After the drama of Scandoval, we just want her to be happy. And with news of a new man in her life, it’s understandable to wonder if Ariana Madix and Daniel Wai are still together. Ariana is a cast member on Bravo’s Vanderpump Rules, and dated her co-star, Tom Sandoval, from 2014 to 2023.
Tom and Ariana broke up in February 2023 after news broke that Tom cheated on Ariana with their Vanderpump Rules co-star, Raquel Leviss, whom he had been having an affair with for seven months in a drama known as Scandoval. “To be very clear, I didn’t lose him. He lost me,” Ariana said in an interview on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast in May 2023, two months after news broke of Tom and Raquel’s affair.
“But I think that I trusted in him so much … that I trusted his perspective on things.” She continued, “I feel like we would have so many amazing times together, so then if there was a couple weeks that were not great or if I was, like, unsure about something [in the relationship], there was so much other stuff that was great. … It was almost, I think, hard to say, ‘Oh, this person’s not right for me,’ because I also had never been in a relationship that long before.”
With news that she’s dating someone else, we all want to know if Ariana Madix and Daniel Mai are still together because like we said, she deserves to be happy.
Here’s a timeline of their relationship.
According to a report by Entertainment Tonight, Ariana was moving on from Tom Sandoval with a little trip to Mexico. She was introduced to Dan a few short weeks after she found out Tom had been cheating with Rachel Leviss. “They met at a mutual friend’s wedding in Mexico. He’s a sweet guy,” a source told ET.
When Ariana posted photos and videos of them together at Coachella, that’s when the rumors of their budding romance started. “She is allowed to date whoever she wants and was having an amazing time at Coachella with Daniel,” a source told Us Weekly at the time. “She’s definitely open to seeing where things go with Daniel, but at the same time, Ariana isn’t totally ready to jump into a serious relationship.”
Another source echoed this sentiment to People. “Ariana just got out of a long relationship and isn’t jumping into anything serious,” the insider said. “What you’re seeing is a woman who is single and having fun.”
While they may have started out casually, things certainly sounded like they took a turn in May. “Ariana’s been telling people in her circle that she’s falling in love with him,” a source observed to People. “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.” The source added: “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.”
Ariana broke her silence on her relationship with Daniel in an interview with Watch What Happens Live in May 2023. “I’ll just say that I am very happy and very satisfied,” she said.
That same month, Ariana revealed how she and Daniel met in an interview on the Today show. “I met him at a wedding about ten days after all of this. And in no way, shape or form did I go into that thinking anything,” she said. “I have just been taking things very, very slow and really enjoying myself. And it’s just really lovely to interact with someone who is just so nice and kind and lovely and caring.”
Not long after the Vanderpump Rules reunion, Dan surprised Ariana with a trip to Governor’s Ball music festival. “She thought she was coming here for a dinner but got surprised by @bradxbrad on the plane,” he wrote in his caption of an Instagram post.
During an interview with Access Hollywood, Ariana spoke about the challenges—and rewards—of being in a long-distance relationship with him being a fitness trainer in New York and her residing in LA. “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.”
She continued, explaining why she was so attracted to him in the first place. “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’.”
Ariana finished third on the 32nd season of Dancing With The Stars and Dan was there to cheer her on when he could. “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 on Instagram 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!”
After her successful stint on Dancing With The Stars, Ariana made her Broadway debut in Chicago. Daniel was there on opening night to celebrate her success.
In the teaser trailer for Vanderpump Rules’ season 11 finale, Lala Kent confronted Dan over his intentions with Ariana. “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.
Then, during a conversation 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 4, Ariana shared a tribute post to her boyfriend on his birthday. “Happy birthday to the most handsome man I know,” Ariana wrote in the caption of her Instagram post, “who always lets me have the first and last bite.”
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