Madeline Argy Interview

As usual, Mondays mark my latest catch-up with Madeline Argy. While they usually consist of locking myself in my bedroom – earphones in – and laughing into thin air (or having an existential crisis), tonight is different. Not only because I have not yet streamed the first episode of “Pretty Lonesome”’s second season, but because I have a call with the host herself…and I’m an hour late. 

A lot has changed in Madeline’s life since she first got into her Vauxhall Astra with a microphone and camera in September of last year. She’s recorded 50 (and counting) podcast episodes, branded “Pretty Lonesome” and – as of two weeks ago – packed up her entire London life and moved to LA. In the last 14 days, she made her first big purchase (a safety-defying Ford 1969 pick-up truck), has recorded a brand-new segment of her podcast and was styled by Chanel and Chanel Beauty for her Rollacoaster cover shoot on 6th St.

Despite London’s daylight savings messing with her new LA schedule (and our interview), we finally connect face to face…something Madeline confesses isn’t necessarily her forte. Before the term “influencer” was penned – and while YouTube was only the destination for music videos – a 13-year-old Madeline had always felt most comfortable sharing her thoughts and feelings to a camera. When she downloaded TikTok and decided to make her camera-convos public in late 2021, she became known for it. The only difference? Now, the world was listening. 

Perhaps it’s thanks to her uninhibited nature (from bad breakups, mental health struggles, to identity crises, nothing is off-limits) that has garnered such a large viewership. Or, it could be the unanswerable questions she poses to the nation—after all, how are we supposed to know what DJs actually do? But, when you listen between the lines, Madeline’s success lies in normalcy. Something the 24-year-old content creator is set on claiming back. 

Much of Madeline’s journey thus far has been completely unintentional. The trajectory is something she finds difficult to explain. But there’s one thing Madeline won’t let go of: staying true to herself. As with every public figure bestowed with virality, she’s been swept off her feet. She’s snapped at Fashion Weeks and shows around the world, called upon for every podcast going and her personal life is privy to intense consumption. But now, she’s turning back the clock. 

She can’t help the unexpected turn her life has taken or the loss of fulfilment she initially felt from it – nor would she reverse it if she could, she assures – but Madeline recently had to make a decision: “It was either stop doing it altogether or really DO it.” Evidently, she chose the latter—and boy, did she commit. Back in her (new) old car, Madeline is learning to embrace her new world; bigger, better and more honest than ever before. Maybe being “Pretty Lonesome” isn’t so bad, after all. 

ELLA WEST: When did you first realise content creators could be a real thing? Tell me about when you first went “viral”…

MADELINE ARGY: I remember when I first had a video blow up, I think it was around late 2021—maybe early 2022. It was really weird, all my friends were texting me about it and it was just a funny moment between us all—I didn’t really think anything of it. And then I think when I realised it could become a real thing was when I’d had three videos that had done the same thing. Every time I’d speak it would kind of happen. I never used to speak because I thought it was so weird to do on the internet, so I wouldn’t make many of them. The time difference between the first and third viral videos was probably six months. So once I’d had that I thought it was pretty cool. 

ELLA: So you didn’t have any trepidations about going “viral”? 

MADELINE: It definitely was a very weird concept and I was at university at the time so was like, “God forbid anyone sees this” because I didn’t have many friends in my classes. If I had to walk into class when everyone had seen it it would have been so embarrassing. I guess it couldn’t have been that stressful or scary because I kept doing it. Then I finished university July of that year so it wasn’t an issue—I didn’t need to worry about what people thought anymore. 

ELLA: So now you’re out of that environment, I wonder how you would define yourself. When someone asks you what you do for work, what do you say? 

MADELINE: I usually say content creator…I feel like “influencer” has a lot of connotations, I feel like you can create content without influencing anyone. It always made me feel a bit weird to say I was an influencer because I thought it would come across like I was patting myself on the back. Like, “Yeah [flicks hair], I influence people.” So content creator feels better to me…I do create content. 

ELLA: And relatable content at that. Your TikToks come across very unfiltered and unbothered…do you ever watch them back and think, “Did I actually say that?” Or do you just post whatever feels right? 

MADELINE: I tend to look back at videos from a year ago and think, “Wow, my demeanour was so different.” Like wow, I really used to scream into the camera a lot. Sometimes I surprise myself. But usually, I’m pretty quick to know if I don’t want to say something or speak on something—so I just won’t post it. 

ELLA: So you don’t cringe yourself out? 

MADELINE: Oh no, I do. I really do. But I’ve had to get over the “cringe” thing, though. It seems stupid to care so much about that.

ELLA: It must be cool to have that chronology of your life and how you’ve changed documented in video form…

MADELINE: Exactly, I’m still grateful they’re there and I never regret posting them. Sometimes, I’m just very affronted by the screaming 22 year old version of myself. 

ELLA: And what was teenage Madeline like? How does it compare to who you are now? 

MADELINE: I’ve definitely been the same, almost to an uncomfortable extent. I recently found an old camera in my room and I was going through the memory card and it’s literally 13 year old me talking to this camera explaining all of these things about my life. I don’t remember filming it, it wasn’t for YouTube or anything like that, I was literally filming it for myself—almost like a journal. I’m not even kidding you, I could have filmed that video today and it wouldn’t have changed in terms of the stuff I was saying. Obviously, my viewpoint on the world was different, but the air in which I was talking was the exact same as how I am now. It was very honest, very open, and though it wasn’t going to an audience I was just impressed…like, I didn’t know I knew or felt all that at that age. I guess that’s fortunate or unfortunate depending on how you look at it. 

ELLA: Do you think you’re more comfortable speaking to a camera or are you just as comfortable speaking to an audience, then? 

MADELINE: No. It only works if no-one is there. For a time, I tried to bring on a producer for “Pretty Lonesome” that would sit in the room with me to make sure things were going good, and I think it lasted for about four episodes because I thought, “I can’t talk about any of this stuff with people listening.” It’s weird because I know people are eventually going to listen anyway, but I can’t do it…

ELLA: I get that, you’re able to pretend the audience isn’t there when you can’t see them.

MADELINE: I don’t know if you have this, but I have these discussions in my own head about things that make me sad, or I write about it, but then the moment I tell a friend or a therapist I start balling my eyes out…

ELLA: YES! What star sign are you? 

MADELINE: Cancer. What about you? 

ELLA: Pisces. We’re both water signs… My brother is a Cancer.

MADELINE: My sister’s a Pisces!

ELLA: We’re all cryers here. Speaking of emotions, if your life had a soundtrack, which would you choose to encapsulate who you are? 

MADELINE: Oof. I really like the Marley & Me soundtrack. I used to listen to it on Spotify all the time. There’s a really good mixture of really sad and really happy tracks.

ELLA: I love that. So we’ve spoken about the intimacy of you speaking to a camera and that that is where you’re most comfortable. Do you think your followers or listeners know the “real” you?

MADELINE: Yeah, straight up. 

ELLA: Is that freeing? Are you conscious of that when you go about day-to-day life? 

MADELINE: I think it’s slightly strange, especially when I’m confronted with it. Like if someone comes up to me and says, “I listened to your podcast”, we all of a sudden get into a very intense conversation because they have things they want to tell me. It’s never bad, I never feel uncomfortable that people know those things about me. The only time it’s a bit weird is when I’m in a professional setting and someone tells me they’ve watched my podcast and I’m like… “Oh, I don’t know how to react to that.” Sometimes you want a clean slate with a person and you don’t want them to know everything about you. It means you can’t put on a facade and pretend to be a totally different person—I can’t do that anymore. Whenever I try to do that now my brain is screaming “SHIT” because deep down I know they probably already know these details about me. It can be annoying at times, but I don’t find it intimidating.

ELLA: I can imagine that would be scary but I feel like authenticity is very important to you—

MADELINE: —Yes, very—

ELLA: —What, then, inspired the inception of your podcast? 

MADELINE: I don’t know. Initially, I just wanted to try my hand at it. I had so much to say and it didn’t feel daunting because I wasn’t viewing it as a proper project. It was just me sat in front of a microphone, it wasn’t even called “Pretty Lonesome” at the time. After a while, the network came on board and it became more of a brand. Nothing really inspired it, and I think that’s why it worked for me. I didn’t know what I was about to embark on, if I had, it would have felt a lot harder and scarier. 

ELLA: Do you have a process that decides what you talk about? When you’re going about your life, do you know when you will address a particular experience in an episode? 

MADELINE: Usually, it’s week by week—thing’s just happen or come up in my life. I’ll have interesting conversations with my friends—and we really get into things when we talk, and I love to reiterate them to dive into it more. So it’s more of a play-by-play of whatever I am interested in or confused about or learning about. 

ELLA: Do you have a highlight of your podcasting journey so far? 

MADELINE: Sometimes I look back at older episodes and think, “I want to go back there so bad.” It marks my favourite era of my life where I was still in my old car. I can tell it was Winter outside and I’ve got my coffee and I just know I was having a great day. So far, I really miss that phase and I want to return to it as much as I can. 

ELLA: That’s what I wanted to ask you about. Seeing as the first season had such organic origins, did your approach change at all with making season two? 

MADELINE: Yes. My approach definitely changed. It started so authentic and slowly became something that intimidated me—and I think people could see that. I revoked some of my authenticity because I became intimidated by the amount of people tuning in and how much my life had changed in general. I lost my bearings and didn’t want to put myself out there as much anymore. I wasn’t a happy version of myself. But I’ve changed and figured some things out, so for season two I wanted to pull myself back into it. It was either stop doing it altogether or really DO it. I needed to get out of the middle space. So filming season two, I wanted to make sure I could be authentic and be fulfilled by it—which is why I bought this stupid Ford 1969 250 in my driveway right now. That was my big purchase for season two because I always felt so at home in my old car. At the time, it wasn’t something I purchased because it was old—it was just my car. But I loved it, and when I had a new car it just didn’t feel the same to me. So that’s why I wanted to buy a fun version of an old car…it was my way of returning to my roots. I also have a new segment which is coming out next week (at the time of this call), and that was definitely scary. It’s scary to have something new to the usual “Pretty Lonesome”, but it’s good because I have a bit of both happening at the same time—the old and the new, which is exciting. I’m not in the same position I was in when I initially started the podcast, so I want to make something of that. Bringing in the new segment is a way to get a little more information about the things I like to talk about. 

ELLA: Did you face any particular challenges with introducing/preparing for the new segment? What can you tell us about it? 

MADELINE: With the car segment that’s been around since the podcast started, I never felt like I had to prepare for it. I’d just get in my car and talk about my life. The new segment involves me interviewing people that know more than me about the questions that I have or the things that I can’t get my head around. In terms of preparing for that, I had to psych myself up a lot that I could do it. Especially bringing someone new onto the “Pretty Lonesome” team, it has just been me from the start, but it’s nice to have someone on board to help me produce the segment and make it more of a show and make sure that I’m asking the right questions and making good use of their time. 

ELLA: I feel that every day, it’s a lot harder than people think. 

MADELINE: Yeah, right? 

ELLA: I do think it helps you talk to people, you learn to ask more questions and really listen to others. 

MADELINE: That’s a great skill. I suck at asking questions. Like, “I know what I want to know. But does anyone else give a fuck about this question? Where’s the line?” I’m definitely on a learning curve with it. I just shot the first episode of it last week so I’m very excited by it, I like learning new things. 

ELLA: Has recording the podcast changed your perspective in terms of how you live your day-to-day life? 

MADELINE: Yeah, forcing yourself to sit down and almost review yourself once a week is a weird thing to do. It’s really nice to document yourself in that way. If no-one ever watches it, it’s just nice to have. You can watch it back and see how far you’ve come. I find videos of me from a year ago talking about what I’m sad or happy about and I’m like, “I really needed to see that, because that’s not how I feel right now.” It helps me check myself, sometimes I feel like I need to regress back to how I used to think. It’s not always the case though, sometimes I’m like, “Woah, she was insane.” [Laughs.] 

ELLA: I can relate. As much as you’re creating content for yourself, you can’t escape the attention that comes from it. How do you navigate public opinion? Have you ever felt incorrectly labelled or put into a “wrong” box? 

MADELINE: I try not to indulge too much into what people think. It can be really addictive, it’s such an insane thing to have access to. Something I wanted all my life was like, “If I could just read people’s minds to see what people think of me, I would.” But now all I have to do is go on Reddit…and it’s not that fun. I try not to look. There’s an opinion of every shape and size—if I looked, I’m sure I’d find them. But I’m pretty grateful, I don’t feel like there’s been an overarching box or label I’ve been put into that doesn’t feel correct. You have to surrender to that if you want to do this and live this life. 

ELLA: That takes a lot of strength. You recently moved to LA…how are you finding it? 

MADELINE: Well, at the time of this chat I’ve officially been here for two weeks. Socially, it’s definitely different—but I haven’t found it difficult. I see a lot of support here, a lot of collaboration…and I’m very grateful I feel that way because it hasn’t always been the case. It can be brutal out here, but if you know what you offer and what you want to do, it’s easier to navigate. As a British person in LA, I’m not trying to do what others in LA are doing—and I don’t think they’re trying to do the same thing as me. I’m finding it fun, there’s a nice group of people out there. 

ELLA: I also need to ask about your fashion… You’ve worked and collaborated with so many designers already, and I know Chanel are very important to you. What has your journey been like working with them? From when you were younger to now being dressed by them, how has your experience of the brand evolved? 

MADELINE: I mean…I feel like Chanel has always been the kind of brand where you see them and you instantly get the little stars in your eyes. Their image is so insane and they’ve always been the most inspirational to me even before I really knew or got into fashion. I would always say they’re top of the ladder. I watched The Devil Wears Prada when I was 13 and I just fell in love with them even more—that film was the first time I really got into the high-fashion world. I’ve just been in awe of the brand but I never would have considered I would even own anything from them—that felt like a whole world away from me. The first communication between Chanel and I was when they sent me a pair of sunglasses, they got hand-delivered by a courier in this big bag with the Camellia on it—I’ve kept all of it. That was my first taste of it…I’d been wearing a fake Chanel necklace for about a year before that which I loved. 

ELLA: Was it one of the emblem charms they have on their products and you put it on a chain? 

MADELINE: Yes! I wore it non-stop. But after the sunglasses, I was like…I can’t wear this anymore. So I took it off, but I still have it. Then I started working more with Chanel Beauty too. I went to my first Chanel show last September and it was just amazing. Then I went to their Cruise show and then their September show where they went back to the iconic Chanel venue—it was mind-blowing, I’ve never been in a room like that before in my life. 

ELLA: It’s crazy when you enter their world and realise how much fashion informs everything in this industry.

MADELINE: It really does, and I feel like they try to tell us that in The Devil Wears Prada… 

ELLA: It’s the film that made me want to be a journalist—

MADELINE: —Me too! Isn’t that so weird?

ELLA: Especially when the whole premise is that Andrea ruins her life by pursuing it…

MADELINE: Watching that film back now I feel like her boyfriend was evil—but they made him out to be the good guy. 

ELLA: He was trash. Offline, when you put your phone down, how do you keep your sanity? 

MADELINE: I watch a lot of cartoons, I wish I could say I have a hobby, but I don’t. I’ve watched Big Mouth about 7,000 times. I also just talk a lot to my friends—that makes me feel normal and reassured. 

ELLA: Are you manifesting anything for yourself right now? 

MADELINE: I definitely believe in manifesting…whatever your desires are pointing to is usually what you should be pursuing. It takes a healthy amount of manifesting and putting in the hard work. But as of right now, there’s nothing in particular. I’m just doing me.