Ciara Miller is the definition of “booked and busy.” When we connect on a sunny Friday afternoon, she’s in New York City prepping to spend nearly five weeks in Fiji hosting the Love Island aftershow, Aftersun, alongside Tefi Passoa. After that, she might be returning to the Hamptons for the 11th season of Summer House. And then she’s appearing on Dancing with the Stars, all while helping renovate her grandparents’ home in North Carolina.

Miller, who joined the Summer House cast during season five in 2021 while working as a traveling nurse during the pandemic, is also the face of Nexxus’s new campaign, titled “Claim Your Space.” It's all about confidence, presence—and the power of texture spray. The timing couldn’t be better for the nurse-turned-model-turned-reality-TV-star-turned-host, who has a profusion of eyes on her at this very moment. “I feel like [the campaign] is such a representation of this next chapter and who I am right now,” Miller shares. “For Black women, our hair is like our crown… Being unapologetically you and being able to walk in a room and take up that space as a woman is so important.”

If you’re even remotely familiar with the Bravo universe, you probably know that Miller is at the center of a scandal involving two fellow castmates. If not, a quick primer: Miller’s ex, West Wilson, recently began a relationship with her (now former) very close friend, Amanda Batula, who is currently in the process of divorcing another castmate, Kyle Cooke. The fallout took place during the three-part Summer House reunion, which aired its final segment on June 9, and Miller says that even though the process was “cathartic,” she’s “excited to close the door” on everything and move onwards and upwards.

For the reunion taping, Miller paired her two-piece Di Petsa dress with a deep burgundy red hair color—something she said felt “symbolic” given the increased attention to her personal life. “I don't experiment with my hair color a lot,” she explains. “The red was like, ‘She's on fire.’ It was symbolic, but I also wanted to try something new. My dress was a bit more muted so I wanted my glam to really be able to speak for itself.”

Miller has previously said that her “word of the year” for 2026 was “community”—a choice that has been particularly resonant given the support she has received since news of Wilson and Batula’s romance became public. “When I was making [community] my word of the year, I didn’t know just how much I would really need to lean on that,” she explains. “But going into this next era… I’m in my ‘F*ck it, f*ck you’ era of ‘I am me. I’m being myself. I’m taking up space with my hair, but also in my presence.’ When I'm walking into the room, it’s understanding that I deserve to be here. I'm grateful and I don't take any of this for granted, but I'm also where I'm supposed to be.”