Not even a year after Scandoval, Ariana Madix seems happier than ever!
During a romantic trip to Chicago, the Vanderpump Rules star took to Instagram on Monday, August 21, to share a sweet snap with her new boyfriend, Daniel Wai.
"beans beans the musical fruit. i apologize for my dumb caption," Madix, 38, penned below the photo of her and the bartender, 37, wrapped in each other's arms while in front of the infamous silver bean in the windy city's Millennium Park.
Wai — who wore identical Nike sneakers with the Something About Her cofounder — took to the comments section to gush over their special time together, writing, "Much needed 24 hours."
Fans gave their seal of approval to the new couple and how Madix totally leveled up from ex Tom Sandoval, with one writing, "Upgrade x 100000000. He seems like he cherishes you but also leaves you wild."
"The way he holds you tight 😩😍❤️🔥," a second gushed, while another added, "❤️❤️❤️❤️😍 it's Ariana's year honey 😍."
The happy update comes days after the reality star's former pal Raquel Leviss — who had an affair with the Tom Sandoval & the Most Extras frontman, 40, for months without Madix knowing — made stunning claims during her sit down with Bethenny Frankel.
After insisting she made no money on the hit Bravo series and admitted she actually was not in love with Sandoval, the former beauty queen, 28, went on to say that she and Madix weren't really close before the shocking affair.
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"I don't expect Ariana to forgive me. I think once trust is broken with somebody, it's hard to come back from that. The fact that I was able to keep those secrets from her – I don't expect her to ever forgive me. I am remorseful," she alleged. "I do recognize that I have caused her a lot of pain and there was a lot of secrecy, deception."
"Although I wasn't hanging out with Ariana off-camera to begin with, I did start hanging out with her in group settings because Tom invited me out," she continued. "It did seem like we were close friends from the outside looking in, but in those situations, I was hanging out with Tom more than her."
