Manny MUA Reveals Which ‘Surreal Life’ Cast Members Made Him ‘Starstruck’ & ‘Nervous’ (Exclusive)

Manny MUA is one of the eight celebs to join the reboot of VH1’s ‘The Surreal Life.’ He spoke to HL about the experience & how he fit into the ‘messy’ house!

Ring, ring, 2003 is calling! The Surreal Life returns to TV tonight, October 24th, with an all-new cast of celebrities, nearly 20 years after the show first premiered. The new season will star Dennis Rodman, CJ Perry, Frankie Muniz, Stormy Daniels, Tamar Braxton, August Alsina, Kim Coles and Manny MUA, living in the same house for several weeks as the cameras roll. “I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into,” Manny admitted in an EXCLUSIVE interview with HollywoodLife.com. “I wanted to be able to make my own connections and my own pathways, and feel uncomfortable, but go with it because it’s kind of part of the process. I feel like that’s when the magic happens.”

Speaking of feeling uncomfortable, Manny recalled to HL one of the cast members who he was most excited to see walk through the door! “When Frankie Muniz got there, I immediately shot up and walked up to say hi,” Manny laughed. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, I grew up watching Malcolm in the Middle,’ So when I saw him there, I was like, ‘you’re gonna be my bestie, just wait.” The Lunar Beauty founder added that he also fan-girled over Tamar Braxton, who he called “so beautiful, so powerful, so amazing.” One person Manny said that made him ‘nervous’ when he entered the house was none other than former NBA star Dennis Rodman.

“I recognized him, but I didn’t know him and when he first came in, he didn’t have the friendliest energy,” Manny remembered. “I was like, ‘How was he going to be here?’ Like, if the energy was already off in the beginning, what am I going to do for three weeks in this house? So I was a little nervous meeting Dennis, but, as you’ll see in the show things ebb and flow and my the nerves calm down.”

Manny went on to tell HL that he, himself, “went into the house very uncomfortable” and “very unsure” of himself, but “through the journey on the show” he hopes fans see him “change.” “I started to realize I belong with these people. Like, thank God I was there because they’re messes!” he laughed. “I really hope people see, though, that if you just apply yourself, even if you’re nervous about something, great things can happen from that.”

He continued, “I didn’t want to do it at the beginning, but I was like, ‘You know what, I can do this, I just have to put my mind to it and be open to experiences.’ That’s when you’re the most susceptible to positive growth, so that’s what I hope people get from — that I did learn a lot about myself in situations that I’m not the most comfortable in.”

In addition to the show’s season premiere tonight, Oct. 24th at 9 PM ET, Manny’s Lunar Beauty came out with its Outer Dimension collection and Advent Calendar! The cruelty-free cosmetics are a must-have for this holiday season, along with a listen to his podcast with his bestie Laura Lee, Fool Coverage. “It’s so fun to just have that dynamic with your best friend to be able to talk openly about everything going on in the world of social media and life in general,” Manny explained. “It’s a really fun outlet for me.”