Mia Alario Has Always Been The Main Character

Mia Alario became a Bravo star living and working in Charleston, but this summer she’s barely spent time in South Carolina. She’s been lounging on the beach in Miami, sipping cocktails on a rooftop in Spain, and cheering from the stands at the World Cup in New York. And yes, she tells me, it’s all as fun as it looks online.

“This summer, I'm a yes man,” the 28-year-old star of Southern Hospitality says. She’s answered our call on FaceTime like we are old friends, relaxing on her couch during a rare chill day at home. “I think we all need to harness that energy. I want to say yes to everything. If an opportunity presents itself, and even if it doesn't feel like my vibe, I'm gonna say yes. So far, it has really been working out for me.”

A lot has been working out for Alario recently. After spending three years as a memorable side character on the Southern Charm spinoff, Alario feels she came into her own during the most recent fourth season, which finished airing in June. “I think my story was really good,” she says of her arc on the show. “I think breaking up with my boyfriend was really relatable.”

In the second episode, Alario announced to her shocked friends that she and her long-term partner, Troy Radtke, had split over his resistance to commit to moving to South Carolina. The breakup was hard, especially because Alario admits she thought she’d marry Radtke someday. Ultimately, she knew she had to stand her ground. “It was tough to live in it, but I couldn't be prouder for setting that boundary within my relationship and following it and staying true to myself,” she says.

Alario then embarked on what would be her breakout year, both on camera and off. She bounced in and out of an entanglement with co-star Justin Assad, which turned into a brief love triangle with Jordyn Smith (Alario’s called the fling a “nice little distraction”). She battled with co-star Lake Rucker, who called Alario a “mean girl” and “not a girl’s girl.” But when people try to come for her, Alario just rolls her eyes.

“People come on these shows like, ‘OK, I have to be in my Housewife era,’” she says. “The thing is, like, you're not that quick in real life. You would never be that quick. They want to attack somebody, and it just ends up flopping every single time.” (Alario’s comment section is proof she stays winning in viewers’ eyes. “You won the reunion,” one person said on TikTok. “They could never make me hate you,” said another.)

You don't have to be this catty, loud person on TV to make it work.

On Southern Hospitality, Alario has always been more of a solid, steady presence than a scene-stealing table-flipper. When her friend and now-castmate TJ Dinch first asked her if she’d consider doing the show in 2022, she had a full-time corporate job in finance. The idea of working at Republic, the club at the center of the show owned by Southern Charm alum Leva Bonaparte, didn’t exactly appeal. “I'm not wearing a miniskirt and a bra and holding out bottles at 2 a.m.,” she told him.

Her parents ultimately encouraged her to give the show a chance, telling her, “Your personality is not meant to be behind a computer.” She said yes to filming and hosting at Republic — but no to the miniskirt. And though other, more dramatic castmates have come and gone, Alario thinks her ability to stay grounded is the secret to her successful longevity. (She hasn’t even been working at the bar since Season 2, further proof of her centrality to the plot.)

“It really shows that you don't have to be this catty, loud person on TV to make it work,” she says. “All these people come on my show, and they want people to like them, and they think Bravo fans like the mean girl. Like what? The key to succeeding on reality TV is being yourself, being transparent, and being the same person on and off camera.”

But even when Alario hasn’t gone looking for drama, she’s somehow ended up in it. After Summer House stars Amanda Batula and West Wilson shocked fans in the spring by announcing they were together, Alario’s name got dragged into the mess when it came out she’d also hooked up with Wilson towards the end of 2025. Being a part of the biggest Bravo drama since Scandoval was “crazy,” she says, but adds that she always knew her dalliance with Wilson was a fun rebound, not something to get worked up about.

It's really easy to keep myself accountable when I can watch it back on Peacock.

“It was a nice, little ‘forget my ex-boyfriend’ moment, right?” she says. “He was aware of what it was. I was aware of what it was.” She’s not surprised Wilson was caught having more than one situationship, though she is a bit shocked by the Bravo fans’ reactions. “He's a f*ckboy,” she says. “Why is everybody getting mad at a shark biting somebody in the ocean? It's crazy.”

Alario’s more focused on her future. Though the cast hasn’t got word yet on whether Southern Hospitality will be back for a fifth season, she’s open to dipping her toe in other reality TV waters (hey, Bachelorette producers, give her a call). She’s also down for competition shows like The Traitors, but there’s one popular reality contest she’s not interested in at all. “Everyone's like, ‘Mia, go on Love Island,’” she says. “I'm like, ‘And make out with 16 people? Are you jerking me? That's disgusting.’ I still have a little Southern in me. I'm not doing all that.”

She and her Southern Hospitality co-star Molly Moore are currently working on plans for a pop culture podcast (“We're gonna yap,” she says), and she hopes to one day parlay that experience into more hosting gigs. She’ll also be at Bravo Fan Fest in October with her fellow Charleston Bravolebs. When she reflects on how her life has changed since she chose herself and left her ex, Alario credits her role on the show.

“You will find somebody by not lowering your standards and keeping yourself accountable,” she says. “It's really easy to keep myself accountable when I can watch it back on Peacock.”

Now, she’s focused on making the most of her single era. So far, so good. “I’m doing things that make me happy, and I've surrounded myself with people that are just happy that I'm happy,” she says. “I think that's the hack for it. I've kept people in my circle that I trust and I love, and that love me back. So, I think that really says a lot about my future.”