THERE ARE comeback stories, AND THEN THERE IS Ariana Madix.

In just a few years, Madix has transformed one of reality TV’s most public heartbreaks into a full-blown career renaissance. After becoming the breakout star of Vanderpump Rules, she turned a tabloid-fueled chapter into a launchpad—landing a bestselling cocktail book, a standout run on Dancing with the Stars, a scene-stealing stint as Roxie Hart in Chicago, and her dream role as host of Love Island USA. It’s the kind of reinvention that feels less like a pivot and more like a power move.

But as Madix tells it, her success is rooted in something simpler: refusing to let anyone put “just” in front of her name. She’s never wanted to be “just” a reality star, “just” a host, or “just” one thing. Make no mistake: Ariana Madix is every bit the main character. Read more about Ariana Madix’s journey in the C&C 100 interview below.

What was your ambition when you started the show, and did you ever think in your wildest dreams it would get as big as it did?

I think... no, I don't think I would have thought because I feel as though you go into something and, you know, I was very hesitant because the culture and the climate around doing reality TV back then was very different, especially for someone like me. I want to do everything right. So I hate being limited to one category or if someone, which was common at the time, would say, "Well, you're just a reality star. You're just this." I don't like the "just" of it all.

So for me, I did have some hesitation and it was my acting teacher who told me to go for it, you know, and really just see what comes of it. And I don't think anyone on the show could have ever imagined what it would have gotten to because at the time there was just really nothing, there's no blueprint really. Like Vanderpump Rules really is the blueprint.

Talk to us about that transition.

Well, I'm a huge Love Island fan, as most people know, and I am so lucky to be able to make a living now being part of one of my favorite shows of all time, really. And the Love Island fandom has been so incredible in welcoming me and supporting the show and making the fan edits and making the memes.

And you see how amazing all of these former Islanders are doing. They're taking over the world. I feel like they're right where they belong, you know, because I feel like they're all such amazing personalities and I'm glued. I want to keep watching.

What do you attribute that to?

Honestly, I think it's the day in and day out of getting to watch them in the villa. With traditional, the way traditionally shot reality shows are, you have a scene where you and I show up to lunch and it's a couple hours of us talking about stuff that's very prevalent specifically to this moment, specifically to the cast or to whatever the drama or the storyline is that's going on.

Whereas when you're watching them in the villa, it's 24 hours a day. You get to see them goof around. You get to see them fall in love. You get to see them make new friends. You get to see them really all in such a more, I think, three-dimensional way than you would on a traditionally shot reality show. And so, of course, you fall in love with them because how could you not?

So you mentioned you don't like "just." And so now you've really been a reality star, now a host, a creator, all sorts of things. What's your next big thing?

Oh, I would love to continue in the scripted TV journey that I'm on. I think, for me, it feels a little bit like going home in a way because, you know, in the very, very beginning when I was auditioning all the time and going out for these co-star and guest star roles, I dreamed of one day being on a scripted TV show.

So I think that's definitely something I want to continue to do. And I want to continue to be multi-hyphenate. I want to continue to broaden the horizons of what it means to be a woman in the entertainment industry.

Being in the entertainment industry now for quite a bit, what have you learned along the way? What have been some of your biggest lessons?

Oh my gosh. I think it depends on what avenue, right? So definitely I’ve learned different things depending on what it is.

Let's start personally.

Personally, I think that it's important to protect your peace.

I think that even if you are someone—which I'm not, because I'm not very good at it—if you are someone that's, you know, a creator and you're putting a lot of your personal life out there, I think there's always a line, right, of what people are entitled to, what they get from you.

Because if you don't protect certain parts of your heart, certain parts of your life, you know, it almost feels like you're owned by everybody else.

So from a business perspective, what were some of the biggest learnings?

Biggest learnings business-wise, I think, is not to be afraid to ask for help. I think I've in the past had a tendency to think I need to do everything myself. And I'm not an expert at most things. And I think what's important is to be able to look around and say, you know, who do I want to bring on and who would I want to collaborate with? Who is an expert at whatever that is?

Because I think that's what's going to, you know, move everything forward.

And with Create & Cultivate 100, we're honoring women. Has there been a woman in your life that has expanded your career journey or changed your path?

Many women in my life, actually. I would say, you know, my manager is a man, but everyone else on my team is a woman and they're all the absolute best, from my publicist, who is one of my favorite people on this planet, to my agents as well.

And I think that they've all, in so many ways, really changed my life because they've believed in me and they've seen a trajectory and a journey and a, you know, pie in the sky for me and have really helped me to navigate what it means to get to those goals. Because I'm a very ambitious person, but I'm not always the best at figuring out how to get to that ambition.