Ariana Madix Reveals Which Love Island USA Season 7 Star Was Secretly Her ‘Favorite’ from Day 1 (Exclusive)

The host tells PEOPLE why the gig is her “dream job” and is “better” suited to her compared to ‘Vanderpump Rul

Ariana Madix is finally ready to spill the tea on Love Island USA season 7.

The Bravo star, 40, has hosted the Peacock hit series for the last two years and is already back in Fiji for season 8, which premieres on June 2.

Madix tells PEOPLE that hosting the dating reality series is “my dream job,” but it’s not without its challenges. “The worst thing is just being so far away from home,” she says. “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.”

After over a decade on Vanderpump Rules, the real-time nature of Love Island is another thing she loves, as the show airs within days of filming, all summer long.

“I feel like there’s less time to worry,” Madix says. “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.”

Ariana Madix hosts ‘Love Island USA’ season 7.Kim Nunneley/Peacock

It’s impossible to talk about Love Island USA season 7 — or maybe the franchise at all — without addressing the massive success Olandria Carthen has had since leaving the Fiji villa last July.

“I mean, I could’ve told you that was gonna happen. The girl’s a star,” Madix says of Carthen, who was the runner-up with Nic Vansteenberghe. “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 continues, “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 told 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.”

Ariana Madix hosts ‘Love Island USA’ season 7.Ben Symons/Peacock via Getty

She also shared her best tips for the upcoming season 8 contestants. “It sounds cliché, but be yourself because being yourself is what made the people who make the show fall in love with you, and that’s what’s gonna make the audience fall in love with you,” she said.

“It’s what’s gonna make the Islander that you have a crush on fall in love with you. Being authentic and vulnerable and showing yourself is really the best thing you can do in that situation.”

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