Madelyn Rusinyak is the latest star from The Circle to become a hit internet sensation, making her way into reality TV stardom.
The Circle Season 7 focuses on a cast of players competing for popularity by communicating through a simulated social media app while never meeting in person. Competitors create profiles, become influencers, and rate each other before eliminating each other one by one in a battle for a $100,000 grand prize.
One of the 10 competing parties in Season 7 is veteran reality TV star Madelyn Rusinyak. Unlike most of her competition, Rusinyak is competing in The Circle as herself rather than crafting a unique persona as a front.
4 Things To Know About The Circle Season 7's Madelyn Rusinyak
Madelyn’s Parents Suggested She Do Reality TV
Madelyn Rusinyak is a veteran of reality TV, having taken part in Season 4 of USA's Temptation Island in 2022 as one of the show's singles. Interestingly enough, she first joined that show at the suggestion of her parents.
Speaking with The List, Rusinyak recalled her mother telling her how she would be "so great on this show" and could see her being successful if she went on it.
While she was unclear if that was a good or bad thing, she knew how outgoing and confident she was, feeling like it was a good match for her:
"I hadn't seen the show and my mom and dad liked to watch it. My mom, she was like, 'You'd be so great on this show. I could totally see you being so awesome.' I would watch the show, and I was like, 'I don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing, but ... okay, you know what? I'll try it.' I'm very outgoing, very confident. I feel like [with] this show, you have to be outgoing and confident."
Previously, Rusinyak had never imagined being part of a show like Temptation Island, even though she had always wanted to be "in a dating pool with people from different states:"
"Yes and no. I've always wanted to do something like that and be in a dating pool with people from different states, because Georgia sucks for the most part. Very country. I definitely had imagined myself doing it, but actually doing it, I kept having to be like, 'This is real life. This is not fake.' Being in Maui, looking around every morning, [I said], 'Wow, I can't believe I get to wake up to this.' It was crazy."
Madelyn Is into Yoga and the Environment
Further into her interview with The List, Rusinyak shared insight into her hobbies, telling fans about her love for yoga and the environment.
Yoga even helped Rusinyak during her time on Temptation Island, as she used it to help herself recover after so many draining experiences on the show's island locale:
"I learned that I need alone time. It's hard for me to live with 11 other girls and not ever get alone time. I also learned that I need my sleep. It was really hard to sleep there. I remember leaving. I slept. I came home and I slept for three days straight. I was so tired. Then, I was like, 'I've got to get back into yoga,' because I like to have a routine. Normally, before the island [and] after the island, I'll drink on the weekends, maybe. Sometimes every other weekend. Living there, we were drinking every single day. I was like, "I've got to take care of my body." It was rough, honestly."
She revealed that she came into that show from "teaching yoga classes six times a week" while working as a server, changing her entire schedule to something completely new for the reality series:
"Yeah, because I came from teaching yoga classes six times a week, [and] being a server. Doing yoga, I would normally go to the 5:45 a.m. or 7:00 a.m. class. I went from that to not going to bed till 3:00 a.m. sometimes."
Madelyn Is a Native Georgian
A Temptation Island profile from ScreenRant shared how Rusinyak is a Georgia native and has spent much of her time in the southeastern United States.
Originally from Carrollton, she graduated from the University of West Georgia with a Bachelor's degree in English Language and Literature. Nowadays, when she's not on TV, she manages her own yoga studio in Atlanta after officially being certified as a yogi.
She completed a 200-hour teaching certificate that allows her to teach various forms of yoga, allowing her to settle in her home state.
Who Does Madelyn Block on The Circle?
Episodes 9-12 of The Circle Season 7 saw Madelyn Rusinyak pull plenty of strings to block other competitors, eventually using her influence to block Darian Holt.
She initially plotted to block Heather Richardson ("Andy"), but later, she fabricated a story about how Richardson had come to her by throwing Holt under the bus. She used that lie to get her companions to drop his ratings drastically and send him to last place, eventually leaving him out of the competition.
With one episode left, Rusinyak now sits as the "super influencer" after becoming the highest-ranked contestant through Episode 12 (read about The Circle Season 7 spoilers here).
She now has to block somebody face-to-face, which she is not looking forward to doing when the time comes.
How to Follow Madelyn Rusinyak Online
Those looking to follow Madelyn Rusinyak online can do so through her Instagram (@mmjuicyy) and TikTok (@mmjuicyy) pages.
The first 12 episodes of The Circle Season 7 are available to stream on Netflix. Episode 13, the final entry of the season, will debut on Wednesday, October 2.
