Things seem to be going well for Ariana Madix and Daniel Wai. Like many other stars, the pair attended Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” tour stop in Los Angeles on Sept. 4. Before the show, the duo were spotted cozying up at a pre-party, looking ready to dance the night away. Per People, the new snaps come just a few days after Madix’s “Vanderpump Rules” costars Katie Maloney and Scheana Shay shared Instagram Stories of the cast on a trip to San Francisco ahead of the show’s 11th season. The photos also included Wai, hinting that we may be seeing a lot more of him on the show’s next installment.
Rumors began to swirl about Madix and Wai’s romance back in April when the reality star – who split from longtime boyfriend Tom Sandoval in March amid a cheating scandal – was spotted kissing the fitness coach at LAX as she dropped him off for a flight, per photos published by the Daily Mail. The airport PDA came after the pair were spotted glued at the hip at Coachella that weekend, even posing for photos together.
A month after the photos were taken, Madix reflected on how their romance all started. In a May 24 interview on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, Madix said of her relationship, “I’m really, really enjoying myself. I am seeing someone.” She did not mention Wai by name but said, “They live across the country in New York, so obviously there’s that whole aspect to it, but I would say it’s really, really good.”
Madix also shared that they met at a wedding “10 or 11 days” after the Scandoval news broke. “I met him at this wedding and all we did was talk. Like we stayed up all night just talking. . . . It’s literally all I wanted,” she said. The reality star added that she was clear about boundaries with Wai because of the situation she was coming out of, and he respected them at every step.
When the pair flew home to separate coasts after the wedding, they kept talking. Madix shared, “The conversations we were having were so amazing.” Since then, she said, she’d frequently been in New York for work, which let her see him in person. As for critics who accused her of jumping into a new fling too soon after her breakup with Sandoval, Madix said, “Accepting happiness and good things while you’re healing, there’s nothing bad about that.”
Meanwhile, in May, a source told People that Madix is reportedly “falling in love” with Wai. “It’s happening faster than she thought but he treats her well, they’re having fun, and she’s happy to be moving on to this next chapter with such an incredible guy,” the source added.
Madix, 38, was with Sandoval, 40, for nine years. In early March, Madix learned that Sandoval had been cheating on her with her former friend (and fellow “Vanderpump Rules” cast member) Raquel Leviss. Sandoval and Leviss, 28, eventually publicly admitted to the affair and issued apologies. But in an interview with Howie Mandel released on April 11, Sandoval claimed he tried to break up with Madix on Valentine’s Day before she learned about the affair. Madix said on “Call Her Daddy” that after a romantic date, Sandoval opened a conversation about them splitting but nothing was resolved.
On May 17, news broke that Sandoval and Leviss weren’t moving forward with a relationship (though they were never in one officially), and things came to a head during the three-part “Vanderpump Rules” reunion, which concluded on June 7, as viewers saw Sandoval and Leviss apologize profusely to Madix. More recently, Leviss sparked backlash when she addressed the affair on the “Bravo Tea With Jared B” podcast, saying that she “would not be involved in this affair secrecy type of situation if I thought that there was longevity in this relationship between Tom and Ariana. She also added that “the people closest to them could see that their relationship hasn’t been what they portray on camera, and Tom always told me they’re a brand.”
Madix, meanwhile, has kept busy since the breakup. She’s set to release a recipe book called “Single AF Cocktails: Drinks for Bad B*tches” in December and is also a confirmed contestant on “Dancing With the Stars”‘s 32nd season. And of course, it looks like she’s all wrapped up in a new romance.
See more photos of Madix and Wai ahead.
