting [Vanderpump Rules] and then waiting months and months for it to come out, I had so much time to overthink everything I did and said. This is almost, maybe, better for me."

When asked about the breakout success of season 7 contestant Olandria Carthen, Madix expressed, "I mean, I could've told you that was gonna happen. The girl's a star."

"The second I saw her casting sheet, I was like, I'm obsessed with this girl. I know I'm not supposed to have favorites, but she was my favorite cast member," Madix said of Carthen.

She continued, "I felt like I related to her on so many levels and I'm so happy for her and so proud of her, and I think that this is just the beginning for her, so I'm excited to see what she does next."

Earlier this month, Madix also shared with People that hosting Love Island is, "something that I think I would've talked about in my living room with my friends as a dream job I would love to have."

"When I got the job, I don't know that I would have expected what happened with the show to happen," she said. "The show really took off in a different way than it had before, and to be able to say that not only am I the host of my favorite show, but I'm also the host of the number-one show in all of streaming, scripted or unscripted, that's something I'm very, very proud to be a part of."

Season 8 of Love Island USA premieres June 2 at 9 p.m. ET on Peacock.

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This story was originally published May 31, 2026 at 1:08 AM.