While many of us watched Ariana Madix’s love life suddenly implode amid the infamous Scandoval last year, the Vanderpump Rules star has seemingly moved on from Tom Sandoval and found love with New York–based fitness coach and influencer Daniel Wai. The pair first met in March 2023 at a mutual friend’s wedding in Mexico, and now they’re catching flights on bae-cations and cheering each other on during live shows. Remember when Ariana killed it on Dancing With the Stars and on Broadway? Yeah, Daniel was there. Their budding romance is so cute, Vanderpump fans (and, seemingly, her ex Tom Sandoval) can’t help but flood their comments section with sweet messages and well wishes for Ariana. đŸ„č

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If you’re wondering how Ariana and Daniel’s meet-cute went down—and how her VPR castmates feel about him—we’ve got you covered with a full timeline of their ’ship below.

March 2023: Ariana and Daniel meet at a mutual friend’s wedding

According to a report by Entertainment Tonight, Ariana was moving on from her ex Tom Sandoval during a trip to Mexico. She hit it off with fitness coach Daniel Wai when they were introduced to each other at a mutual friend’s wedding in March 2023— shortly after she found out Tom had been cheating on her with Rachel Leviss.

“They met at a mutual friend’s wedding in Mexico. He’s a sweet guy,” an insider told the outlet.

April 2023: The pair cozy up at Coachella—although Ariana isn’t looking for anything “serious” yet

Ariana and Daniel were first spotted together at Coachella, where they cuddled up to each other, held hands, and shared some smooches. Daniel even posted adorable pics with Ariana to his Instagram Story.

ariana madix daniel wai
Daniel Wai//Instagram

An anonymous source told People that despite their PDA-packed ’chella weekend, Ariana wasn’t looking for a “serious” relationship at the time.

“Ariana just got out of a long relationship and isn’t jumping into anything serious,” the insider revealed. “What you’re seeing is a woman who is single and having fun.”

The couple was also seen at Celcius’s Oasis Vibe House during the festival, where they posed together for a group photo. (They’re in the top left corner, FYI.)

celsius oasis vibe house
Tommaso Boddi//Getty Images

May 2023: Ariana tells friends she’s falling for Daniel

A new report from People reveals Ariana is falling for Daniel, despite her initial desire for a low-key fling. “Ariana’s been telling people in her circle that she’s falling in love with him,” an insider told the outlet. “They met in Mexico at a mutual friend’s wedding shortly after Scandoval broke. At first, it looked like just a light rebound fling, but they have a special bond. Even though he lives in New York City, they’ve been able to make it work.”

“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.

Aside from hitting the town in NYC with Daniel, Ariana was also soft launching her relationship with him by posting cute-AF pics in Instagram photo dumps:

instagramView full post on Instagram

June 2023: Daniel surprises Ariana with a trip to Governor’s Ball in NYC

Shortly after the Vanderpump Rules reunion special, Ariana made her way to the Governor’s Ball music festival in New York thanks to a special surprise from her new beau. Daniel posted a sweet snap to Instagram, where he revealed he surprised the reality star with a trip.

“She thought she was coming here for a dinner but got surprised by @bradxbrad on the plane,” he wrote in his caption. These two!! đŸ„°

Ariana also posted a Gov Ball recap, where she and Daniel were seen jamming out to performances by Lil Nas X, Kendrick Lamar, and Sofi Tukker.

Then when it came time for Ariana’s birthday on the 26th, Daniel went above and beyond to make the birthday girl feel special. Per People, he cooked a lunchtime BBQ spread for Ariana and her friends before they hit up a club and popped bottles of champagne. Daniel also treated her to a candlelit concert from the Orchid Quartet and posted an Instagram Story of Ariana, writing, “Happy birthday to the kindest and most generous woman I know @arianamadix.”

Okay, NBD, Daniel just provided a ~prime~ example of “if he wanted to, he would.” 😭

July 2023: The pair celebrates the Fourth of July with a friend

Shortly after Ariana’s b-day festivities, the couple spent the Fourth of July with one of their friends at Elephante in Santa Monica. Ofc, they posted about it on the ’gram.

ariana madix daniel wai
Ariana Madix//Instagram

August 2023: Ariana and Daniel take a baecation to Chicago and go on dinner dates

Ariana and Daniel didn’t let a little rain damper their mood during a Chicago getaway. The couple was all smiles in front of The Bean in Millennium Park, where they sported matching gray and white Nike sneakers. đŸ„°

“Beans beans the musical fruit đŸ«˜,” Ariana wrote in her caption, jokingly referring to the iconic reflective art piece.

Daniel also posted an adorbs recap of a dinner date:

September 2023: Ariana and Daniel go to Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour in L.A.

Yes, the couple were some of the many celebs who attended Beyoncé’s birthday show at SoFi Stadium. They were decked out in silver as they attended SoFi’s pre-party at the Shay and took this adorable pic together:

sofi beyonce renaissance tour pre party
Presley Ann//Getty Images

October 2023: Ariana opens up about her long-distance relationship with Daniel

During an interview with Access Hollywood, Ariana got candid about her relationship with Daniel and how they’ve made long-distance work. “Long distance has been...really good because it has allowed me to focus on me and not be jumping into something...after everything that I went through,” she said. “I have so much more time to process and also be able to get to know somebody purely on a mental and emotional level as opposed to us being, like, physically together all the time.”

youtubeView full post on Youtube

As for how she knew Daniel was the one for her, Ariana said, “He just brought so much positivity and support and he just gets me in a way that makes me think, I just don’t want this to end, so I’m going to keep it going.”

December 2023: Daniel supports Ariana on Dancing With the Stars

After Ariana made it to third place on season 32 of Dancing With the Stars, Daniel showed his support with a super-cute Instagram post recapping her time on the show. “It was the wave for me! This is an appreciation post for @arianamadix I am so proud of you and you are so amazing and to me you are the champ, the people’s champ,” he wrote before thanking her dance partner, Pasha Pashkov. “Yo @pashapashkov thank you for all that you have done and for guiding her through this journey. Thank you for all the support from everyone, especially the boys in NYC that only met her once and did all the watch parties with me!”

Ariana then commented, “Your support throughout this incredible journey that was DWTS was everything. helping me keep my shit together, helping my mom get to the shows, and reminding me always of everything good. what an insane time this was. i’m so grateful you were a part of it. ❀”

January 2024: Daniel watches Ariana make her Broadway debut

After her successful run on DWTS, Ariana made her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in Chicago. Ofc, Daniel was there to support her on opening night. đŸ„č

ariana madix joins the cast of chicago on broadway
Bruce Glikas//Getty Images

April 2024: Ariana and Daniel have been together for a year

The couple has been going strong for about a year at this point, and they’ve shared a ton of cute moments via Daniel’s Instagram. Allow me to proceed with a rapid-fire presentation...

Daniel made tacos for Ariana (and I def want some):

They take on Coachella again and provide recaps with joint Instagram posts:

May 2024: Lala Kent questions Daniel’s intentions with Ariana and calls him a “f*cking square”

In the teaser trailer for Vanderpump Rules’ season 11 finale, Lala Kent questioned the fitness instructor’s motives with her castmate—and now, she’s had enough. “I will be damned if another person comes into this group dating someone and they end up being an asshole,” Lala said during a confessional interview. Lala then “interrogated” Daniel, asking him about his job and whether he’d been married before.

During a convo with Katie Maloney, Lala said of Ariana, “Every time I would ask her, ‘Is Dan gonna be okay on this trip? Like, what if there’s an interaction with Sandoval?’ she was like, ‘Dan has been in fights before. Like, he does not fuck around. If Sandoval were to walk up to him and be like, “Hey how are you?” there’s no way Dan would shake his hand.’”

“I’m like, this guy sounds like a fucking square,” she concluded.

On May 5, Ariana celebrated Daniel's birthday with the cutest message on Instagram. Alongside a pic of them rocking GetStonned gems at Coachella, Ariana wrote, "happy birthday to the most handsome man i know who always lets me have the first and last bite đŸ‘‘đŸ’–đŸ„”."

Aaaand that’s everything on Ariana and Daniel! Check back for the latest on their adorable ’ship as it continues to blossom.