Ariana Madix Spills Love Island’s Best-Kept Secrets
Wait, there are cameras inside the walls?
It’s officially Love Island USA season, which means it’s time to clock in for six nights a week of flirtation and drama at the villa in Fiji. Loyal fans of the Peacock reality series know pretty well what to expect, from stomach-turning food-related challenges to the inevitable chaos of Casa Amor. But there’s a lot that goes into making a hit reality show, especially one that airs nearly in real-time for viewers. Even host Ariana Madix is often surprised by what happens behind the scenes to make the magic come to life.
“I’m one of those people who loves seeing how the sausage is made,” Madix tells Elite Daily. As a superfan before she took over hosting in Season 6, she found it “really interesting” to see how the villa operates. She watches the episodes to keep up with the audience’s POV, but she’s also privy to the hours of footage no one else sees. “What has aired on TV is obviously not as up to date as what’s happening IRL,” she says.
Below, Madix shares five things about filming Love Island that viewers might not expect.
Her Life In Fiji Is Actually Very Low-Key
Despite her glamorous on-camera persona, Madix’s day-to-day on the island is modest. “I saw this post on Instagram recently that was very well-thought-out and really nice, but it was very wrong about what life is like for me in Fiji,” she says. “Like, ‘She stays at a luxury villa with a private chef.’ I was like, ‘I wish!’”
In reality, she stays in a hotel room with a kitchenette and washer-dryer, an upgrade from her first season, when she had to ask around to get her laundry done. She packs as many comfort items as she can to create a sense of normalcy. “I want to try to make it feel as much like my house as possible, so I bring vitamins, tea from home, and my gadgets and skin care stuff,” Madix says.
The Glam Process Sometimes Takes Longer Than Filming
Love Island viewers only see one hour of every 24-hour day, so everything that makes it to air is edited down significantly. Madix says sometimes she sits in glam for “two to three hours” to film an hourlong recoupling ceremony. The hair and makeup takes a while, but the process of shooting scenes is pretty efficient. “It’s really not that bad, especially once everybody gets the hang of it,” she says.
The more complicated nights, like the premiere and the Casa Amor recoupling, are a different story. “There’s a lot of moving parts, and resets, and so many things happening,” she says.
Camera Crews Are Everywhere, Including Inside The Walls
Producers really commit to the bit with the hidden camera situation. “There are actual camera people behind sliders and walls, and you forget that they’re there,” Madix says. “But then sometimes you’ll hear someone fall off of a stool, and you’re like, ‘Are they OK back there?’”
The Host & Producers Can Channel-Surf Live Feeds Of The Villa
Madix is living every Love Island fan’s fantasy by getting access to the drama as it unfolds. She’ll sometimes toggle through live feeds of the different areas of the villa while she’s eating lunch or sitting in glam. “I can change the channels to see what’s happening, and that’s really fun,” she says. “It’s really cool in the beginning when you show up and turn it on, and they’re getting the flowers right before the season starts. And then for six weeks, every time you go in, you see them.”
The last night of filming, she watches wistfully as the cameras turn off and production shuts down. “They’re gone. That’s it. All the screens are black, and you’re like, ‘Oh, no.’ It’s so sad.”
The Love Island Compound Is Basically Disney World
There’s way more to the Fiji setup than the actual villa itself. Madix says the production headquarters is “like the Dirty Dancing resort” — a sprawling home base in the middle of nowhere.
“You’re driving through areas where it’s just trees, and you turn down this dirt driveway and pull up to this security booth,” she says. “Every building is something related to Love Island, and then lying around will be something from an old challenge.” There’s a cafeteria, a control room, and her dressing room and wardrobe area. “It’s really crazy to think all of that right there makes the show happen and gets it to the U.S.”
