Ariana Madix "always wanted" to do theatre before finding fame on reality television

Speaking to Broadway legend and former 'Wicked' star Kristin Chenoweth for Interview magazine, she said: "Melbourne is a town that butts up against other towns, so it all kind of blends together. I feel like there's like 700,000 [people] or so. So I wouldn't say it's small, but it's certainly the kind of place where you meet people and you're like, 'What high school did you go to?'

"For us, Orlando was kind of like the big city. Like, they had the good mall. So growing up, I danced as a little kid, as many of us did. Then I started riding horses and that became my love, but I always wanted to do theatre. I did theatreas a kid in junior high, elementary school, high school, and onward into college. It's funny, actually, because your director, Michael thatre... I did 'Once on This Island' in high school, and that's one of his shows."

"I was not going to be in 'A Chorus Line'. I don't have legs for days. So I tried to make that happen, but I had to survive. So living in New York is when I learned how to bartend, and that's how I was surviving. I was just hustling and I had a million different jobs. I was promoting cigarettes, I was go-go dancing in Meatpacking at clubs, I was doing sketch comedy videos for websites.

Ariana explained that she was doing "whatever she could" to make a living in the Big Apple before moving across the country to try to make it in television and "freaked out"when she was eventually given the chance to tread the boards.

She said: I was doing whatever I could to make money while also, in my mind, trying to be like, 'You're an actor, you want to perform'.

"So eventually, I moved to L.A. with the dream that I would get some TV credits. If I really, really gave it a shot, and I really, really committed myself to L.A., maybe I would be able to come back to New York one day and make my theatre dreams happen. So when the call came that there was interest, well, first of all, I cried. I freaked out. And then I just thought, "I have to give this my all because this is the moment where I can show them that I can do this."