Entertainment

This Is What Makes 'WAGS Miami' Different

by Kayla Hawkins

Just like the original WAGS, the new spinoff series WAGS Miami follows a similar group of women in the Florida city as they too try to become successful businesswomen while also dating highly powerful athletes. Miami has a similar premise, but an all new cast, and these ladies don't follow the same rules as their Los Angeles counterparts. For one, according to WAGS Miami star Claudia Sampedro, who spoke with Bustle in advance of the series premiere, these ladies don't really care about the labels between "girlfriend" and "wife."

On the original series, there's a very strict rule: Wives are preferred over girlfriends, full stop. The girlfriends are expected to respect and defer to the wives. But, according to Claudia, Miami is a little different. "On WAGS Miami, we all started off girlfriends, so we were pretty much all on the same page," she explains, and even offers a quick hint at what's to come during the season. "Darnell wound up getting engaged, and then Ashley wound up getting engaged," she reveals, "But I think we’re just very respectful ... and I don’t think anyone looks down on anyone else because they don’t have a ring or are not married."

However, throughout the experience, she always had a few key people by her side. In addition to her boyfriend, Green Bay Packers player Julius Peppers, "my best friend Astrid [Bavaresco] is on the show," Claudia says. The two have "known each other for six years," and you can expect to see them spending a lot of time together. "We’re like, inseparable, and we’re just like double trouble," she jokes.

But as with any reality show, Claudia can promise that there will be some drama involved. For example, in the premiere episode, she faced accusations that she used to work as an escort. Her response? "I just think that’s a little absurd," she says. "It’s not going to get to me, it’s just something that I dismiss and don’t give much attention," Claudia says, adding, "At first it kind of threw me off." But now, she's barely bothered by the claims — and that ability to let things go has got to come in handy if you're a reality star with nearly a million Instagram followers (though she recently made her account private).

And, while she does admit that while they were filming, there were some divisions, Claudia reveals that after filming the season, the cast were able to work past their differences. "We all have really dynamic personalities," she explains, "So we do butt heads from time to time ... [but] what really makes us great and unique is that we’re able to just know when we messed up and kind of just move past it and grow," Claudia says.

So WAGS Miami will have drama, shocking moments, and a cast that's capable of burying the hatchet? Sounds like a pretty goos deal — and a rarity when it comes to reality TV casts, who often wind up getting even more set in their ways as time goes by. Looks like WAGS Miami is looking to break the mold.

Image: E! Entertainment