Moving on! Ariana Madix has offered glimpses into her steamy connection with Daniel Wai following her split from Tom Sandoval.
After nearly a decade of dating, Us Weekly confirmed in March 2023 that Madix and Sandoval parted ways due to his affair with their Vanderpump Rules costar Raquel Leviss. The TomTom co-owner later issued a public apology to Madix after initially only addressing the negative response his Los Angeles business received amid the fallout.
“I want to first and foremost apologize to everyone I’ve hurt through this process. Most of all, I want to apologize to Ariana,” he wrote via Instagram that same month. “I made mistakes, I was selfish and made reckless decisions that hurt somebody I love. No one deserves to feel that pain so traumatically and publicly. I can only imagine how devastating this has been for Ariana and everyone around us. I feel really horrible about that. My biggest regret is that I dishonored Ariana. I never meant to disappoint so many people, including our loving families and friends.”
Madix, for her part, took a brief social media break before publicly thanking the people who supported her.
“Hi. where to begin? i want to express my most sincere gratitude for the outpouring of love and support i have received from friends, family, and people i’ve never even met in the last two weeks,” she captioned an Instagram post in March 2023. “When i have felt like i couldn’t even stand, you all have given me the strength to continue and seen me through my darkest hours. to say i have been devastated and broken is an understatement. however, i know that i am not in this alone.”
The Florida native continued: “So many of my closest friends are also grieving this loss right now and reeling from this betrayal on so many levels. i am so f—king lucky to have the best support system in the world and i hope i can repay every single person for the love you have shown me. what doesn’t kill me better run. love, ariana.”
One month later, Madix attended Coachella with a group of friends, which included Wai. The pair sparked romance speculation after they posted several snaps of them holding hands and kissing at the musical festival.
A source exclusively told Us at the time that Madix and the personal trainer were “just having fun” during the outing. “Ariana is not ready to commit to anything serious right now as she is still healing from the relationship that just ended with Tom,” the insider explained, noting that the Bravo star is “not looking” for commitment after calling it quits with Sandoval. “Part of her healing process was going to have a good time at Coachella and that is what she did.”
Sandoval, for his part, wished his ex-girlfriend luck with her romantic life. “Yes, I love that,” he told TMZ in April 2023. “Yes, I do [want her to find love again]. I really do.”
As Madix continued to spend time with Wai, the fitness coach received the stamp of approval from several of her past and present Vanderpump Rules costars including Scheana Shay, Kristen Doute and Lala Kent.
“She’s like, ‘Heartbreak, what? Like, I’m solid. I’m banging a fine-looking man,’” Kent said on her “Give Them Lala” podcast in April 2023. “She’s looking at [everything] like, ‘Look at my life. I’m happy.’ She said [to me], ‘Wow, I don’t have anxiety anymore. This is strange.’”
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