Who is Daniel Wai?

According to his LinkedIn profile, Wai attended Virginia Tech and majored in computer science with a secondary degree in business and a minor in mathematics. He graduated in 2005 and worked for several consulting firms before deciding to take the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) test to become a certified personal trainer and work as a trainer full-time.

On his training website, he said his desire to focus on physical fitness had been with him since he was 13. “As a typical teenager, I was insecure with my size and strength and decided to incorporate exercise and physical fitness into my life, and it has been a large part of my life ever since,” he said.

In addition to training clients, Wai is also a fitness influencer. He posts fitness content, including his workouts and meal prep, and advertises his services on his Instagram account @thestrongwai, where he has over 56,000 followers.

Madix and her new boyfriend were first linked when they attended Coachella together

People reported that Wai and Madix were seen “kissing and holding hands” during the festival.

Madix and Wai were also photographed kissing when she dropped him off at LAX post-Coachella, according to pictures obtained by TMZ. A source told People at the time that the relationship wasn’t serious. “Ariana just got out of a long relationship and isn’t jumping into anything serious,” the source said. “What you’re seeing is a woman who is single and having fun.”

Wai celebrated his birthday with Madix

In the months since their romance began, Madix and Wai have been enjoying a bicoastal romance. Madix is based in Los Angeles but has frequently travelled to New York City for press commitments and to spend time with Wai, according to the pair’s Instagram activity.

Wai posted another Instagram montage on May 5, giving Madix a shout-out and thanking her for his birthday festivities in New York. The two attended a birthday dinner with friends and went to a New York Yankees game together.

That month, a source told People that Madix has “been telling people in her circle that she’s 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 told People.

Madix said she and Wai met “about 10 days” after Scandoval broke

Madix addressed her new relationship in several interviews during her recent Vanderpump Rules press tour.

“I met Daniel at a wedding about 10 days after all of this. Two of my oldest and dearest friends that I met, like, 20 years ago almost, got married,” she said in a May interview with Today.com.

“You know, I’m enjoying myself, and I would say I’m very happy right now,” Madix told host Hoda Kotb during her May 18 Today show appearance. She also told Kotb that Wai’s personality is his best feature and that “it’s just really lovely to interact with someone who is so nice and kind and caring”.

During her Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen appearance the night of the Vanderpump Rules season 10 finale on May 17, Madix played coy when Cohen asked about her new relationship: “I’ll just say that I am very happy and very satisfied.”

Madix and Wai aren’t shy about social media PDA

The new couple hasn’t officially labelled their relationship, but they regularly comment on one another’s Instagram posts. Madix, in particular, has commented on several of Wai’s workout videos, dropping an eyes emoji on a video of Wai completing a gruelling quad workout and writing “leg day” in the comments on a photo of Wai climbing ruins on his recent trip to Mexico.

On June 11, Wai posted about surprising Madix with several of their friends joining them in New York City to attend the Governors Ball music festival.

“She thought she was coming here for a dinner,” Wai captioned the post. Wai’s Instagram Story showed video clips from Madix’s early birthday dinner ahead of her June 24 birthday.