Joining a show like Summer House at any point comes with its own challenges, but stepping in during its 10th season means entering a house where relationships, tensions and friendships have been building for years.
Mia Calabrese enters the Bravo series with a unique connection as a close friend of Ciara Miller, giving her a personal link to the group while still experiencing much of the house for the first time. Notably, she chose not to watch the show beforehand, allowing her to form opinions about her castmates in real time. Throughout the season, that perspective shapes how she navigates the house—including her initial perception of West Wilson, given what she knew about his history with Ciara.
In a conversation with Blavity’s Shadow and Act, Calabrese discusses joining the show at a pivotal moment, how she approached fitting into an established group, what it was like entering with knowledge of Ciara and West’s relationship, and what viewers can expect as the season continues.
By being a new cast member on a show that is so long-running, as we’re in the landmark 10th season of the show, what did it mean to join this show in this capacity while the show is kind of at a point where there’s another spinoff coming, it’s a lot of change, and the show’s showing its longevity right now? What did it mean for you to join at this specific point in time?
I was incredibly grateful to have the opportunity. These people have been friends for years, and they’re real friends. They’re in the house together every summer. They have established relationships within each other as a group. And I was just incredibly grateful that they welcomed me to the house.
I think that also it’s hard sometimes to navigate when there are, like you said, preexisting relationships going in. So how did you even try to navigate being amongst the group [and] new to the group? And given how you fit in, did you envision that would be the way that you fit into the space?
So, I’m an extrovert. If I walk into a space, I’m going to talk to everyone, say hello and introduce myself no matter what. I believe life is short and it’s meant to be lived, and you should have as much fun and meet as many interesting people that you possibly can. Me and Ciara are best friends, so I knew everyone’s a good person, everyone’s cool. So I’m like, “I’m just going to introduce myself to everyone, be myself, try and have fun, and connect with them.” And I felt like it felt very natural. It wasn’t forced at all. It was just like I was just being myself.
Of course, you’re friends with Ciara, but I know a lot of people on reality TV, when they have friends, a lot of their friends don’t necessarily watch them on TV. They just know the person outside of the show context. For you, because Summer House has been on so long, had you watched the show, or did you know a lot about it before hopping into it? What did that aspect look like for you?
So this is very embarrassing. So I didn’t watch Summer House because Ciara is my friend. And out of respect to her, it was like, she doesn’t want me to watch that. That’s so weird. So I just didn’t really watch it because I’m like, that’s Ciara’s space. She doesn’t love talking about Summer House. We’re real friends. So we have our relationship totally separate outside of Summer House. So to me, it was just like that’s Ciara’s world. And we’re not going to talk about Summer House. I’m not going to watch it. It was more of a respect thing. You’re my friend. I don’t know what’s going on on that show, and I don’t know if you want me to see it. So I just didn’t really watch it.
But I think that’s what made this experience even more funny, because I didn’t really know people’s personalities and dynamics. It was just like I was really meeting people for the first time. And I’m so thankful that I did that because I think if I was a huge Summer House fan before, I would have these preexisting ideas of everyone. Whereas now I’m just walking in and meeting people as people, not as what they did in season four, seven, or something.
You probably wouldn’t have a lot of preconceived notions about most of the people, but considering West and Ciara, did you have any sort of preconceived notions about him, given the dynamic of their relationship? And just as far as we are in the season right now, what do you make of how their friendship is kind of playing out on screen?
Well, I think, of course, I had an idea of who West was before because Ciara and I have been friends for a long time, and so I knew how their relationship started, built, and ended. I remember when she first met Wes, and she was like, “I really like this guy, he’s cute.” I’m like, “Tell me everything.” So I knew him, I knew their relationship outside of Summer House. And of course, because I’m so close to Ciara, when I first came into the house, I was a bit standoffish to West at first, just because of what I had heard over the years. But I realized that he’s actually a really good person, and he’s very kind, and he’s charismatic, and he’s caring, and he has a lot of great qualities about him. And so that went out the window quite quickly. I’m like, “Oh, you’re a good guy.” He’s not a bad person at all.
A lot of people believe that this show thrives on the fact that a lot of the people in the house are single, but I think some of that has changed the perception, as we’ve seen so many of the cast members grow, mature, and change over the years. For you, how did you navigate that being kind of an archetype on the show by coming in by not being single?
That’s a great question. I think whenever I’m in a relationship with a man, I don’t lose who I am just because I’m in a relationship. So I’m not going to not talk to men or not have fun, I’m not going to do all of those things just because I have a boyfriend. That’s terrible. And I wouldn’t want to be in a relationship like that at all anyway. And I think that happens sometimes with women. We get in relationships and we feel like we can’t have fun anymore, everything has to be about him, we have to do everything together. I don’t like that. I still want to be myself, and I still want to enjoy life and have fun and meet new people and have new experiences. So to me, it felt very natural. I’m like, “Yeah, no, I’m not going to sleep with anyone on this show or I’m not going to do anything inappropriate, but we can still be friends,” which we were. And I think it’s healthy to have friends of the opposite sex. There’s nothing wrong with that.
You’re coming onto the show, I think, in a time where I do think a lot of reality shows, a lot of our classic reality shows have kind of tried to be more candid about the discussions of race and privilege and things like that. So one, what was it like to see all of the nice words and feedback that people had about a moment like this happening on Summer House, and what did you appreciate the most about being able to participate in a dialogue that not only for the fans and the audience, but for the people who were at the table at the same time?
Yeah, I think I was so grateful that my castmates and housemates were receptive to that conversation, and I applaud them. And I think that topic can be difficult at times because it could be awkward and it’s uncomfortable sometimes to have with people that don’t look like you. And I’m so grateful that everyone just listened, and they didn’t interject, and they didn’t try and diminish our feelings, and they just listened. And it was really beautiful.
Also, what can we expect from not only the rest of the season, but also some of what we’ll see of you in the rest of this season?
There was so much that went on at the midpoint of the summer. It’s a lot of fun. There’s a lot of highs. It’s like, this is exciting, we’re having so much fun, and it was great energy, great vibes. There’s a lot of drama, but overall, it’s very fun. And I think viewers are going to really enjoy watching it.
For me, I become very vulnerable and have really personal conversations that I typically wouldn’t have because I felt safe enough to. And I think the viewers are going to get to know me on a much deeper level.
Summer House airs weekly on Tuesdays on Bravo.