Ariana Madix is feeling grateful after hosting Love Island USA!
The Vanderpump Rules star, 39, reminisced about her first season hosting the Peacock series in an Instagram post on Monday, July 22, one day after the season 6 finale, where Serena Page and Kordell Beckham were crowned the winners.
“Thank you to everyone at @loveislandusa for everything you do to bring this show to life from the art department to the music to being in my ear every night 🥰,” she wrote about her time on set in Fiji.
Madix, also a Love Island superfan, then thanked the cast: “Thank you to these islanders who gave us magic.”
In the Instagram post, Madix posed beside the winners, runner-up couple Miguel Harichi and Leah Kateb, third-place couple JaNa Craig and Kenny Rodriguez, and fourth-place couple Kendall Washington and Nicole Jacky.
“Each one of you is so important to what made this season so special and you are all amazing. 💖,” she concluded. “I know we are all missing you guys already!”
Madix beamed widely beside the group of eight as they all joined together soaking wet after jumping into the villa pool together to celebrate the season's conclusion.
The Bravo star described her past six weeks hosting the series in Fiji as a summer that “was truly something special.”
Her post follows the July 21 finale, which crowned season favorites Serena and Kordell as the winners and recipients of the $100,000 cash prize.
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She also exclusively told PEOPLE that "hosting this season has been absolutely amazing."
"Even from the very first night, it felt magical, and it felt like the energy was just on fire," she explained. She noted that she would have loved to see more of the Islanders' conversations throughout the series, adding that's when she got to know the cast. "It's like you can't show everything, of course. But in the mom -
ent, I really enjoyed those chats and I enjoyed getting to know them in those moments."
"Especially the first night, you could see who was making eye contact across the way from each other and stuff like that," she said. "So I really enjoy that stuff. So, if I had an extended director's cut of the episode, I would make those parts longer.
While Madix spent the past six weeks in Fiji, she’s now headed back to Broadway. PEOPLE exclusively announced in May that Madix will reprise her role as murderous adulteress Roxie Hart in the Tony-winning revival, Chicago, beginning Aug. 1 through Sept. 1.
In a recent interview with PEOPLE, she revealed that while in the villa she was preparing for her August return to the Broadway musical. Madix told PEOPLE that she hadn’t "really had time to rehearse," but she was able to warm up her musical tricks while in the South Pacific country.
"I have been doing my vocal warmups that my voice coach has sent and I did, yesterday in the gym at the hotel, start doing a 'Hot Honey Rag' in the mirror," she continued, referring to the big Fosse-inspired dance sequence at the end of the musical. "But I was nervous that people would walk in! 'I wonder what's going on with this crazy lady?' "
She added that she’ll only have "two days to rehearse" before going onstage, but she has been readying her dance moves because she doesn’t want to "scare" anyone.
Her Broadway return follows her January debut in the show, which ran for 10 weeks and broke box office records.
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Tickets for Chicago are on sale now at chicagothemusical.com.
A Love Island USA reunion episode — hosted by Madix — will premiere on Peacock on Aug. 14.
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