While many of us watched Ariana Madix’s love life suddenly implode amid the infamous Scandoval in 2023, the Love Island USA host has fully moved on to bigger and better things, including her budding romance 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 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 relationship is so cute, Bravo fans (and, seemingly, her ex Tom Sandoval) can’t help but flood their comments section with sweet messages and well-wishes for Ariana.
If you’re wondering how Ariana and Daniel’s meet-cute went down—and how her former VPR castmates feel about him—we’ve got you covered with a full timeline of their relationship below.
March 2023
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
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.
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.)
May 2023
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:
June 2023
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!! 🥰
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, so Daniel just provided a prime example of “if he wanted to, he would.”
July 2023
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.
August 2023
Ariana and Daniel didn’t let a little rain dampen 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.
“Beans beans the musical fruit 🫘,” 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
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:
October 2023
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.”
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
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
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. 🥹
![ariana madix joins the cast of chicago on broadway](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/ariana-madix-poses-with-boyfriend-daniel-wai-backstage-as-news-photo-1714668336.jpg?resize=980:* "Ariana Madix Joins The Cast Of "Chicago" On Broadway")
April 2024
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
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 👑💖🥵."
March 2025
Ariana and Daniel make their red carpet debut at the iHeart Radio Music Awards!
April 2025
The couple heads to the desert for another year at Coachella, where they hung out in the Heineken House.
May 2025
During an appearance on the Disrespectfully podcast, Ariana opened up about navigating a long-distance relationship with Daniel. “I don’t love it,” she admitted. “The idea of it, I don’t love long-term.”
She then teased she’s ready to take the next step and move in together.
“I feel like two years is, it’s getting to a point where it’s like, ‘OK, now we’re really going to [move in together],’” she explained. “Then I’m in Fiji for two months, or I’m in New York for four or five months. It’s like, well… we might as well wait to talk about that.”
She continued, “What’s good about long distance is that it really forces you to talk to each other because you can’t just hang out and watch a movie or go to a bar and make out. You have to have conversations. I think that’s really helped us build our communication from the beginning. What he’s really good about is making sure that there’s always a date.”
On the bright side, they stay connected with virtual dates. “We have phone dates and stuff where we’ll pick a recipe and we both order the (ingredients) and we make it together and then sit and eat together and watch shows… He makes sure we have dates while we’re apart, as well,” she explained. So cute!
July 2025
The couple has remained pretty low-key, but Ari shared a steamy sunset pic from a tropical vacation. We love to see it!
August 2025
Ari and Daniel attend the opening night of The Twelfth Night at Shakespeare in the Park in NYC.
October 2025
In the fall, they hit up another red carpet for the New York premiere of Good Fortune.
November 2025
After catching Lady Gaga at Coachella earlier in the year, Ariana and Daniel felt inspired and recreated her on-stage look for Halloween. To which we say: paws up!
December 2025
Daniel and Ariana celebrate New Year’s Eve together at Party Like A Royal Celebrations at Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas.
February 2026
It may be a new year, but the couple is still going strong! They attended multiple events together in February, from Super Bowl parties to Elle’s Actor Awards party.
May 2026
Ariana is honored as one of the most influential reality TV stars for Vulture, and of course, she and Daniel had a date night at the mag’s event to celebrate.
Aaaand that’s everything on Ariana and Daniel! Check back for the latest on their adorable relationship as it continues to blossom.
